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The ERA Foundation
The ERA Foundation started in 1920 as The Electrical Research Association, an industrial research body, before transforming in 2001 when its commercial arm,...
The ERA Foundation
The ERA Foundation started in 1920 as The Electrical Research Association, an industrial research body, before transforming in 2001 when its commercial arm, ERA Technology Ltd, was sold. The proceeds endowed the foundation under the presidency of Sir Alan Rudge, the former CEO of ERA Technology. Today a small board comprising Chair Andrew Churchill, CEO Andrew Everett, and Brompton Bicycle CEO Will Butler-Adams oversees the corpus. Capital is deployed as seed-stage and early-stage grants through two flagship fellowship programs run jointly with the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and the Royal Academy of Engineering. The Industrial Fellowship and Enterprise Fellowship schemes back individual engineers and fledgling ventures in electech manufacturing. Unlike a venture fund, the foundation does not take equity; its return is measured in technical talent and startup formation in UK advanced manufacturing. The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub remains the primary delivery partner, while Civitas provides industrial-policy research capacity. With roughly $30M in assets (Altss estimate), the team operates from office space provided by the Institution of Engineering and Technology at 2 Savoy Place in London. The foundation also maintains a named room at 3 Carlton House Terrace. Recent activity includes Board Member Will Butler-Adams continuing his operational role at Brompton Bicycle, keeping a direct line between the foundation's grant-making and the realities of UK precision manufacturing. The foundation's structure subverts the standard endowment model by operating as a pure grant-maker with zero direct investment staff and no fund commitments. All deployment flows through co-designed fellowship frameworks with long-standing institutional partners, making the architecture closer to a small, mission-focused foundation than a typical asset owner. Succession sits with the board; the presidency remains with Sir Alan Rudge, who has led the entity since its post-sale inception.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1920
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Corporate office
2 Savoy Place, London, United Kingdom
Principals
Sir Alan Rudge
President
Andrew Churchill
Chair of the Board
Andrew Everett
CEO and Executive Secretary
Will Butler-Adams
Board Member
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How did the ERA Foundation originate and where does its capital come from?
The foundation is the direct successor to The Electrical Research Association, established in 1920. Its endowment was created from the sale of the commercial subsidiary ERA Technology Ltd in 2001. Sir Alan Rudge, the former CEO of ERA Technology, became the foundation's president and has stewarded the corpus since then.
Who runs investment decisions at the ERA Foundation?
The foundation does not have a chief investment officer or dedicated investment staff. The board — chaired by Andrew Churchill and including CEO Andrew Everett and Brompton Bicycle's Will Butler-Adams — sets the programmatic allocation strategy. All capital deployment occurs through pre-structured fellowship agreements with partner institutions rather than through a traditional investment committee process.
Does the ERA Foundation make equity investments or take fund stakes?
No, the foundation operates exclusively as a grant-maker. It runs Industrial Fellowships and Enterprise Fellowships in partnership with the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and the Royal Academy of Engineering. The foundation does not hold equity in the startups it supports and does not commit capital to external venture funds.
What investment stages and sectors does the foundation target?
The foundation's grants target seed and early-stage engineering ventures as well as individual fellowship placements that span applied research to startup formation. The thematic focus is tightly restricted to electech manufacturing, with a broader mandate to support skills development across UK advanced manufacturing.
Which organizations are the ERA Foundation's primary deployment partners?
The two principal partners are the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and the Royal Academy of Engineering, both of which jointly administer the fellowship schemes. The Institution of Engineering and Technology provides office space and institutional backing, while the think tank Civitas contributes industrial-policy research capacity.
How is the foundation's philanthropic activity separated from any commercial operations?
The foundation is a pure grant-making entity with no remaining commercial operations. It does not operate the former ERA Technology business, and its entire corpus is segregated in a UK endowment fund. Its only structural link to industry is through board member Will Butler-Adams, whose role at Brompton Bicycle is held personally, not via the foundation.
What has the ERA Foundation actually funded in recent years?
The foundation does not publish a detailed public grant registry. Known activity is channeled through the Royal Academy of Engineering's Enterprise Hub, which supports early-stage engineering entrepreneurs. Specific beneficiary names have not been publicly disclosed by the foundation itself.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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