Business Leader Magazine: October/November 2021

ISSN 2632-7155

9 772632 715003 9.75 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 • £9.75

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human versus tech debate

A LIFE LESS ORDINARY Business Leader talks to Steven Bartlett about his extraordinary journey

What are the pressing challenges facing the recruitment sector?

top 32 business schools Profiling the UK’s leading business schools and the senior figures who run them

BRITAIN’S LEADING MAGAZINE FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS

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CONTENTS

IN THIS EDITION 10 COVER STORY: STEVEN BARTLETT

University drop-out and a multimillionaire at 28, Business Leader talks to the new Dragons' Den star

14 FEATURE: INVESTMENT

10

Examining the on-going global trend for international firms to buy UK companies

20 FEATURE: LEADERSHIP

27 TOP 100: BRISTOL COMPANIES

58 FEATURE: RECRUITMENT

Who does the person at the top of the business turn to when it comes to mental health and wellbeing?

Partnering with PKF Francis Clark, Business Leader showcases the top 100 owner-managed companies in the Bristol area

What are the pressing challenges facing the recuitment sector and how the country is performing?

38 FEATURE: EDTECH

62 FAST TRACK: BORN LICENSING

Business Leader investigates the current state of the EdTech industry and where the UK stands compared to the rest of the world

How have RoboCop, He-Man and The Muppets helped create one of the fastest-growing companies in the UK?

45 TOP 32 BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN THE UK

66 CEO IN FOCUS: ROMI SAVOVA

45 Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect

Profiling 32 of the UK's leading business schools and the senior figures who run them

The Founder and CEO of PensionBee talks about the inspiration behind the business and listing on the LSE

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NEWS

EDITORIAL Oli Ballard - Director E: oli.ballard@businessleader.co.uk Barney Cotton - Digital Editor E: barney.cotton@businessleader.co.uk James Cook - Content Manager E: james.cook@businessleader.co.uk DESIGN/PRODUCTION Adam Whittaker - Head of Design E: adam.whittaker@businessleader.co.uk SALES Sam Clark - Head of Awards Sponsorship E: sam.clark@businessleader.co.uk Emma Filby - Head of Advertising E: emma.filby@businessleader.co.uk DIGITAL & WEB Josh Dornbrack - Head of Multimedia E: josh.dornbrack@businessleader.co.uk Gemma Crew - Social Media & Community Manager E: gemma.crew@businessleader.co.uk Joshua Phillips - Website Development E: joshua.phillips@businessleader.co.uk CIRCULATION Adrian Warburton - Circulation Manager E: adrian.warburton@businessleader.co.uk ACCOUNTS Jo Meredith - Finance Manager E: joanne.meredith@businessleader.co.uk MANAGING DIRECTOR Andrew Scott - Managing Director E: andrew@businessleader.co.uk

RECORD NUMBER OF ENTRIES FOR GO:TECH AWARDS .22 Momentum is building for the UK’s biggest tech event, after the Go:Tech Awards .22 received a record number of entries.

The Awards’ close collaboration with the UK’s leading business incubators, universities and technology associations has established it as a must-attend event for professionals, investors and entrepreneurs operating in the innovation space.

The categories include Best Mobile Technology Award; Sustainable Tech Business Award; AI/Machine Learning Award; Best Use of VR/AR Award, Tech Dealmaker of the Year, Tech Entrepreneur of the Year, and Incubator of the Year.

Following the end of the entry process, which saw a record number for each category, the judging panel will narrow down a shortlist of finalists that will be announced in January – with the

winners announced at a live ceremony in April 2022.

Some of the judges include Anthony Rose (SeedLegals), Oz Alashe MBE (CybSafe), Polly Barnfield OBE (MaybeTech), Hannah Dawson (Futurli), Jonathan Lister Parsons (PensionBee), and Dr Johnathan Matlock.

Current sponsors for the event are HSBC UK, Hayes Parsons, IC Resources, Osborne Clarke, Crowe and BPE Solicitors.

Founder of the Go:Tech Awards, Andrew Scott, comments: “It is amazing to see a record number of entries for this year’s event – and it only highlight the incredible growth and innovation we are seeing throughout the sector.

“I am excited to see who our independent panel of judges select for the shortlist. Good luck to all entrants and thank you to our amazing sponsors.”

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October/November 2021

NEWS

COMMENT

YOUR COMPETITORS ARE NOT YOUR COMPETITION, IT’S YOUR LAST BEST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Charlie Mullins Founder, Pimlico Plumbers

Charlie Mullins’ Pimlico Plumbers sold to US home services group Neighborly London-based Pimlico Plumbers has announced that it has been acquired by American home services group, Neighborly.

The company’s Founder Charlie Mullins has sold his 90% stake in Pimlico – in a deal worth up to £145m however, his son Scott will retain a stake of about 10%.

Charlie founded the business in 1979 and has grown it to become one of the capital’s most successful plumbing businesses, with annual revenues of over £50m.

Scott will also remain as the company’s President and CEO and will oversee Pimlico’s 400 employees.

Mike Bidwell, President and CEO of Neighborly, said:“We are thrilled to be growing our global footprint with the addition of Pimlico as the next subsidiary brand to join our global family of home service professionals.

“Pimlico’s wide array of trade services, as well as its exceptional customer care, perfectly align with Neighborly’s purpose, which is to build an extensive service community known for providing excellent experiences.

"We are excited for the growth to come for both Pimlico and Neighborly as a result of this acquisition.”

Scott Mullins said: “Neighborly is well-respected across the globe as the driving force behind so many reputable brands in the home service and maintenance industry. Even after Pimlico’s 40-plus years of independent business success, Neighborly’s proven track record for growth and its commitment to its code of values assures that we’ve found a likeminded company that can help us grow.”

Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect

If your current promotional strategy - public relations, advertising, marketing - is focused squarely on the number of leads generated, page impressions, social shares, and sales then the gap between you and your customers is likely to be getting wider.

Paul MacKenzie-Cummins

These are all short-term Managing Director, Clearly ‘fixes’ that, while they may deliver an immediate return on your investment, won’t set you up for greater brand awareness, enhanced customer relationships, higher customer (and staff) retention rates, and improved profits over the long term.

Customer expectations of businesses, and how they wish to engage with them, were already undergoing a process of change before the pandemic – they were simply amplified both during it and continue to be in the here and now. When the impact of coronavirus became clear, digital transformation accelerated overnight and with it a greater expectation among customers of what they expect.

Enter the era of hyper-personalisation, whereby the requirement for businesses is to tailor their messaging in a way that is specific to their target customer, is relevant and above all, contextualised. In doing so, the experience a customer or prospect has of dealing with a business is elevated.

It is this critical factor that is missing from many organisational promotional strategies. Since the lifting of restrictions in the summer, we have seen first-hand a plethora of businesses resurrecting the same approach to their PR and marketing strategies that they deployed pre-pandemic. This is a mistake and could not only see a loss of custom but also a shrinking of market share too.

Indeed, there is a reason why a growing number of businesses are getting onboard with their Net Promoter Score and Glassdoor, and it is because they recognise the importance of creating and seeking to continually enhance the customer experience.

You already know the context within which your audience finds itself in right now, so figuring out what you have to offer can help them to achieve their immediate goals, and then craft your messaging accordingly.

If you need guidance on developing your postpandemic communications strategy, get in touch.

T: 0333 207 9477

clearlypr.co.uk 3

NEWS

Which companies are set to hit $1tn in value next?

European tech venture financing deals total $11.9bn in Q2 2021 Led by $1bn venture financing of Celonis, total technology industry venture financing deals worth $11.9bn were announced in Europe in Q2 2021, according to GlobalData’s deals database.

The value marked an increase of 15.9% over the previous

quarter and a rise of 106.4% when compared with the last four-quarter average of $5.78bn.

Europe held a 15.18% share of the global technology industry venture financing deal value that totalled $78.61bn in Q2 2021.

Recipe box provider Gousto set to create 250 new roles Recipe box provider Gousto has announced that it will create at least 250 full-time high-skilled technology jobs in London by the end of 2022.

Doubling its tech team every year since 2019, the tech unicorn will boast a tech workforce of nearly 500, spanning artificial intelligence, software engineering, data science, and design.

Expected to reach the milestone by 2022 is the Chinese multinational technology conglomerate Tencent. The company’s current market cap is $742bn.

The company is famous for a wealth of subsidiaries; these include Tencent QQ, a popular instant messaging platform in China that was launched back in 1999; Tencent Games, a video game publishing platform responsible for Honor of Kings, one of the highest grossing games of all time; PaiPai.com, an online payment system similar to PayPal, are just some of the company’s many subsidiaries.

Tesla, the US electric vehicle manufacturer founded by Elon Musk is well-known for its wide range of electric vehicles, which accounted for 74% of the US EV Market from 2018-21. According to Approve.com, the company’s market cap is $584bn, but Tesla is set to hit the $1tn mark next year.

Timo Boldt Founder and CEO Gousto

Today, 54% of Gousto orders are provided by AI through Gousto’s unique recommendation engine – the highest since its conception.

Shaun Pearce, Gousto’s Chief Technology Officer said: “The expansion of our tech team will be instrumental in maximising the opportunity provided by the structural shift from offline to online, which has been accelerated by the pandemic.”

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The list of trillion-dollar companies is a small one, with only six companies that are around today who can claim to have reached this milestone. However, according to a recent study by Approve.com, there are several companies who are set to hit $1tn in value in the next few years.

US telecoms conglomerate Comcast is the secondlargest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue. It’s also the largest pay-TV company, largest cable TV company and largest home internet service provider in the United States. NBC, DreamWorks Animation and Universal Animation Studios are three of the largest subsidiaries of Comcast, although there are plenty of others, notably Sky, which it has been the parent company of since October 2018. With a current market cap of $259bn, Approve.com predicts that Comcast will reach $1tn in valuation by 2023.

October/November 2021

NEWS

UK set to create almost one unicorn a week as tech boom continues The UK’s tech sector is on course for a record year of investment, after a flurry of mega deals sent venture capital (VC) investment soaring to £13.5bn in the first six months of the year, topping the figure achieved in the whole of 2020 and almost triple what was achieved half-way through the same year.

More than half of all rounds raised this year have been for $100m+.

The new figures, compiled for the UK’s Digital Economy Council and Tech Nation

by Dealroom for London Tech Week, demonstrate how the UK continues to extend its lead over rival European startup hubs and has attracted more venture capital investment than France, Germany and Israel combined during 2021.

This influx in cash to UK startups has helped secure $1bn valuations for even more of the fastest-growing tech Gerard Grech companies. The UK is now home to Founder and Chief Executive 105 unicorns – private companies Tech Nation worth $1bn or more – with 20 created in the past six months alone, industry is on course for another record including Tractable, Zego and Depop. In comparison, it took 24 years (from 1990 to high in terms of investment in 2021. The success of established companies like 2014) to create the UK’s first 20 unicorns.

