Stuart Ord

The vital role that the VCT industry plays in supporting UK economic growth and job creation is highlighted in this article from the The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) #vct #vcta #venturecapital #economicgrowth

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Private Capital plays a crucial part in our economy. Michael Moore, CEO of the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) discusses below how pivotal it is. ⬇️ #funds #economy #infrastructure

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The recent announcement from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) marks a pivotal moment for UK businesses and investors. The renewed focus on targeting “truly problematic mergers” is a significant step toward fostering economic growth and maintaining a competitive edge.   As Sarah Cardell rightly noted at the Chatham House Competition Policy Conference, the UK must be a place where businesses feel confident to invest, innovate, and scale. Ensuring mergers are evaluated with a balanced approach will undoubtedly unlock opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.   This evolution in regulatory strategy is a positive signal for the markets. It aligns with the government’s vision of growth-oriented regulation, hopefully making the UK a more attractive place to do business. I’m optimistic about the road ahead and the potential this framework offers. With today's rise in consumer confidence adding to the more positive economic mix, things are looking up for 2025. https://lnkd.in/d_wv2bgD #BusinessGrowth #UKEconomy #Regulation #Investment #ConsumerConfidence

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Thanks to Paul Clarke Financial News for running an article featuring Continuum Advisory Partners' vision and growth journey. Since our founding less than two years ago, we've grown to a team of close to 40, with ambitious plans to expand across London, Europe and the USA. Our focus remains clear: delivering independent, relationship-driven advice in the financial services sector, including insurance, wealth management, financial technology and professional services. We're taking a different approach from traditional boutiques. Our model, inspired by the classic merchant banks, emphasises long-term relationships and trust over transactional dealings. Sometimes the best advice is to not do a deal at all. As I say in the article, "We're going back to the future" with our culture centred on teamwork and trust. We're proud that 21 of our current team members have worked together for over a decade across multiple organisations. We're growing thoughtfully, focusing on individuals who share our values and vision for client service. We're excited about our future as we continue building our unique financial services mid-market advisory firm. #InvestmentBanking #FinancialServices #MandA #Growth #Leadership Find the link to the article in the first comment below.

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A step in the right direction, but c'mon...how difficult do they need to make this? The lemmings of the #UK institutional investment sector want a more globally competitive domestic market but insist on tying the hands of the boards, preventing them from competing globally. It's not that hard - The Investment Association should simply instruct these boards to find the best and most experienced talent available and provide competitive, well-aligned pay packages across both executive directors and non-executive directors. If you don't compete, you can't win. #investing #stocks #corporategovernance #shareholderactivism

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Following the success of the CGF Leeds Roadshow, our Managing Partner Beverley Gower-Jones OBE FEI was interviewed by Michael Crossland of the Yorkshire Post - see the article published this week below. In the interview Beverley says, “As we look to the future, the urgency to reach net-zero emissions is a defining challenge. #Leeds and #Yorkshire are uniquely positioned to take the lead in the green transition, with local strengths in energy, technology, and sustainable #manufacturing. “#Greenjobs is not only an environmental imperative but also an economic opportunity, creating thousands of roles across multiple sectors. “This city and region are attracting the kind of talent and entrepreneurial drive that are key to achieving a resilient, green economy.” Read the full article below 👇 #venturecapital #techinnovation #startups #investors #lowcarbon #netzero

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In our continuing coverage of the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves's first Budget, Kyle O'Sullivan and Andrew Cromb examine new proposals on the taxation of carried interest for private equity executives.   Catch their insights here: https://lnkd.in/eyGEBBUi   If you missed part one discussing the tax impact on the real estate sector, be sure to check it out featured in the link above!   #UKTaxBudget #BudgetWatch #Tax #PrivateEquity  

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💂‍♂️ 💂‍♀️ #UKEQUITIES - some numbers. 🛎 At #investec, looking at the FTSE 350 index - take out the investment trusts and we have 264 London listed firms in that index. In the last 6 months, on total return, 10 of those 264 firms lost a holder >21.0%... contrast that with 107! of the 264 firms making you >21.0%. Those 107 >21% return firms/big winners had real breadth - Aerospace, Builders, Cap Goods, Distributors, Energy, Financials... the sector winner list goes on. After that 6m index rally (total rtn) of 16.04%, the Bloomberg multiple is 12x after tax profits on the underlying. It #feelsdifferent in London. #Privatefirms looking to list - please get in touch / meet the team. #Investors that have not looked at London for a while - please get in touch. #Londonlisted firms that want to get more out of their listing - we're here. #investec is in good shape and our door is very much open for business. Call me - 00 44 207 597 5577 Email me - [email protected] Data c/o #Bloomberg. Absolutely not investment advice.

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Excellent analysis that speaks to the need for regulators to shift their focus away from price and number of networks and instead look towards the value delivered to customers and economies from having robust and well invested networks capable of carrying and nurturing new services and products.

