Media. News and press releases from across Man Group.

27 January 2019

Man Group and the Booker Prize Foundation today announce that Man Group will end its sponsorship of the Man Booker and Man Booker International Prizes in 2019. Man Group has sponsored the Man Booker Prize since 2002, during which time the firm has donated £25 million in support of literature through the Prizes and the charitable activities of the Foundation. Going forward, Man Group will use these resources to develop its ‘Paving the Way’ campaign, which focuses on enhancing diversity in the industry, and on expanding the firm’s global charitable initiatives, including those supported by the Man Charitable Trust.

Luke Ellis, Chief Executive Officer, Man Group, said:

“It has been a privilege to sponsor the Man Booker Prizes for nearly two decades. Following a careful review of our funding initiatives, we have taken the decision to focus our resources on our ‘Paving the Way’ diversity and inclusion campaign, as well as activities led by the Man Charitable Trust, which supports educational causes that promote literacy and numeracy. This was a natural point to re-evaluate our focus areas as our sponsorship agreement comes to an end.

“During the course of Man Group’s sponsorship, we have celebrated 25 winning authors from across the world and more than 400 authors have been recognised for their extraordinary work. This period also saw the launch of the Man Booker International Prize in 2005, which was one of the first literary awards to celebrate the work of international authors and, in recent years, to celebrate fiction in translation.”

Man Group launched its ‘Paving the Way’ campaign in 2018, to promote and improve diversity and inclusion at the firm and across the financial services and technology industries more broadly. The campaign is designed to address the ‘lack of pipeline’ challenge, referring to the shortage of candidates who are considered minorities or who have atypical profiles for a career in financial services or technology. ‘Paving the Way’ encompasses Man Group’s global initiatives focused on long- and short-term recruitment, as well as retention, and emphasises the firm’s prioritisation of these issues, including research into new and innovative ways to foster greater diversity.

In line with the global footprint of the business, Man Group will also expand its existing charitable initiatives to international causes, alongside those supported in the UK through the Man Charitable Trust, which focuses on education and is well aligned with the ethos of ‘Paving the Way’. Since the founding of the Man Charitable Trust in 1978, Man Group has worked with many charities that support literacy and numeracy at a grassroots level, including most recently The Children's Literacy Charity, Discover Children’s Story Centre, The Brilliant Club, Auditory Verbal UK, Maths on Toast and the Refugee Support Network. In 2018, Man Group established the Man US Charitable Foundation which will similarly focus on promoting literacy and numeracy in the US.

Luke Ellis added:

“The Man Booker Prizes have meant a huge amount to all of us at Man Group and I want to take this opportunity to applaud the exceptional work of the Booker Prize Foundation. We are truly honoured to have been a part of something so special and unique for nearly 18 years and would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make the Prizes what they are today.”