Wise, Darktrace and Depop show there is Gerard Grech, Founder and Chief a clear pathway for UK tech companies to Executive, Tech Nation, said: “The UK tech make an impact on a global scale.”

A handful of mega fundraising rounds by leading UK tech companies have helped push the total VC raised into record territory.

Over 1,400 UK tech companies have benefited from the £13.5bn raised and the investment is more than double that achieved in the next biggest market – Germany (£6.2bn).

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8204-BrexitLeader 2.0_HalfPage__121x185_OUT.indd Business - Inspire • Inform •1 Connect

25/03/2021 09:10 5

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Spend your days relaxing on the beach, or by the pools, soaking in the endless sunshine and azure skies - all surrounded by tropical rainforest and dramatic volcano backdrops. Learn about the local people & culture and experience unforgettable, truly personalised experiences to make lasting memories. Water lovers will delight in the numerous watersports to be enjoyed; including big game fishing, coral reef diving and private yacht cruises touring the beautiful island and its extraordinary landscape.

This incredible resort is the perfect choice for those wanting to reconnect with their families and have a truly spectacular Christmas and New Year.

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NEWS

Frontify raises $50m in Series C funding led by female-founded Revaia Frontify, a provider of brand management software, has announced it has raised $50m in Series C funding, led by Revaia (formerly Gaia Capital Partners) with participation from High Sage Ventures and existing investors EQT Ventures, Blossom Capital, and Tenderloin Ventures.

Frontify is committed to accelerated growth, both in product R&D, and in hiring talent in the US, Switzerland, and beyond to join its current team of 200+ employees.

The funding will boost Frontify’s technology to support the growing global community of brand builders.

“We’ve laid the foundation and are revolutionising how people contribute to and work with their brands across a huge range of industries, brand sizes, locations,

Spencer Matthews Founder, CleanCo

Spencer Matthews' CleanCo announces US expansion

and needs. There’s still so much to achieve, but we can’t get there alone,” said Frontify Founder and CEO, Roger Dudler.

“Expanding our teams with the best and brightest around the globe, seeking partners who align with our beliefs and outlook, and taking our software to even greater heights – these are just some of the key focus points for us now.”

No/low spirits brand CleanCo, founded in 2019 by entrepreneur Spencer Matthews, has announced its entry to the US market, in a move which could set the brand up to achieve sales of more than 50,000 nine-litre cases across the UK and US in 2021.

CleanCo Founder, Spencer Matthews, comments: “There’s this incredible surge of global cocktail lovers seeking to moderate their drinking habits to be healthy, happy and connected."

‘The Business Board’ welcomes Alex Scott to its management team to support its expansion plans Alex is an experienced developer and financier within the construction industry and brings an additional dimension to strengthen The Business Board’s excellent team of professionals.

Its construction finance deals allow clients to enhance and control their cashflow, so they can run their business or project as efficiently as possible. For example, by advancing cash against the value of invoices, businesses can pay staff wages, negotiate better prices when buying stock/materials and settle debts whilst awaiting payment.

The Business Board is a leading UKbased company providing funding solutions for construction companies, including sub-contractors who provide services under a contract, framework agreement or purchase order.

Following the end of government support at the start of October, ‘The Business Board’ is uniquely positioned to help organisations face the ‘new normal’ and accelerate their return to stability and ultimately commercial success.

Specifically, The Business Board offers: • Bespoke, specialist solutions tailored for your construction business • Property financing • Asset financing • Invoice financing The objective is to identify and deliver the best outcomes relating to their clients’ financial requirements.

They understand the intricacies of the

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construction sector, in particular, the needs of contractors and subcontractors with customers on long payment terms making partial payments for work completed. The company also work with the entire construction supply chain, including both products and services.

In addition to creating tailored financial packages, they also advise on mergers, acquisitions, buying and selling companies on behalf of its clients.

For an informal, confidential discussion, please feel free to contact alex.scott@thebusinessboard.co.uk or call 0118 338 1818.

October/November 2021

NEWS

COMMENT

UK sees record second quarter for creation of new businesses New research has revealed that more British businesses were set up between April and June this year than any second quarter in history.

The study by tax app Ember found that from the start of April up to the end of June 2021, 190,639 companies were incorporated at Companies House.

That equates to 2,095 brand new businesses each day, or 87 every single hour.

It marks the first time that the second quarter of a year has seen more than 190,000 companies created in the UK. The previous high mark for the second quarter of a year was in 2020, when despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, 176,115 businesses were created in the second three months of the year.

Overall, Q2 of 2021 is one of the UK’s best ever quarters for incorporations, behind only the third and fourth quarters of 2020, and the first three months of this year, during each of which more than 200,000 businesses were created.

In total, 402,007 businesses have been created in the first six months of 2021, which is already close to surpassing the 440,638 new companies incorporated in the whole of 2011. The calendar year of 2020 saw the number of new businesses totalling 768,777, an average of 192,194 per quarter, or 2,106 each day.

Ember Co-founder Daniel Hogan said: “July of 2020 seems to have been the starting point for a new business boom in the UK – the third quarter of 2020 saw the highest number of business incorporations in British history. That has been followed by three more quarters of impressive growth, and it’s great to see so many new companies being created.”

Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect

Fiona Westwood Partner, Monahans

INCREASED SCRUTINY IN A POST-COVID WORLD The common denominator for many business failures is lack of awareness of all key aspects of that business. Whether it’s finance, governance, procurement, or consumer sentiment – it’s crucial that leaders fully grasp the workings of their business. Without clarity, scrutiny is not possible. And without scrutiny, businesses risk failing under financial strain.

So, what do leaders need to scrutinise in this post-COVID world?

New threats According to 2020 police data, businesses lost £6.2m to cyber scams in that year alone. No longer is it enough for directors to just have oversight of their accounts, they must fully immerse themselves into new threats that have arisen, scrutinise current processes and invest in modern technologies and best practice to keep risk at bay.

Turbulent supply chains It’s not just the COVID-19 fallout that leaders need to be aware of.

Brexit, for example, has already created supply shortages. Directors must always be one step ahead. Are your traditional suppliers fit for purpose or do new ones need to be sourced? Don’t be afraid to break away from the mould to make operations watertight.

Consumer sentiment Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy to the ethics of brands.

If any company is found to be ‘washing’, criticism and profit loss are inevitable. Leaders must ensure that their words align with their actions.

For your business to succeed in this post-COVID world, a much greater breadth of scrutiny is crucial. Ensure you undertake regular audits with a trusted partner who can help safeguard your processes, making them fit for purpose in this ‘new normal’.

To find out how you can capitalise on opportunities to scale your business, call us today

T: 01225 472800

www.monahans.co.uk 9

COVER STORY

Mild chaos is where the magic happens Steven Bartlett shares his secrets to success

He’s the new investor on Dragons’ Den, a university dropout and a multi-millionaire at just 28. Business Leader met with Steven Bartlett for its latest cover story, where he talks about what makes him happy, why his first investor was an idiot, and how you can build your personal brand.

STEVEN, IT’S A COMMON THEME FOR ENTREPRENEURS TO NOT ENJOY SCHOOL – WAS THIS THE SAME FOR YOU? Yes, I knew straight away that school wasn’t for me. When I was 16 years old, I stopped going because I only enjoyed my business and psychology classes. I ended up trying to go to sixth form though, but I was expelled and told that I had to take my exams from home.

You’ll be thinking there is a theme here and why did I bother going to university, but I did so because I thought it may be different.

However, it was the same and I left after my first lecture.

YOU THEN WENT STRAIGHT INTO BUSINESS AND ONE COMPANY YOU STARTED HAS NOW BECOME VERY WELL-KNOWN – AND IT WENT PUBLIC FOLLOWING A MERGER. HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT? I started a social media marketing business and we had hundreds of millions of followers across sports and music; and we were getting paid by Amazon, Uber and

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October/November 2021

STEVEN BARTLETT

other big brands to teach them how to utilise social media.

We then split the business into two and launched a media business alongside it. I knew how to implement successful marketing campaigns, so the obvious next step following this was to create our own products – and we launched an e-commerce vertical, which is now the biggest part of our company and will turnover £250m this year.

We were looking to bring in e-commerce expertise, and we located a business in Germany that was the perfect match and we merged with them, which made us a public company and formed The Social Chain.

YOU SET YOUR BUSINESS UP AT A VERY YOUNG AGE. WAS YOUR VISION ALWAYS TO GROW IT SO BIG OR DID YOU JUST WANT TO HAVE A JOB? I’ve never done anything because I wanted it to be the biggest, but because I wanted it to be the best – and often a consequence of being the best, is that you’re the biggest.

With me, I want to do everything well and get very good results.

AS MANY ARE PUSHING BACK AT THE IDEA OF AN 80-HOUR WEEK – DO YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN HAVE SUCCESS WITHOUT SACRIFICE AND HARD WORK? Thinking about sacrifice can lead you astray, as it can suggest you’re doing something you don’t want to do. But I work because I want to.

Yes, I’d like to watch Manchester United play on a Sunday, but I will work instead because that’s what I want to do to fulfil my longer-term priorities. Sacrifice can suggest that you’re holding back from pleasure, but business is my pleasure.

Hard work really matters too, and I can’t think of many examples where people have achieved great success without hard work.

You can be great by not working hard, but could you have been greater and achieved more by working harder? The answer will most likely be yes.

THAT’S INTERESTING AND CONSIDERING YOUR LONG TERMS GOALS, HOW DO YOU STAY FOCUSED ON THEM? I believe this comes down to what I value in life. When I do something, I’m all in, and I don’t compromise on that. It’s the same

with my health, because I’ll go the gym every day and I’ll also eat healthily.

With my business and my podcast 'The Diary of a CEO', I’m all in on it and I don’t care about the rest of it. Those parts of my life are intrinsic to my values and what I like, so I don’t feel like I need to find motivation.

SO, YOU FEEL THAT IF YOU ENJOY SOMETHING YOU DON’T NEED TO FIND MOTIVATION? Broadly, yes. For example, I couldn’t go to school and listen to the teachers which was why my attendance was 30%.

I couldn’t get motivated to do this but it’s the opposite in my business and my life, so when I do this, I look motivated to the outside world.

I WANT TO CHANGE TACT AND TALK ABOUT DEVELOPING A PERSONAL BRAND. IS THERE A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS IN DOING SO, OR A PATH THAT WILL LEAD TO BETTER RESULTS? Firstly, you need to ensure your story is compelling and it is valuable to the world.

You need to stand out too and being different can mean that you are brutally honest, vulnerable, or hilarious.

A stance I took was to be very honest and open, despite what people think or say about me. I believe that saying what you believe in and cutting through the fluff and virtual signalling is very important if you’re going to develop a successful, personal brand.

Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect

"I’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING BECAUSE I WANTED IT TO BE THE BIGGEST, BUT BECAUSE I WANTED IT TO BE THE BEST – AND OFTEN A CONSEQUENCE OF BEING THE BEST, IS THAT YOU’RE THE BIGGEST." Consistency is important too, and I don’t mean doing this for two months. I mean starting now and being here ten years later, and still asking questions of yourself.

I enjoy the process of developing my podcast, even when nobody was listening because it was like therapy to me. It’s inevitable if you’re not a total idiot because you learn everything by being consistent.

My first posts were ‘everything happens for a reason and stay humble’ – they were just nonsense, but by listening to feedback and looking at analytics I learnt that nobody is interested in that, so I’ll do something different tomorrow. If you do that for ten years, you can become a master in anything.

Cont. 

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COVER STORY So, I would say that the answers to developing a successful personal brand are hidden in consistency, but people don’t want to hear that because unguaranteed rewards ten years from now is a hard sell.

Finally, that’s the message part and the next part is the platform and understanding where to put your message.

WHEN YOU HAVE TIME TO REFLECT, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY HAPPINESS IS TO YOU? That’s a big question and every day I feel content with my life, but I still have a burning desire which tells me how much more I could be achieving in all walks of life.

To start to answer, this I would say that striving towards a worthwhile goal, being challenged, and being surrounded by people I love makes me happy.

It’s fluffy, but I feel the answer to this question must be because it will apply to everybody, and I think being happy has some commonality to it.

Another common trait is hard work and people hate that because hard work has become toxic – but you have never seen an Olympian that didn’t work hard.

FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE COMMON TRAITS FOR SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE? Success can mean something different to a teacher or a mother, for example, and I think it’s important to say this.

All successful people work hard. Of course, nobody wants to get burnout, but hard work is why people achieve great things.

However, when you are talking about a businessperson or a leader; what I’ve seen is that resilience is crucial.

You also increase your probability of success if you are a good salesperson, because sales are everything, it’s about persuading investors; it’s about attracting talent; and of course it’s about selling your products and services too.

YOU HAVE REPLACED TEJ LALVANI ON DRAGONS’ DEN – CAN YOU GIVE US AN INSIGHT INTO WHAT TYPE OF INVESTMENTS YOU’LL BE MAKING? A good idea with a bad entrepreneur is a bad investment but an average idea with a great entrepreneur can be a good investment. This is something I’ve learnt and it’s interesting because when I was 18 years old, an investor agreed to give me £10,000, and he said, ‘I don’t know what your business idea is, but I know you’re going to do something good one day’.

I remember thinking this guy is an idiot and it wasn’t until I invested in a great product which had awful founders that I realised what he meant.

YOU’RE CLEARLY A THINKER STEVEN, AND SOMEBODY THAT UNDERSTANDS THE INFINITE GAME. WHAT WORRIES YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE? I am concerned about climate change. This is clearly the big issue, and it is something that is creeping up on me a lot. I’m also concerned about misinformation, because this polarises and divides people, and when you get people that are divided, you end up with people in power who are divisive.

So, climate change is the big macro issue and what impact it is having on developing countries; but also misinformation.

"SUCCESS CAN MEAN SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO A TEACHER OR A MOTHER, FOR EXAMPLE, AND I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO SAY THIS. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A BUSINESSPERSON OR A LEADER; WHAT I’VE SEEN IS THAT RESILIENCE IS CRUCIAL."

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October/November 2021

STEVEN BARTLETT

YOU MENTIONED POLITICAL LEADERSHIP THERE – WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER ENTERING POLITICS? No. People who are climbing often believe that politics is the next rung up the ladder but people in power are just a reflection of what society is thinking and feeling. The most important people are those that are influencing the electorate and what they are thinking and feeling because then they just pick their puppet. So, I want to have a bigger platform to share my opinions and influence for good.

"QUITTING CAN ALSO BE FOR

YOU HAVE MET OVER A HUNDRED LEADERS ON YOUR PODCAST – WHAT IS YOUR CONCLUSION FROM ALL THE ACCUMULATED WISDOM YOU HAVE LISTENED TO? It’s that people are predictable. I was expecting to find that we’re all so different, but it has been liberating to learn that we’re very similar as humans and that our reaction to experiences tends to be common. This gives me more empathy because I know we feel the same pain and go through the same experiences.

TRAGICALLY. "

WINNERS AND KNOWING WHEN TO CHANGE DIRECTION IF SOMETHING IS NOT WORKING IS IMPORTANT. THE DIFFICULT MOMENTS IN LIFE DO SO MUCH MORE FOR YOU AND I’VE HAD SUCCESS BECAUSE MY FIRST COMPANY FAILED

YOU TALK ABOUT COMMONALITY THERE – WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO A LEADER WHO IS IN PAIN AND STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THINGS AREN’T GOING AS THEY’D LIKE THEM TO? When you suffer and it’s not worthwhile then I think it’s time to quit. If pain isn’t worth it, then just quit. What I’ve come

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to learn is when you can choose your suffering and it is worthwhile, that’s the best place to be.

Quitting can also be for winners and knowing when to change direction if something is not working is important. The difficult moments in life do so much more for you and I’ve had success because my first company failed tragically.

Most of the value was generated in the first couple of years where I kept failing.

In the last five years my rate of learning has slowed, and I feel that I need to keep myself in pain and suffering as they are my growth moments.

But I would say to take just one step outside the zone of comfort, as sometimes if you step too far outside, you can get eaten by the sharks.

I try to keep myself in mild chaos as much as possible because the science says that’s good for you. 

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FEATURE

Buying Britain:

Foreign Funders Go Bargain Hunting Article By Patricia Cullen

Business Leader examines the on-going trend for international firms to buy UK companies. Is it a sensible strategy? Why do less US, German and Asian firms sell out? And what do these acquisitions generally mean for shareholders, customers and employees?

The UK boasts a dynamic, hospitable market. Europe’s thirdlargest economy, on track to become the continent’s largest by 2030, is a destination for international investors. Flush with capital, the funds have gone bargain hunting, snapping up everything in the UK, from supermarkets to defence companies.

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The US-UK economic affiliation has been a success story for decades. Thousands of US companies, large and small, call the UK home, and regardless of the ongoing challenges of the UKEU relationship, multi-billion-pound investment trends continue to point to overall global confidence toward UK companies.

Globalisation encourages increased inflows and outflows of capital, and UK-based companies are the go-to for overseas investors. But what is driving this trend?

According to Prof. Dr. Christopher Kummer, President of IMMA, there are a variety of reasons: "First of all, high share prices always drive or coincide with deal activity. Second, low interest rates contribute as well. Third, the positive economic

October/November 2021

INVESTMENT

more overseas investment in a post-Brexit Britain. The total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity taking place across the UK has gone up significantly in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the first, as lockdown restrictions eased.

Recent figures show that foreign private buyers have spent more acquiring UKlisted business in the last eight months than they have in the last five years combined.

While the COVID-19 pandemic saw private equity (PE) firms press pause on spending, now they have excess cash to deploy, spending almost £25bn on British firms between the start of 2021 and mid-August, compared with £28bn for the whole of 2020, according to Dealogic.

And the buying spree continues to pick up pace.

market investors have been buoyed by considerable inflows that they have in turn deployed to support listed companies, the UK market valuations remain broadly beneath those of global peers.”

He elaborates: “This is in part, at least, attributable to the continuing Brexit drag as the UK recalibrates itself. The buyout industry, particularly in the US, is increasingly targeting the UK for other reasons too such as the UK’s pro-business environment as well as the confidence driven by the UK rapid vaccine rollout."

SIGNIFICANT PREMIUMS ARE BEING PAID This increased demand and competition for UK-listed companies has resulted in significant premiums being paid by successful bidders. UK companies and start-ups are selling to larger US companies – including Shazam, snapped up by Apple for just under £300m, the trading and investment software firm Fidessa bought by the Temenos Group AG for a cool £1.3bn, Snap’s buyout of smart glasses maker WaveOptics, and Etsy buying used-clothing marketplace Depop.

Lower valuations due to COVID-19 or Brexit provide strong opportunities for PE firms to add value to businesses, as well as increasing returns for their investors, and the UK continues to be an attractive investment destination.

John Farrugia Managing Partner, finnCap Cavendish

outlook helps and the GDP forecast is very positive. Fourth, Brexit has actually taken place and any potential effects are now known. Last but not least, it also seems to be clear how COVID-19 may be handled going forward in the UK." UK SET TO HAVE FASTEST ECONOMIC RECOVERY Recent forecasts show that the UK economy could post one of the fastest economic recoveries post-COVID-19, and there is a major international investment summit planned in October to attract even

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the total value of inward M&A was £27.7bn in Q2, £19.4bn more than the previous quarter. Ultra Electronics Holdings, Avast, Meggitt, Wm Morrison Supermarkets and Sanne Group are among those receiving bids in recent months.

The UK stock market is now trading at a 50% discount relative to the US compared with about 11% five years ago, according to the MSCI UK index metric. John Farrugia, Managing Partner of finnCap Cavendish, comments: “Sharp falls in share prices of several listed companies have made them an attractive prospect to foreign investors. Whilst the recovery in market valuations has been marked, and public

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A third of the FTSE250 is owned by North American companies. Aside from attractive prices, what else encourages foreign buyers to the UK? On the regulatory front, the UK appears to be more flexible than other major European nations. Wm Morrison’s takeover by a buyout firm went ahead without triggering government intervention, whereas France vetoed Carrefour’s merger with Couche-Tard.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has just referred a potential takeover of Perpetuus, a Welsh materials firm supplying graphene, by Taurus International, a UK entity backed by Chinese investors to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Cont. 

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FEATURE He also recently intervened on a potential bid for defence company, Ultra Electronics, on national security grounds. However, these instances are few and far between.

He claims that this growth will come about, “particularly from sophisticated market participants that are seeking to acquire UK listed companies which they consider represent a strong value proposition.”

"THE BUYOUT INDUSTRY, PARTICULARLY IN THE US, IS INCREASINGLY TARGETING THE UK FOR OTHER REASONS TOO SUCH AS THE UK’S PRO-BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS THE CONFIDENCE DRIVEN BY THE UKAPID VACCINE ROLLOUT."

He adds: “Private equity funds are demonstrating a strong degree of interest in UK-listed companies and, with large amounts of capital to deploy, they will remain an active part of the UK’s public M&A landscape.”

John Farrugia

IMPACT OF BREXIT Furthermore, Brexit has not been the deal breaker we feared it would be.

The UK continues to be a lucrative host country despite leaving the EU, according to the latest Mergers and Acquisitions Attractiveness Index Score, compiled by the Mergers & Acquisitions Research. The latest data covering 2020 reveals that the UK has risen two places in the global yearon-year rankings to fifth in the world, and third in Europe, only behind Germany and the Netherlands.

This on-going confidence is largely thanks to the UK’s suspected strength in infrastructure and assets as well as technological competencies. Compared to their US counterparts, UK businesses are cheap, and, if as suspected the British economy moves on swiftly from COVID-19 and Brexit, it is the place to be (and buy).

