Gemma Bourne
When I gave evidence at an inquiry into the finances and sustainability of the social housing sector. It was definitely one of the most unique experiences of my career so far! I went in to demonstrate that private impact capital can continue to play an instrumental role in delivering more good quality social and affordable homes in the UK, particularly for the most vulnerable.
Course
Chemistry MChemGraduation year
2005My career and achievements
Gemma leads Better Society Capital's property investment and market building strategies which aim to increase the supply of good quality, safe and secure affordable housing in the UK. Gemma's built environment experience spans impact investment, property and regeneration, consultancy and Local Government.
Prior to Better Society Capital, Gemma worked at Lendlease, a global investment, property and construction company, with roles across construction ops, corporate sustainability and urban regeneration. Gemma was previously the Head of the Lendlease Foundation and a social enterprise, Be Onsite, that supports long-term unemployed including current serving prisoners and ex-offenders into employment.
Gemma's earlier career was in environmental consultancy as a Contaminated Land and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) specialist working on due diligence for land acquisitions, remediating heavily contaminated sites and delivering environmental protection programmes for some of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects.
Gemma is a Trustee and a volunteer, has a degree and Masters in Chemistry from the University of Surrey and is a Chartered Environmentalist.
