Impax rebrands with asset management focus

Shareholders approved to change the name of the company which has applied to Companies House to re-register Impax Asset Management Group.

Keith Falconer, chairman of Impax, said the new name reflected its asset management activities at a time when investors were showing an increasing level of interest in the environmental sector.

He said: "This name change indicates Impax's focus on managing assets in a sector that we believe will go from strength to strength in the coming years.

Ian Simm, chief executive of Impax, said the new brand would help to establish the company as an environmental asset manager as it moved towards a new stage of growth.

He added: "Since 1994, when Impax was founded, the environmental sector has become a significant part of the global economy.

"Impax’s investment expertise in listed equities and private equity is recognised worldwide, and we look forward to building on our strong foundations."

The company increased assets under management from £185m at 31 August 2005 to £1.13 billion at 31 August 2009.

Impax has a long track record in the environmental sector and has a range of funds - both open-ended and closed-end - across a number of strategies.

It recently launched an Asian environmental investment trust - the Impax Asian Environmental Markets fund - to be co-managed by Bruce Jenkyn-Jones, managing director within its listed equity fund division.