Low valuations, cheap financing and a favourable regulatory backdrop make the UK a hotbed of global deal making. PE has a strong track record of supporting and reinvesting in businesses during times of economic difficulty, and as evidenced in ‘Private Equity and Financial Fragility during the Crisis’ by Harvard Business School – PE-backed companies experienced higher asset growth and increased market share during the crisis.

An expert in public takeovers, Adam Cain, Pinsent Masons LLP, anticipates an increase in competitive and hostile takeover activity in the next 18 months.

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WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR STAFF AND SHAREHOLDERS? While the effect of M&A activity on the economy is well versed, what does it mean for shareholders, staff and customers?

M&As reveal several key legal, business, human resources, intellectual property and financial questions and concerns, and a change of control for a company will often affect not only shareholders, but also employees participating in its various share plans.

Kummer continues: "Shareholders of companies that are acquired will benefit for sure."

He emphasises the importance of a consistent strategy and clear M&A processes in advance integration planning and trainings, bringing the right capacity and qualification of people to benefit from transactions.

Despite the inherent benefits, the impact of M&A on employees can be taxing. Poor employee management can crumble a company, irrespective of how many new assets it has acquired or how much money it's saving. Approximately 30% of employees are deemed redundant when firms in the same industry merge, according to Surviving M&A, by the Harvard Business Review. While a certain amount of unease is unavoidable, communication about new roles and lay-offs will minimise uncertainty.

The UK Takeover Code requires a very detailed disclosure of a buyer’s intentions on specified matters, such as their goals for pension schemes of the target company, alongside their plans for employees. These responsibilities will further help protect staff.

Cain adds: "This requirement seeks to ensure that key stakeholders have a clear understanding of a bidder’s strategic plans for a target company. Over the course of

the next 18 months, I expect to see an increased focus on intention statements from employee representatives who may seek to ensure that a bidder’s intentions are as specific as possible in order to safeguard the interests of employees."

Laura Hoy Equity Analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown

Laura Hoy, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, understands the concerns around staff security and shareholder value: "Private equity buyouts have a reputation for purchasing an undervalued company and boosting returns in some rather undesirable ways. That can be by stripping assets, loading up the balance sheet with debt, or renegotiating workforce contracts."

However, it’s not all doom and gloom.

She continues, “Ultimately, the goal of any private equity company is the same as the wider market – to pump up profits.

Buyouts tend to be good news for existing shareholders as well, as they’re typically paid a premium for an underperforming company.”

Cornelia Andersson, Head of M&A and Capital Raising at Refinitiv, an LSEG company, echoes this stating: “Generally, the guiding star for any corporate acquisition is an increase in value for shareholders so this should be good news for UK businesses. For staff and customers, there is often benefit in scale such as being able to tap into resources, services and locations of a larger organisation.”

She goes on to say: “A larger organisation can often offer more extensive,

October/November 2021

INVESTMENT

"PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS ARE DEMONSTRATING A STRONG DEGREE OF INTEREST IN UKLISTED COMPANIES AND, WITH LARGE AMOUNTS OF CAPITAL TO DEPLOY, THEY WILL REMAIN AN ACTIVE PART OF THE UK’S PUBLIC M&A LANDSCAPE." Adam Cain

comprehensive benefits to its staff than a smaller company. For the customer, integration with expanded production facilities, distribution or retail networks, shared use of other resources, often means a broader product portfolio and may lead to a reduction in cost.”

IS THE UK A SELL-OUT COMPARED TO OTHER ECONOMIES? The reasons countries like France, the US and South Korea still have many of their own companies but the UK doesn’t, has been years in the making. What impact will this ownership crisis have?

Alison Owers, Global CEO at Orient Capital, reveals: "Privatisation in the UK has been a large driver of the current global ownership landscape, as many of our big public companies have been taken private over the last 40 years. In Europe and Asia there is more state ownership, and a slower or near non-existent privatisation push. We must exercise caution when it comes to value judgements here – one strategy is not necessarily better or worse than another, and a thriving global economy should benefit everyone."

Andersson continues: “The active M&A market in the UK indicates the positive view that investors and corporates have of the UK. Following on from a bleak outlook in the wake of Brexit and the pandemic, foreign buyers are displaying a vote of confidence with not only their feet, but also their wallets.

"PRIVATISATION IN THE UK HAS BEEN A LARGE DRIVER OF THE CURRENT GLOBAL OWNERSHIP LANDSCAPE, AS MANY OF OUR BIG PUBLIC COMPANIES HAVE BEEN TAKEN PRIVATE OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS."

Other countries may be taking note, as France begins to loosen its corporate governance laws. However, anxieties remain.

While foreign investors are not prohibited from acquiring shares in a Korean company, there are limits on foreign ownership in Korean companies engaging in certain industries considered to be vital to the national interest, such as defence, broadcasting, telecommunications, publishing and public utilities.

Alison Owers

“An influx of capital may well give struggling UK businesses the boost they need to continue to expand and grow. In terms of private equity backed transactions,

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financial sponsors have historically been adept at creating efficient, successful businesses that generate value to the local economy as well as shareholders."

The UK economy is going from strength-tostrength and the country’s M&A outlook for the remaining months of 2021 looks positive, with a combination of pent-up demand and years’ worth of would-be transactions working out.

Whilst Brexit has certainly created uncertainty, the underlying strength of UK businesses means there continues to be great investment opportunities for overseas investors.

A British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) spokesperson concludes: “Private equity’s willingness to invest in UK firms is overwhelmingly positive. Not only does it bring value and long-term support to the companies it invests in, creating jobs up and down the country, it’s a vote of confidence in both our economy and the UK as a place to build strong businesses.” 

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FEATURE

‘China has been the real winner here’ Leaders discuss global investment trends and the future of work The world is more connected than ever, and the pandemic has shown us that nearly every country on the planet can see their economies paused. To find out more about global trends, Business Leader spoke to five business professionals to get their take on inward investment, working patterns and e-commerce.

THE PANEL: Christian Bartsch Partner, Bird & Bird Pattie Walsh Partner, Bird & Bird Ann Hiatt Investor, Non-Executive Director and Author Chris Jones EVP Marketing and Services, Descartes Systems Group Emmanuel Logan-Moll Managing Director, All Seas Capital Whilst every country and culture is unique, the pandemic brought one commonality – lockdowns and working from home more.

The debate has been polarising, with many saying working from home is the future and those in the opposite camp stressing that the office remains the natural habitat for work.

Of course, forced remote working because of a lockdown is different to flexible working agreed in peace time, but the reality is that whatever you call it – how people view work is fundamentally changing.

Pattie Walsh is a Partner at international law firm Bird & Bird, and is based in Hong Kong. She says that this new way of working isn’t all nirvana: “There is hype about the new workplace, and no doubt many good things have come out of this ‘experiment’ of

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where and how we work – but when you’re advising clients with global workforces, you get to see some of the challenges too.

“One of which is limits and who sets them.

There has been massive burnout amongst employees who are always on, and I believe there is a disconnect to how leaders feel things are going, and how people on the ground feel. It’s important to ensure that works doesn’t become a dangerous situation and you never switch off.”

Pattie continues by stressing that there are many that can’t work from home: “Employers may be keen to change their working structure to save real estate costs, but many haven’t created an adequate remote working set-up and a recent global survey showed that one in ten employees don’t have access to good Wi-Fi. It come down to a choice, but then who choses and who decides – is it the boss or the staff?

“You also need to be careful about the transfer of costs from the workplace to the individual, because in Hong Kong it’s very expensive to keep the aircon running, and many young people benefit form workplace benefits such as the subsidised gym or food.”

BEWARE OF THE ‘HIPPO EFFECT’ Ann Hiatt is a Non-Executive Director and consultant who previously worked at Google and Amazon. American born, she currently lives in Spain.

On new working patterns she says: “Like anything it’s about what is the best

outcome for all, and I would say be aware of the 'Hippo Effect' – it’s the highest individually paid person and what it means is that innovation and change usually ends in meetings, because everyone agrees with the boss. It can’t be just the boss who decides on how we work.

“How we’re optimising our environments is important too because people are going to want spaces where they can work uninterrupted, and it may be that people work at home, but come to the office for culture, for celebrations and for that energy that work brings because it can be challenging to create this on Zoom.

Certainly, we’ve recognised that some of the old routines are no longer serving us well.”

"HOW WE’RE OPTIMISING OUR ENVIRONMENTS IS IMPORTANT TOO BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WANT SPACES WHERE THEY CAN WORK UNINTERRUPTED." Ann Hiatt

INTERNATIONAL TRADE Like work, international trade is a binding element that brings people, businesses, and countries together. And no doubt, there hasn’t been a more challenging time for the brave exporters operating in the world, and to find out how trade has been impacted in

October/November 2021

GLOBAL INVESTMENT

the last year, we spoke to Chris Jones from global logistics firm Descartes.

He says: “We have looked at trade flows for the first two months of 2021 and compared these to the first two months of 2020.

China has been the biggest winner and its exports to the UK are up 36%, whilst the EU’s exports to the UK are down 19%, and overall UK imports were down 10%.

You can say that these numbers were influenced by Brexit and COVID-19 but one surprise for me was that US imports to the UK were down 27%."

INWARD INVESTMENT Like international trade, global challenges will have impacted investment activity and to find out to what extent, we spoke to Emmanuel Logan-Moll, who is the Managing Director of All Seas Capital – a private equity investor that operates across Europe, typically dealing with businesses that have revenues of between £50m and £500m.

He comments: “One of the big trends we’re seeing, is that the investment market has become binary and there is a flight to quality, with investors looking for high quality assets that have not been impacted by the situation and are likely to carry on doing well and paying high multiples. At the opposite of this, you have assets that would have traded at a scouted valuation previously and they are struggling to trade and get investment.

“Healthcare and technology are sectors that haven’t suffered, and you’re seeing

investors gravitating towards these. Overall, there is a still wall of capital looking for opportunities and those that match criteria are receiving a lot of attention.

"It’s going to get busier too, because all the deals that were paused at start and middle of 2020 due to COVID-19 will happen – so you’ll get many more deals and more transactions.

“Looking forward, in the next six to 18 months, the expectation is that there will be more problem companies once state support stops because they will have taken on additional debt, so you can expect more business failures in the market too.”

START-UP DISRUPTION With so much funding around and many people assessing their careers, Ann Hiatt believes this combination will spark a startup revolution.

She explains: “At the start of the pandemic all IPOs disappeared, and then when the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to zero, that changed behaviour and investors moved from safer bets like bonds and started investing them into companies.

Then we saw some major IPOs – like Airbnb and Snowflake.

“This has trickled down into start-ups too, and I’m seeing many smaller companies and individuals getting funding. People are thinking ‘why don’t I launch a business as my life is disrupted anyway?’.

