A reduction in exposure to TCI helped protect the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the charity TCI backs, from the full weight of the financial crisis, and maintain its position as one of the UK’s largest charities.

The foundation, known in the charitable world as Ciff, last week reported on Companies House that it had doubled the value of its funds to £1.6bn (€1.9bn) over the financial year to the end of August 2008.