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Let’s hope the budget tomorrow doesn’t undermine the recovery in deal activity we started to see in Q3. Taking the high volume of deals in October aside, getting rid of the uncertainty and (hopefully) still having a tax regime that broadly supports M&A activity, should prove to be the gateway to a more sustainable and less erratic deal doing environment. Stability is what is needed to allow business owners to be able to plan over the medium term their investment or exit strategy - not knee jerk reactions based on guesstimating government polices. The forecast interest rate cuts will also be supportive but let’s see what tomorrow brings…

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📢 I'm delighted to be hosting a webinar on "Key Valuation Themes You Can’t Ignore before 2025" with my friends at Valutico. On September 17th I'll be joined by Paul Resch and Greg Brown to informally (and hopefully entertainingly⚡) talk through essential valuation themes, case studies and tech insights. This is a Financa platform event which, alongside hosting live events such as this, offers over 60 middle market bespoke technical M&A courses and 15 integrated learning pathways covering the end to end deal process. In my experience, what can be missing from some valuation exercises is a truly commercial approach, and we'll be exploring more what this means during the webinar in addition to how the valuation process can be Tech-ified. If you're an M&A advisor, investor or intermediary and would like to join this webinar, please just give me a shout and you'll receive the registration link. Financa subscribers can sign up in the Platform under the Live Events page. For ICAEW ACAs, this will count towards your CPD. So sit back and accrue those hours. #corporatefinance #investmentbanking #privateequity

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The Takeover Panel must go! The Takeover Code once served a purpose but now stands in the way, giving too much agency to board directors whose interests are not aligned with those of shareholders. This is one of the reasons #UK #equity #markets trade at a perennial discount to the U.S. Relax the Code, and let bids go to shareholders for votes- and you will see that more often than not, the owners want exits. This will allow for the much-needed recalibration in British equities. #investing #shareholderactivism #lse

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Thinking of securing investment, an exit or MBO involving private equity? Tom Whittard, partner at Westbridge, gave three tips in an article in Corporate Financier magazine. We discuss them in this blog - https://lnkd.in/eWKEQ5dZ How we can help: We offer comprehensive support for management teams, going beyond just the deal to help them plan, complete the transaction with a good investor and provide ongoing advisory support to deliver growth plans. Get in touch with us. #investors #privateequity #corporatefinance

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Thinking of securing investment, an exit or MBO involving private equity? Tom Whittard, partner at Westbridge, gave three tips in an article in Corporate Financier magazine. We discuss them in this blog - https://lnkd.in/eExrrATC How we can help: We offer comprehensive support for management teams, going beyond just the deal to help them plan, complete the transaction with a good investor and provide ongoing advisory support to deliver growth plans. Get in touch with us. #investors #privateequity #corporatefinance

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What does the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA)’s illiquids guidance mean for DC schemes? 💭 Our director of DC pensions, Maggie Kearney, and head of private markets, Patricia Ward, have been working with the BVCA’s Technical Expert Group to develop its new guidance aimed at driving progress on some of the opportunities and challenges surrounding DC investment in private markets. If you haven’t had a chance to read the full guidance (link in the comments), then check out our summary of key takeaways relating to the two main areas: 📌Liquidity management challenges 📌Flexibility in infrastructure Our summary: https://lnkd.in/e4XFwwCi Got any thoughts or questions? We’d love to hear from you. #Pensions #Liquidity #PrivateMarkets #ProductiveFinance

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Independence, diversity and experience are all important considerations for a well-balanced board of directors. A myopic focus on a single factor, however, can lead to serious unintended consequences. In this article, senior investment professionals Karl Leinberger and Neville Chester highlight the value that a non-executive director with the necessary business acumen and experience can add to a company whose board they serve on. They illustrate this point through case studies of two companies recently facing challenges: the retailer Spar and restaurant group Spur, both overseen by chairman Mike Bosman.

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Landsec’s data shows that, on average, companies are giving each employee 145 sq ft of office space, compared with 115 sq ft in 2019, a 25% increase.

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Prospects for 2025... Amongst the noise, what are the themes for PE? I was part of a virtual round table for Criticaleye last week, with the task of researching and presenting the prospects for the PE industry in 2025. I spoke with 9 senior or managing partners of UK based PE firms to get as broad a view as possible. In summary, a net positive view but not overwhelmingly so, due to a number of conflicting influences. On the positive side: * Greater political and economic stability * Interest rates will be (slowly) coming down * Investment banks have full WIP lists and not laying anyone off, signalling good deal flow for the year * High levels of uninvested capital, which should drive demand for deals * Firms have held on to assets for longer than usual, which adds to the pressure for exits However, on the negative side: * Fund raising is becoming very hard for the mid-market, meaning firms are incredibly cautious about risk on new deals (they can't afford any losses), which will keep the brakes on overall investment activity * The recent budget puts huge extra costs on businesses and it will take time for companies to devise their new plans. This makes investment appraisal harder/slower * The budget will have a few likely knock-on impacts, for example: - prices will have to go up (and therefore inflation) - hiring will slow down (and so unemployment will rise) - B2B customers will defer large new purchases (so sales growth in investee companies will slow/reverse) - B2C demand will reduce with increased inflation and unemployment. Some sectors will continue to be in favour (e.g. SaaS companies, albeit at huge prices) and some will struggle to trade (e.g. retail, hospitality) but people were generally positive. One thing was clear though was that there will be no big change in deal activity and any significant growth will be towards the back end of 2025.

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With the budget announcement tomorrow and a great deal of regulatory-focused initiatives and engagements underway at IIMI HQ, I am feeling optimistic about the opportunities that we have to support the government and the regulator to evolve UK financial services regulation. #regulation #assetmanagement #budget #growth #culture

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