"It’s fun to see this happen because these are the unicorns of the future and I’m

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seeing lots of companies that operate in the EdTech and HealthTech space too.”

WILL THE E-COMMERCE BOOM BE SUSTAINED? Alongside HealthTech and EdTech, e-commerce is a sector that is thriving, and Chris Jones believes that this will only continue.

He comments: “E-commerce moved five years ahead in one year and for both small and large retailers. I don’t expect this to slow down and if anything, it will only continue to grow as consumer habits have changed forever when it comes to how and where we shop.”

Christian Bartsch, who is a Partner at Bird & Bird also agrees.

He says: “We’re seeing clients changing and adapting very quickly in this space, and the changes they’re making won’t be reversed. I think there is still a space for physical retail for many but for the majority it will be a blended strategy and for some companies that haven’t had a successful digital strategy, it has been a case of being in survival mode.

“I’d also say there is a wider point around digital and technology and how it is a great democratiser. It’s been interesting to look at businesses with legacy infrastructure that usually make decisions slowly play catch-up very quickly and start to make decisions quicker too and this has been facilitated by technology and change.” 

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FEATURE

‘Business leaders are exiting the workplace’ It’s not just employees who have suffered Quite rightly, the mental health and wellbeing of employees has been thrust into the spotlight more than ever, due to the pandemic and a series of lockdowns. But less talked about has been the impact on leaders. Who does the person at the top of the business turn to with their problems and worries?

For any good CEO or leader of a business, their primary concern will be their staff first but how can they ensure they are well supported? Here at Business Leader, we spoke to various CEOs, MDs and entrepreneurs about their ongoing concerns and how they’ve managed to cope with the stresses caused by the pandemic.

HOW BADLY ARE THEY SUFFERING? According to research from the School for CEOs, 22% of CEOs were at high risk of burnout during lockdown compared to 34% of executive leaders.

61% of leaders aged 24-38 were at high risk of burnout, compared with 36% of leaders over 50. Women were more at risk than men, with 47% of women experiencing burnout and exhaustion compared with 40% of men. Therefore, their age, gender and job position all seem to influence the reported stress of business leaders.

A global study by King’s Business School into the impact of the pandemic on entrepreneurs’ businesses and mental wellbeing has also found that stress worsened during the health crisis and that life satisfaction was on average 12% lower than before the pandemic.

resilience, and well-being', surveyed over 5,000 entrepreneurs in 23 countries that represent 75% of the world’s economic output and over half of the world’s population including the UK, France, Germany, India, USA and China.

“The stress and strains over the past two years have been undeniable for us all,” says Emma Robinson, Founder and Managing Director of Yorkshire-based executive headhunting firm Red Diamond Executive Headhunters.

“As executive headhunters, we are witnessing business leaders exiting the workplace, retiring early or taking stock and stepping back in their roles in favour of a healthier work-life balance. For those of us who remain, burnout, anxiety and stresses we didn’t even know existed are now a reality: who knew the drive to work was actually good for us?

“How we address this is paramount to the success or failure of the future of our businesses. Be responsible for your own wellbeing, no one wants to work with a cranky, stressed out and irritable boss.”

Although seldom talked about in comparison to employee wellbeing, it appears that many of those in charge have also failed to avoid the pandemic’s mental wrath. But what specifically has been bothering business leaders and what have they been doing, if anything, to cope?

The report, titled 'Entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A global study of entrepreneurs challenges,

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October/November 2021

LEADERSHIP

WHAT STRESSES HAVE BUSINESS LEADERS AND CEOS BEEN COPING WITH? The global study by King’s Business School found that most entrepreneurs worry about their own and their family health (57.7%). Two fifths of entrepreneurs (39.7%) also reported that uncertainty and unpredictability for their business were major causes of concern.

Nearly half of entrepreneurs (48.8%) were frustrated by the restricted social contact due to the pandemic. 61% saw the very existence of their business under threat in the pandemic, and the associated stress also impacted their self-care, which is critical for maintaining mental health.

We also spoke to Alan Furley, Director at recruitment consultancy, ISL, who said: “Making time to reflect and switch off has been a big one. For me, the walk to work was a time to think uninterrupted, process the day, and switch off before relaxing in the evening. Walking from the home office setup in the bedroom to my lounge hasn’t created the same opportunity!”

Another potential cause of stress for business leaders right now is the challenge of adjusting to hybrid working.

Jane Craven, Sales Director at EPOS, commented: “According to our latest research, the Understanding Sound Experiences report, which was conducted by IPSOS Denmark on behalf of EPOS, for the second year running, revealed over half (53%) of bosses globally expect employees to work more from the office, compared with 26% of employees.

“However, this huge disparity in expectations between business leaders and their workforce regarding the return to the office highlights that many employers may once again be unprepared to adjust to this new transitional period as hybrid working becomes the new normal.”

The King’s Business School study also found that despite high levels of remote working, only 15% of entrepreneurs reported loneliness at work as problematic. Therefore, for CEOs and business leaders, the potential stresses caused by hybrid working may be more about managing employee expectations than their personal difficulty of remote working.

HAVE BUSINESS LEADERS BEEN ABLE TO ACCESS HELP AND WHAT DOES HELP LOOK LIKE? The global study by King’s Business School found that over half of entrepreneurs asked (57%) experienced good emotional support (others being willing to listen to their workrelated problems most or all of the time). Yet less than a third were able to draw on practical hands-on support (32%) and informal financial help (28%, with substantial variation across countries).

Cont. 

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FEATURE LEADERSHIP Alan Furley continued: “During the pandemic I’ve spoken to several leaders privately who have stepped away from their roles, because of the importance they’ve placed on positive mental health.

“I’ve used a daily online journal system to record how I’m feeling and see what’s given me energy. That’s helped bring back a regular moment each day for me to pause and gather my thoughts.

“One thing this journal helped me see was the link between regular exercise and how I was feeling. I’ve gone from leaving my bike out in the garden for the last 6 years to getting out on it a couple of times a week, and that’s been a big boost.

media and choose a better use of my time such as watching a movie with my family.”

HAS THE PANDEMIC HELPED TO RAISE AWARENESS OF CEOS’ MENTAL WELLBEING? Whilst it’s clear that the pandemic has been stressful for all of us in many ways, there is a feeling that it has helped to bring mental wellbeing more into the public eye. But has that awareness extended to business leaders and CEOs? “As a result of the recent pandemic, CEOs are likely more aware that they need to look after their wellbeing and mental health for the benefit of themselves and their organisation,” continued Noam.

“It’s sometimes a challenge to find the time, but we’ve recently made a permanent 4.5 day week at ISL – something that we introduced to help the wellbeing of our team during lockdown – so Friday afternoons are the key.”

“Being a CEO is a privileged position and one that comes with responsibility. A responsible CEO will realise that they need a healthy mindset in order to lead their team and take their organisation forwards and they have a responsibility to do so.

Noam Sagi, Psychotherapist and Cofounder of 58 Wellbeing, a health and wellbeing centre based in London, said: “Spending quality time with family was the most important tool that helped me.

“For this reason, one could argue that a good approach to health and wellbeing starts with the CEO and follows onto the rest of the organisation. It’s the same analogy as a parent on an airplane that needs to fit their own oxygen mask first before attending to their children.

“Less doing more being, spending time with our dog and walking twice a day was a good mental health break. Simple things, being honest, authentic, real. Allowing myself to go through the motions without too much judgment and seeing them as clouds coming and going.

“In terms of external vices, the media, the numbers, the constant dialogue, I am taking it with a pinch of salt. I really try to minimise my exposure to the news and

“I work with many CEOs who are viewed as strong alpha heroes, but when they are in my consulting room, they are as vulnerable as the next person who comes to see me.

“The pandemic has helped to shift the perception of power and opened the door for more vulnerability and authenticity among leaders, this is a good thing.” 

"AS A RESULT OF THE RECENT PANDEMIC, CEOS ARE LIKELY MORE AWARE THAT THEY NEED TO LOOK AFTER THEIR WELLBEING AND MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE BENEFIT OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR ORGANISATION." Noam Sagi

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October/November 2021

CORPORATE FINANCE EXPERTS

HOW ALTERNATIVE LENDERS

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VISIT: SHAWCORPORATEFINANCE.COM BOOK A MEETING: 0330 127 0100

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HOW ARE BUSINESS OWNERS PLANNING TO EXIT? At what stage did you / will you start thinking about your exit strategy?

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30

AS SOON AS I SET MY BUSINESS UP

7

2-5 YEARS AFTER SETTING UP

2

6-10 YEARS AFTER SETTING UP 11-15 YEARS AFTER SETTING UP

19

24

MORE THAN 15 YEARS AFTER SETTING UP I HAVE NO PLANS

The current market for mergers and acquisitions is certainly busy. Debt remains outstandingly cheap, providing big corporates with a significant opportunity to snap up businesses of varying sizes. This has been particularly noticeable in the technology sector, where SMEs providing innovative products are helping large companies adapt their business models and offerings to changing markets while also closing any operational gaps that have arisen during the pandemic.

Against this backdrop, the Shaw & Co ‘Exit Planning’ survey provides an interesting snapshot into how business owners view the topic of selling their business. Briefly, these are some of the survey’s main points:

Myles Hamilton Director – M&A Shaw & Co

24

When those surveyed were asked ‘At what stage did you start thinking about your exit strategy?’, there were some particularly interesting responses. It’s impressive to see that 29% of respondents were thinking about their exit strategy the moment they set up the business (highly recommended) or at least within 2-5 years (26%).

October/November 2021

EXIT PLANNING

SHAW & CO IS A LEADING CORPORATE FINANCE ADVISORY FIRM THAT HELPS SME OWNERS ACROSS THE UK TO BUY, SELL, OR FUND THE GROWTH OF A BUSINESS CONTACT: 0330 127 0100 OR EMAIL:HELLO@SHAWCORPORATEFINANCE.COM

Which aspects of the exit process would you value specialist advice/support?

62 BUSINESS VALUATION

17

FINDING THE RIGHT BUYER

44

MAINTAINING CONFIDENTIALITY

Before the pandemic, did a business exit feature in your 3-5 year plan?

YES NO

31

MANAGING ALL STAKEHOLDERS

14

MARKETING THE BUSINESS

ACCELERATED

61 24 NO

MINIMISING BUSINESS DISRUPTION

12 DELAYED

17

32 NEGOTIATING THE SALE & PURCHASE AGREEMENT

STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS

6

VENDOR DUE DILIGENCE

In terms of your legacy after an exit, which group of stakeholders is most important to you?

30.6%

38

35

BOARDROOM/ SHAREHOLDERS

25.5% FAMILY

64

Has the pandemic influenced your plans to exit?

However, what stands out is that 20% have no plans to exit their business at all. Is the company a life’s work from which some cannot bear to be parted?

