The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the charitable body backed by activist hedge fund TCI, almost halved the amount it gave to charities last year as it streamlined the process of allocating grants.

The Children's Investment Fund Foundation, which was registered as a charity in 2002, awarded a total of £17.9m (€21.6m) in grants in the financial year ended 31 August 2009, according to its accounts just published at Companies House. The total grants equated to 1.1% of the foundations investment assets, which fell from $1.6bn to $1.5bn during 2009. The previous year, it awarded £30.6m of grants, while its assets over the same period rose from £800m to £1.6bn. The rest of its money is invested in various assets.