Baillie Gifford withdraws all remaining literary festival sponsorships
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Edinburgh-headquartered investment management firm Baillie Gifford has withdrawn sponsorship from all remaining literary festivals, including Cambridge, Stratford, Wigtown, Henley, and Wimbledon.
This follows similar decisions by the Hay, Edinburgh, and Borders festivals due to pressure from the activist and campaign groups such as Fossil Free Books (FFB).
FFB has called for the firm to divest from fossil fuels and companies linked to Israel. Baillie Gifford, however, will still remain the sponsor of the Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction until 2025.
A spokesperson from the prize told The Guardian: “The prize for nonfiction has happily partnered with Baillie Gifford since 2016.
“We have always found them to be collaborative, generous and transparent about their investments. They are contracted to sponsor the prize until the end of 2025 and we are fully committed to that relationship.”
The firm has defended its investment practices, stating that only 2% of clients’ money is invested in companies with fossil fuel links and that accusations of significant investment in the occupied Palestinian territories are misleading.