The question ‘Before the pandemic, did a business exit feature in your 3-5 year plan?’, meanwhile, was met with a sizeable ‘No’ of 64%. The explanation for this is relatively straightforward: unless you are a tech guru who has instantaneously plugged a yawning gap in the market with a quickfire app or widget, it still takes time to build a solid, stable and profitable business that will tempt potential suitors.

This will also be true with regards to the impact of the pandemic on exit plans, where the 77% upon whom it has either had no effect (or simply scuppered plans) are, for now, no doubt busily trying to return their companies to profit.

Hearteningly, when asked ‘what aspects of the exit process would you value specialist advice?’, there was strong support for the role of a specialist financial advisor in terms of valuing a business, marketing a business, finding a buyer, and negotiating a sale. This was reiterated when respondents stated that

Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect

30.6%

CUSTOMERS

30.6% EMPLOYEES

advisors offer most value in planning an exit when ‘Managing the exit process’ (63%) and ‘Maximising value creation’ (43%).

Finally, it was somewhat curious that a good number of respondents were confident in their ability to manage a sale themselves (25%). This is inadvisable, as most business owners will never have sold a business before, and a good corporate finance advisor can add a substantial amount of value by packaging up a business, making it as attractive as possible, before running a competitive process to find the best buyer.

Don’t forget that one of the greatest tools at our disposal in a sale process is the chance to create a ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ amongst potential buyers, persuading them that this is an opportunity that simply cannot be missed. A corporate finance specialist will provide a level of analysis and marketing skill to identify and privately contact buyers eager to snap up your company for a strategic premium.

Myles Hamilton, Director – M&A at Shaw & Co. For an informal chat regarding your exit strategy, contact Myles via myles.hamilton@shawcorporatefinance.com or 0330 127 0100

25

ROUND-UP DEALS

The Business Leader Deal Room Business Leader highlights a selection of significant deals that have taken place in the last few months

FINANCIAL Pluto Digital PLC (Pluto), the crypto tech and operations company, has announced the takeover of Yield Optimisation Platform (YOP) and has acquired all assets related to the innovative DeFi (decentralised finance) project, including the $YOP tokens, IP, brand, and website. Pluto will be dedicating significant budget and resources to reimagining, redeveloping, and relaunching the YOP platform.

RETAIL Following an auction on October 2, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has acquired British supermarket giant Morrisons with a £7bn bid. Morrisons recommended that shareholders accept CD&R’s offer, which values Morrisons at £7.1bn and is a 61% premium to the share price before any offers were made. CD&R’s bid team is headed by former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy.

MANUFACTURING Manchester-based The Vita Group, one of Europe’s fastest-growing providers of flexible polyurethane foam, has acquired mattress manufacturer Usleep Limited from NorthEdge Capital LLP. Usleep produces a portfolio of foam, spring, and hybrid mattresses for a number of the UK’s mattress retailers and ‘Bed in the Box’ (BiB) brands.

HEALTHCARE Hinge Health, the global digital musculoskeletal clinic, has acquired wrnch, developer of a computer vision platform for measuring human motion. wrnch’s three-dimensional motiontracking technology enables the same precise tracking of full-body movement used by elite athletes and the motion picture industry.

Movement-tracking technologies enable Hinge Health to deliver the most responsive and personalised whole-body approach to MSK care.

TRANSPORT A consortium led by Volkswagen has announced a multi-billion-Euro takeover bid for car rental firm Europcar. The takeover values Europcar at around €2.9bn – and the bid comes from the German carmaker, along with partners, asset manager Attestor Limited and Dutch mobility group Pon Holdings BV. The deal is expected to be concluded by the end of Q1 2022.

LEISURE Camptoo, the sharing economy platform that connects the owners and renters of campervans, motorhomes, and touring campervans, has acquired Nordic sharing platform Out2Camp.

The acquisition is a key milestone for Camptoo, reinforcing its position as one of Europe’s fastestgrowing travel companies and sharing economy platforms for campervan hire.

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ENERGY Pryme Group has merged with Caley Ocean Systems and IMES International (both previously part of Seanamic Group). Together, these entities will create a business with broad capabilities, supplying products, services and solutions to the energy, defence, and other industrial markets.

October/November 2021

SPONSORED BY:

Top 100 bristol owner-managed companies 100+ years of shared ambition Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect

27

TOP 100

Who are Bristol’s top 100 owner-managed companies?

Business Leader has partnered with leading chartered accountants and business advisory firm PKF Francis Clark to showcase the top 100 owner-managed companies in the Bristol area.

Our exclusive list ranks owner-managed businesses with headquarters in the BS postcode area by turnover, according to their latest published accounts.

In total, these 100 businesses have achieved more than £7bn in annual sales and employ nearly 34,000 people.

The list features representatives of a wide range of sectors, from recruitment to retail, the creative industry and legal services to name just a few. Many of the Bristol area’s biggest businesses have grown to become household names, among them a strong contingent of thriving family-owned firms.

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By far the largest business in terms of total sales is energy company Ovo Group, with a turnover of £1.4bn. Completing the top three are recruitment specialists Sanderson and catering equipment supplier Key West Holdings.

The top 12 businesses have turnovers exceeding £100m. A turnover above £18.5m was required to make the top 100 list, and £37.4m to break into the top 50.

Paul Bray, Partner and Head of the Bristol Office of PKF Francis Clark, said: “Ownermanaged businesses are the backbone of the regional economy and are often overshadowed by bigger name corporates.

The Bristol area is home to a wealth of successful independent businesses who are creating jobs, innovating and making a positive contribution to the communities they operate in.

“We advise many business owners across the South West and beyond, and it’s fantastic to see some of our clients

Paul Bray Partner and Head of Bristol Office

featured in this top 100 list. We know the sacrifices owner-managers make to start and grow their businesses, and the challenges many have faced due to COVID-19.

“So, as we look ahead to the postpandemic era, it’s the perfect time to celebrate their contribution to the regional economy.”

October/November 2021

BRISTOL COMPANIES

Top 10

2

SANDERSON SOLUTIONS GROUP PLC ANNUAL TURNOVER: £448,676,992

With more than four decades of experience, Sanderson is one of the UK’s leading independent global recruitment companies. The firm has annual revenues of more than £448m and currently has 320 members of staff. They specialise in permanent and contract recruitment, executive search, projectbased solutions, as well as recruitment process outsourcing, managed service programme and talent on demand.

3

KEY WEST (HOLDINGS) LIMITED ANNUAL TURNOVER: £426,297,984

Stephen Fitzpatrick Ovo Group Ltd

1

Headquartered in Bristol, the company specialises in the distribution and rental of catering equipment and supplies to the hospitality trade and the development of proprietary product brands for the hospitality market. Its two marketleading subsidiaries, Nisbets and Jongor, have helped the company achieve annual revenues of more than £426m and over 2200 employees.

OVO GROUP LTD ANNUAL TURNOVER: £1,448,754,944

Ovo is a leading energy company that is helping the industry shift to a more sustainable future.

Their technology will enable energy grids to be powered by 100% renewable energy – and they currently supply more than five million customers across the UK. With 13% share of the market, OVO has moved from a challenger brand to become the third largest energy supplier, with revenues increasing from £1.4bn to £4.5bn.

4

YEO VALLEY PRODUCTION LIMITED ANNUAL TURNOVER: £251,415,584

The family-owned dairy manufacturer, with six operational sites based across the South West, was founded in 1961 as a small dairy farm – and it has grown to become one of the region’s largest and most celebrated businesses. The company currently produces more than 20% of the yoghurt consumed in the UK. Last year, Yeo Valley reported annual revenues of £251m and has more than 1500 members of staff.

5

DICK LOVETT LIMITED ANNUAL TURNOVER: £174,832,992

The Dick Lovett Group is a familyowned company which has been serving the South West since 1966, and now represents the world’s best automotive brands including Aston Martin, BMW, Jaguar, MINI, Land Rover and Porsche. The firm has official dealerships in Bath, Bristol, Swindon, Hungerford, Tewkesbury and Cardiff, that have more than 170 staff. Last year, they reported revenues of £174m.

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29

TOP 100

6

FORD FUELS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED

7

MOLSON GROUP LTD

BRISTOL COMPANIES

ANNUAL TURNOVER: £163,659,584

The family-owned fuel and lubricant distribution business is based in south Bristol and covers the South West. Growing year-by-year since the 1970s, the firm now operates over 75 delivery vehicles from its nine depots across the region.

With the fourth generation of the family recently entering the business, the company is aiming to maintain the same familydriven traditions of the past. It has almost 170 employees and revenues of more than £163m.

ANNUAL TURNOVER: £161,540,000

Molson Group are the UK's largest independent plant and equipment dealer, with new and used machines from world leading brands. Based in Avonmouth, the firm offers a range of new and used equipment including excavators, loading shovels, telehandlers, dump trucks, rollers, attachments, crushers, screeners, shredders, trommels and more. From 13 locations strategically positioned throughout the UK, Molson's team includes over 70 fully trained service engineers and millions of pounds worth of parts. They have a turnover of over £161m and currently have 239 employees.

8

HOWARD GARAGES (WESTON) LIMITED ANNUAL TURNOVER: £141,657,264

Established as a single family-owned garage in 1972, Howards has evolved into a multi-site group with car dealerships not only in its hometown of Weston-super-Mare but also Taunton, Yeovil and Dorchester - with more than 275 members of staff.

With over 40 years of automotive heritage, the firm has grown to over 20 sites, and has a turnover of £141m. The current brands they work with are Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Nissan, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, MG and Suzuki.

Martin Thatcher Thatchers (Myrtle Farm) Limited

9

THATCHERS (MYRTLE FARM) LIMITED ANNUAL TURNOVER: £129,977,552

The iconic South West cider-maker has been in business since 1904, with four generations running the firm over the past 117 years – currently the company is run

by Martin Thatcher. The Sandford-based company has over 500 acres of land where they harvest their own apples and manufacture their drinks on-site. Thatchers have exported across the world to more than 20 countries, and have opened a popular pub and tourist attraction at its HQ. Last year, the business had revenues of more than £129m.

10

BRENT CARS LIMITED (CARBASE) ANNUAL TURNOVER: £121,309,152

Carbase is a family-run enterprise which has grown into the largest independent used car and van supermarket in the South West. With five branches in Westbury, Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Lympsham and Brent Knoll, and one Vanbase store in Bristol, its award-winning enterprise guarantees its customers a high quality of service and the chance to browse through its selection of over 3,000 RAC Approved cars and vans. Carbase has more than 185 employees and had a turnover of £121m last year.

30

October/November 2021

Make your next trip incredible with the Japan travel specialists.

