The day job has changed a lot over the past 12 years for Michele Giddens, the co-founder of Bridges Ventures, an investment firm that marries making profits with getting positive outcomes for poorer parts of the UK.

When the firm started raising its first fund in 2001, Giddens and her fellow founder Philip Newborough were working out of the corners of Apax Partners' offices and were met with blank stares from investors. Giddens said: "People in those days said you just need to choose - are you trying to do something positive in terms of social impact? In which case that's a charity. Or are you trying to be an investment fund? In which case you focus on risk-adjusted return."