Our Corporate Investments
Over Laird Norton Company’s long history, we have successfully invested in many sectors, including business services, distribution, consumer products and services, and financial services. These investments are representative of our current portfolio and preferences for profitable, capital-efficient businesses.
Select Current Investments
1967-Present
Laird Norton Wetherby
Laird Norton Wetherby, founded by Laird Norton Company in 1967 as the Laird Norton Trust Company, is growing organically and through acquisitions, including Filament Wealth Management in 2020 and Wetherby Asset Management in 2021. As both an RIA and trust company, LNW offers a full spectrum of specialized wealth and legacy planning, investment management, and trust and estate services that advance the aspirations and long-term multigenerational financial ambitions of its clients. LNW has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, as well as an affiliate trust company in South Dakota, empowering clients across the US and around the world.
Laird Norton Wetherby is a majority-owned subsidiary of Laird Norton Company and has substantial ownership by active employees.
2019-Present
Heartland LLC
Heartland LLC is a Seattle-based real estate advisory and investment firm with over 35 years of experience in creating value for clients. Heartland combines strategy development and analytical rigor with execution capabilities in real estate brokerage, asset management, capital markets, and development services to benefit communities, organizations, and families. In 2019, Laird Norton Company acquired a majority interest in Heartland, with the operators retaining significant ownership.
2015-Present
Zevia (NYSE: ZVIA)
Zevia is a leading producer of zero-calorie, zero-sugar, all-natural stevia-sweetened beverages, including sodas, energy drinks, mixers, and organic sweet teas. LNC initially invested in Zevia in 2015 as an influential minority shareholder with board representation. We continued to support the company’s growth through subsequent rounds of investment and became the largest owner (though still a minority owner) in 2019. In December 2020, CDPQ became the lead investor in Zevia, which completed an IPO on July 22, 2021, and now trades on the NYSE under the ticker ZVIA. LNC retains a significant ownership position.
select Historical Investments
2007-2017
Fusion
Laird Norton Company was initially a minority investor in Fusion Education Group and acquired control in 2014. Through this investment, LNC partnered with an experienced management team to identify, purchase, and replicate a revolutionary private school concept offering an individualized education. After a decade-long investment and successful expansion from one school to more than forty campuses in seven states, Laird Norton Company sold Fusion in 2017.
1966-2006
Lanoga Corporation
Over more than 40 years of Laird Norton Company’s ownership, this lumber and building materials distribution business evolved through a combination of organic growth, partnerships, and acquisitions, and it eventually became the nation’s third-largest professional building materials dealer. Before its sale, the company operated lumber and materials centers under the names of United Building Centers, Spenard Builders Supply, Lumbermen’s, Home Lumber Co., Dixieline Lumber Co., Parker Lumber Co., and F.E. Wheaton and Co. When LNC sold the company in 2006 to Fidelity Capital, it had revenues in excess of $3 billion from six divisions, with 320 locations in 24 states.
REAL ESTATE
Learn About Our Real Estate Investments
Laird Norton Properties, a division of Laird Norton Company, owns a diversified portfolio of light industrial, retail, office, and multifamily properties. Its investments focus on capital-efficient, cash-flow-generative opportunities across the risk spectrum and asset classes, and it has a strong ability for problem-solving in the management of real estate assets and venture opportunities over time.