TOP 100

BRISTOL COMPANIES

11 BURGES SALMON LLP

£104,937,000

12 SOMERSET BRIDGE GROUP LIMITED

£103,255,000

13 TLT LLP

£98,147,000

14 ORGANIC MILK SUPPLIERS CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED

£90,466,000

15 HOARE LEA LLP

£90,399,000

16 IAN WILLIAMS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED

£81,239,000

17 OPUS TALENT SOLUTIONS LIMITED

£73,510,872

18 KEENWORK LIMITED

£69,362,000

19 ARTHUR DAVID (FOOD WITH SERVICE) LIMITED

£64,717,988

20 TURTLE BAY RESTAURANTS LIMITED

£63,768,084

21 HIGHBRIDGE CARAVAN CENTRE LIMITED

£60,917,896

22 CJL HOLDINGS (SW) LIMITED

£60,710,108

23 WW TRUCK AND BUS LIMITED

£60,555,252

24 UPLANDS RETAIL HOLDINGS LIMITED

£57,916,044

25 AVON GROUP MANUFACTURING (HOLDINGS) LIMITED

£57,752,340

26 R.J. HEATHMAN (CONTRACTORS) LIMITED

(L-R) Alastair Donnelly and Simon King Co-founders, Inside Travel Group

31 WILLETT & SON HOLDINGS LIMITED

£53,356,488

32 INSIDE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED

£49,444,216

£57,277,556

33 KELLAWAY BUILDING SUPPLIES LIMITED

£49,197,988

27 SOMERSET BRIDGE INSURANCE SERVICES LIMITED

£57,080,000

34 WESTERN GLOBAL HOLDINGS LIMITED

£48,735,000

28 CARCO GROUP LIMITED

£56,681,176

£48,457,308

29 LANCER SCOTT LIMITED

£56,104,979

35 SAFE HOUSE HOLDINGS LIMITED Holding co of BM foods

30 PARKSIDE HOLDINGS LIMITED

£55,119,256

Amy Golding CEO, Opus Talent Solutions

32

36 CASPIAN NETWORKS LIMITED

£47,910,416

37 ALEC JARRETT LIMITED

£46,171,012

38 SEASONS HOLIDAYS PLC

£45,272,408

39 HARVEY COMMERCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED

£45,159,520

40 HOLT JCB HOLDINGS LIMITED

£44,364,000

41 F & B PROFILES (HOLDINGS) LIMITED

£43,375,272

42 BROTHERS DRINKS CO. LIMITED

£41,825,564

43 HSH MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED

£41,743,496

44 ROSSFELD LIMITED

£40,393,548

45 VEALE WASBROUGH VIZARDS LLP

£39,761,808

46 POWER ELECTRICS (BRISTOL) LIMITED

£39,065,364

47 HYDROCK HOLDINGS LIMITED

£38,677,352

48 HASELTINE LAKE KEMPNER LLP

£38,360,840

49 HARVEY SHOPFITTERS LIMITED

£38,115,868

50 SADDLEBACK LIMITED

£37,406,594

October/November 2021

ADVERTORIAL

Collaboration is the best tool for fixing the climate Maria Connolly, Head of Clean Energy and Real Estate and Executive Board Member responsible for sustainability at TLT, explains how the law firm sees working together with other companies as key to meeting their environmental and business targets.

There’s no denying it, we’re in trouble. It’s a climate emergency, as Bristol City Council was the first to acknowledge. And when you’re in trouble, the thing you need most is a circle of friends who can help.

At TLT, we set ourselves the ambitious goal of being a net zero carbon operation by 2025. We are legal advisers to some of the clean energy industry’s leading companies, and we have learned from them that sustainability is not an add-on; it must be a foundational part of business strategy.

The commitment to eliminating our carbon footprint comes at the same time as a revolution in workplace flexibility, hurried on and informed by the Covid pandemic.

It’s not as simple as metering the energy use of one central building.

We have staff and partners in different locations and circumstances. Our progressive, fully flexible working policy helps to attract the best people and empowers them to work at full capacity, while reducing travel and office space requirements. This is good for the firm’s work and carbon targets, but it makes measuring our environmental impact challenging.

We turned to Carbon Intelligence, a specialist in positive environmental business change, for help with our roadmap to net zero. Meaningful commitments require measurable targets.

They’re undertaking a full review of our business. Their strategists, data scientists and engineers are working together to find opportunities for us to grow into a

Maria Connolly Head of Clean Energy and Real Estate, TLT

company that will carry on delivering for all our stakeholders while also reducing our environmental impact.

I’m happy to be able to say that our clients and partners have found equally good outcomes in the work we have done with them. We are working with Forest Green Rovers, the world’s greenest football club, fully vegan, and the first to be certified as a net zero carbon emitter by the UN, on a number of great initiatives, and advising on the building of its new wind and solar-powered stadium, Eco Park. We also provide pro bono advice as part of our wider partnership commitment, and are working together on sustainability education in schools.

Action Net Zero is a group in Bristol, dedicated to accelerating the positive steps we can take towards a better environment, including encouraging electric vehicle take-up through sharing charge points in homes and businesses.

TLT is working through the legal issues around liability and accessibility and has been delighted to work with the broad partnership of businesses that Action Net Zero has assembled.

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The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) is a pro bono group of more than 700 legal collaborators. It works to create a library of contract clauses, for use by anyone, that are designed to reduce carbon emissions.

TLT is an active member of TCLP, contributing to its more than 70 templates including requirements for green transport, circular economy principles in property law, and employment contracts that promote environmental responsibility.

Our clients come to TLT because we understand the objectives embedded in their organisations and the power of tackling climate change together.

Sustainability, collaboration, flexibility and employee wellbeing are business positives because they contribute to the bottom line as well as benefiting the communities we are all part of.

When we work together, businesses can reduce environmental issues and become a part of the solution. maria.connolly@tltsolicitors.com D: +44 (0)333 006 0109 M: +44 (0)7909 967 322

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TOP 100

51 BLUE MACHINERY (SOUTHERN) LIMITED

BRISTOL COMPANIES

£37,361,780

52 AVORTEX LIMITED

£37,028,672

53 B T Q LIMITED

£36,845,000

54 LD GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED

£36,143,492

55 ST JAMES PARADE (107) LIMITED

£34,562,948

56 SDS HOLDINGS LIMITED

£34,214,768

57 GDS INT HOLDINGS LIMITED

£33,862,860

58 REDROCK CONSULTING LIMITED

£33,716,496

59 LUNAMAR (GROUP) LIMITED

£33,705,616

60 KING LIFTING LIMITED

£33,657,316

61 WW (UK) LIMITED

£33,494,696

62 MCBRAIDA HOLDINGS LIMITED

£33,465,000

63 SWEET CONSTRUCT LIMITED

£32,413,112

64 OPTIONS RESOURCING LTD

£31,821,072

65 PRECISION RESOURCE GROUP LIMITED

£31,344,768

66 SHIELD ENVIRONMENTAL HOLDINGS LIMITED

£30,974,808

67 ALVIS BROTHERS LIMITED

£30,674,840

68 SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS LIMITED

£30,654,080

69 KEN BIGGS CONTRACTORS LIMITED

£30,605,840

70 CULLEN GROUP LIMITED

£30,463,548

71 MAURICE LAY DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED

£29,846,258

72 B M FOODS LIMITED

£27,641,028

73 SMITHCORP LIMITED

(L-R) Mark Lloyd, Tom Hibberd and Neil Willis-Stovold Precision Resource Group

(L-R) Paul Brown & Alex Lawson Mail Handling International

85 THE COMMONWEALTH MINT & PHILATELIC BUREAU LTD

£22,636,568

86 BODYWISE (UK) LIMITED

£22,461,592

87 CHARLES SAUNDERS HOLDINGS LIMITED

£22,236,888

88 MAIL HANDLING INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

£21,519,900

89 KELSTON SPARKES HOLDINGS LIMITED

£21,493,010

£26,464,688

74 JONES BUILDING GROUP LIMITED

£25,747,328

90 STOWELL CONCRETE LIMITED

£21,361,516

75 CLADE ENGINEERING SYSTEMS GROUP LTD

£25,610,792

91 REDCLIFFE HOMES LIMITED

£20,971,404

92 STAGE ELECTRICS GROUP LIMITED

£20,872,212

76 PLANTFORCE RENTALS LTD

£24,850,152 £24,829,352

93 E T M CONSTRUCTION & RECYCLING HOLDINGS LIMITED

£20,762,896

77 LGW GROUP LIMITED 78 BRISTOL & AVON TRANSPORT & RECYCLING LTD

£24,439,302

94 STRIDE TREGLOWN GROUP PLC

£20,752,957

95 BARRETTINE HOLDINGS LIMITED

£20,342,668

79 INTOHEAT (HOLDINGS) LIMITED

£24,343,260

96 COTTLESTON HOLDINGS LIMITED

£20,318,850

80 N. NOTARO HOMES LIMITED

£24,210,442

97 PROPER JOB SUPERSTORES LIMITED

£19,180,852

81 YATE DISPOSABLES LTD

£23,621,616

98 FAYRE OAKS LIMITED

£18,994,548

82 CEDAR CARE HOMES LIMITED

£23,234,834

99 PICKSONS PLC

£18,836,640

83 IZIT GROUP LIMITED

£22,891,204 £22,774,416

100 THE BOSTON TEA PARTY GROUP LIMITED

£18,589,476

84 AARDMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED

34

October/November 2021

IPOS

IPOs on the horizon Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, 2021 has been an incredible year for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) around the globe. Companies such as Bumble, UiPath, The Honest Company, Oatly, Robinhood, Coinbase and Squarespace have launched throughout the year on stock exchanges worldwide. Business Leader has profiled four upcoming launches that will be happening in the very near future.

Reddit Controversial, yet increasingly popular online message board and social network Reddit is set to launch its IPO by the end of Q1 2022. Following the listing, the company’s value could rise from $10bn to more than $15bn.

Founded in 2005, the company has more than 53 million active daily users and has become a popular place for people to discuss and share thoughts and ideas on a wide range of subjects.

ByteDance The Chinese firm which owns social media video app, TikTok, is set to launch its IPO within the next six months.

Having already exceeded a value of more than $50bn, the listing is scheduled to appear on the Chinese or Hong Kong-based exchanges. However, speculation is building that the company may split TikTok into a separate entity and will eventually have its own IPO in due course. The company is set to have revenues of nearly $30bn this year.

Brewdog Scottish craft beer manufacturer has had a controversial year, yet it looks set to have its long-awaited launch on the London Stock exchange by the end of Q2 2022 – something they initially discussed in 2018. Following accusations around working conditions and misleading advertising, the company is currently valued at more than $2bn. Last year, the company reported revenues of £238m.

Stripe The Elon Musk-backed global digital payments provider is currently planning a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange by the end of the year, with the hopes of raising more than $2.2bn though an IPO. Stripe works with some of the world’s largest companies such as Amazon and Google to manage customer payments. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s revenue grew 70% in 2020 to more than $7.4bn.

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35

ADVERTORIAL

Quantic: Changing the landscape of business education The business school of the future has arrived.

At Quantic, their goal is to democratise elite business education through their innovative and leading MBA and Executive MBA programs.

For students, Quantic’s two programs offer the opportunity for business leaders and entrepreneurs to make the correct steps in becoming the next generation of business leaders.

ITS PREMIUM ONLINE MBA CAN BE FOUND HERE -QUANTIC.EDU/MBA

The Quantic MBA Selective in admission, Quantic’s MBA program assembles global cohorts of high-potential, early-career learners to deliver a modern, mobile-first MBA curriculum that’s paired with collaborative peer-learning, events, and workshops to help growing professionals reach their career goals.

The Quantic Executive MBA The highly selective Executive MBA includes the core MBA curriculum and is supplemented with advanced specializations QUANTIC ALSO for mid-career leaders and OFFERS A TOP-TIER entrepreneurs. Like the ONLINE EXECUTIVE MBA, this degree program MBA (EMBA), WHICH is highly collaborative, with group projects, optional CAN BE FOUND weekend-long events, HERE - QUANTIC. and a Capstone Project in EDU/EXECUTIVEwhich students develop a MBA business plan from start to finish.

36

How businesses are investing in their workforce through Quantic An increasing number of companies are offering tuition assistance benefits to employees – helping them pursue their educational goals whilst continuing to work.

Compared to other elite, traditional MBA programs, Quantic is radically affordable. This enables employers to invest in developing their high-potential leaders, at scale. In addition, Quantic’s innovative, mobile-first teaching method means employees can study without disrupting their work in any way.

Quantic students are able to integrate both hard and soft skills developed through the program to help them reach their potential as leaders and positively impact the ROI of organization. The learning is rooted in communication, leadership, and analytical thinking skills that drive corporate innovation.

Another differentiating factor that makes Quantic an outstanding choice is that its network is like no other – ​​ spanning the globe with students and alumni from over 150 countries. Finally, optional virtual and in-person events provide the opportunity to network and learn with influential leaders from some of the world’s top companies.

For more information, visit quantic.edu

October/November 2021

EDTECH

How is Quantic helping to create the next generation of business leaders? ams per & Tom Ad r, Alexie Har logy ne no at R ch ri Te O d ) ▼ (L-R Business an of ol ho Sc ic nt unders, Qua

interview with Tom Adams, Chairman and Co-Founder

Co-fo

Business Leader spoke to Tom Adams, Chairman and Co-Founder of Quantic School of Business and Technology, about Quantic and how it can help businesses in the UK up-skill their workforce. Quantic is the world’s only accredited mobile-first graduate school and is making distance learning dramatically more effective, engaging and affordable. Tom is the former Chairman/CEO of Rosetta Stone, which he took public on the New York Stock Exchange, and was previously on the management board at the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.

WHAT IS QUANTIC? Quantic is building the modern graduate school, initially with an MBA degree as the world’s only mobile-first, accredited, global program. We help busy, ambitious executives and professionals develop the skills they need to take their career to the next level and solve the toughest challenges in business and technology.

"QUANTIC IS FORGING SOME OF THE NEXT BIG LEADERS ACROSS SEVERAL INDUSTRIE,S LIKE TECH, SCIENCE AND, OF COURSE, BUSINESS."

Fundamentally, we do this by having the best learning system (one that’s dramatically different pedagogically), and by applying the same standards of selection for our students that the best schools have, while allowing students to access the learning anywhere.

WHAT COURSES DO YOU OFFER? We offer courses that provide the knowledge needed to create a well-rounded leader.

Accounting, data and decisions, supply chain and operations – these courses will help our students understand a business and its operations from the bottom up. We’ve seen students actually benefit from some of our courses in real time.

One student, for example, was wrapping up our strategy courses that covered mergers and acquisitions – while his own company was getting acquired.

HOW CAN YOU HELP UK BUSINESSES? Of course, some of our students are entrepreneurs or in senior leadership, and in general, those students pay their own way.

However, we partner with employers to provide our MBA and EMBA (Executive MBA) programs to admitted students that are mid-level executives and professionals. As competition for talent increases around the world, especially in the UK, offering internal mobility is proving key to retaining employees.

On the other hand, we are also seeing those who pursued our program open up their own business and follow their dreams.

WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM OTHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS? Quantic competes with traditional MBA programs at Harvard, Stanford, and MIT – but where we differ is that our technology disproves the long-held assumption in higher education that online learning comes with trade-offs. Students don’t have to trade engagement for convenience, or quality for cost. Our students don’t have to move, quit their jobs, or make any sacrifices to get the quality education that they are looking for.

WHY SHOULD SOMEONE APPLY TO STUDY AT QUANTIC? If you are ready to move up in your career, start your own business, or want a career change – our program is for you.

Quantic is forging some of the next big leaders across several industries, like tech, science and, of course, business. Most people hesitate to make certain career moves because they perceive themselves to lack certain know-how. We help transform capability and confidence so that dreams become reality. 

Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect

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FEATURE

Are we on the verge of an EdTech revolution?

Over the past few years, technology has disrupted every sector with an array of innovative products and solutions – and the EdTech industry is no different. With technology advancing at incredible speed, Business Leader has investigated the current state of the industry, where the UK stands when compared to the rest of the world, and what the future holds for EdTech.

According to the Government, the UK has the largest EdTech sector in Europe, with ‘unrivalled expertise’ in many areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented/ virtual/mixed reality, and online education – and as a result, it has become a global hotspot for the industry.

Last year, the number of EdTech firms surpassed 1,000 for the first time, and over the past five years, UK schools have spent more than £1bn on digital learning tools.

A large part of that change over the last 18 months was due to the fact that the pandemic has driven change across the business world. 2020 was, after all, the year in which millions of children were forced to leave their classrooms and start learning online – and UK EdTech was there to support them.

With an ever-growing market, and relentless innovation set to continue, what is next for UK EdTech?

How big is the EdTech sector?

Data released by the Digital Economy Council last year showed that the nation’s

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EdTech industry is one of the fastestgrowing in Europe, on target to be worth over £3.4bn by the end of the year.

However, it pales in comparison to the global size of the sector – showing both the enormous growth around the world and potential that UK tech has to expand into.

The global EdTech sector is estimated to be worth $270bn, and the entire education sector is valued at around £10tn.

Holon IQ’s extensive analysis suggests that global EdTech expenditure will reach $404bn by 2025. Even with this rapid growth, Holon IQ predicts that EdTech expenditure will still only make up 5.5% of total global education spend, showing just how much potential there is to innovate in this space.

Chris Hill, CEO of Northcoders Group, comments: “EdTech is huge. It is everywhere, from companies that deliver e-learning platforms or software for education management to training companies that specialise in technology and digital transformation. With life-long learning and career pivots becoming a global priority, EdTech is only growing.

Like every industry, the education and training sector sees many disrupters and challenger companies entering the space to innovate and improve, which ultimately impacts the way education & training is delivered and creates new trends.”

devices and gadgets. But at the core of this sector is the focus on education and learning. Humans are inquisitive creatures; we want to be constantly engaged and developing and learning as we go.

Technology is key to making learning more accessible.”

With an increase in popularity, and a surge in investment, what is next for EdTech?

Martin Hassler Hallstedt, PhD, CEO and Co-founder of Akribian comments: “EdTech has become popular in recent years due to an increased awareness of learning and education, being a key driver in economic growth, coupled with rising usage of technology. Whilst we have seen growth, the education sector is still under-digitised, with less than 4% of global expenditure on tech. Digital spend is growing fast and is forecast to grow exponentially, presenting a huge opportunity for EdTech start-ups like ourselves.”

INVESTMENT HOTSPOT? With an ever-evolving industry that is constantly being disrupted by innovative new products and services, it is no surprise that investors and entrepreneurs want to be involved in this dynamic sector.

Other than the pandemic, there have been a few other factors that have driven this disruptive force.

From a global perspective, EdTech investment reached $13bn in 2020, an increase from $5bn in 2019, according to Tech Nation. The largest deal was from Chinese company Zuoyebang, which raised $1.6bn last year. Large investments like this one have helped create 26 EdTech unicorns in the past five years.

Hannah Parvaz, Head of Marketing at Uptime, said: “This popularity is partly down to the decrease in the cost of developing technology, which has enabled new products and services to spring up, from apps to learning platforms, to new

According to the Tech Nation report, 2019 was a record year for EdTech investment in the UK, with $184m raised. However, there was a decrease in 2020 to $124m going against international trends.

Despite the overall fall in investment,

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several companies received significant investment.

As observed in other UK industries, where there was a fall in total investment, there was nonetheless an increase in median investment per deal and a 34% increase in median post-money valuations. These investments highlight that follow-on investment rounds were still happening to the benefit of already established companies.

When looking at the rest of the world, Chinese companies had the largest share of VC investment in EdTech with $8.9bn in 2020, followed by the United States with $2.3bn. The UK has the highest investment level in Europe, followed by Germany with $60m, the Netherlands with $35m and France with $25m.

A recent report by Robert Walters found that the UK attracts almost half of all EdTech investment coming into Europe, highlighting its importance in the region.

With the government focusing on growing the industry in the years ahead, 2021 has seen a recovery in investment. This is down to one main factor.

Marnix Broer, CEO and Co-founder, StuDocu, explains: “Before COVID-19, there were already a strong number of start-ups exploring innovation within the education sector. The pandemic, of course, then prompted a massive acceleration in adoption of these existing services. This created a chain reaction and investors suddenly felt like they were missing out; something that suddenly saw EdTech as one of the hottest industries to invest in.”

IMPACT OF COVID-19 Speaking of the pandemic – it is clear that it was the accelerant for the uptake in EdTech across the UK and beyond.

"THE EDTECH INDUSTRY IS MUCH LARGER NOW AS MORE INVESTMENT HAS FLOWED INTO IT AND DEMAND HAS SHOT UP. EUROPE HAS THREE EDTECH UNICORNS, AND TWO OF THEM WERE MADE THIS YEAR, DEMONSTRATING HOW MUCH INTEREST THERE IS NOW." Hannah Parvaz

Parvaz comments: “The EdTech industry is much larger now as more investment has flowed into it and demand has shot up. Europe has three EdTech unicorns, and two of them were made this year, demonstrating how much interest there is now.

“COVID-19 has certainly had an impact.

Remote work means companies are relying on corporate learning platforms to upskill and train staff and schools are investing in platforms and services that enable remote learning. The explosion in technology also means that people need to constantly be learning to keep up with innovation and remain relevant in a changing world.”

Like almost every sector over the last few decades, technology has created rapid and irreversible change. However, some industries have welcomed and adopted it sooner than others.

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FEATURE

Kirill Bigai, Co-founder and CEO of Preply, explains: “The truth is, the education sector has been ripe for disruption for quite some time, and there are several factors that pushed it towards innovation: the COVID-19 pandemic, a new generation of mobile-savvy students, and higher consumer expectations in terms of personalised learning.

“When the EdTech sector was first developed, it felt a bit more niche. Today, it’s a much broader marketplace that is completely modernising education as we know it. There is no doubt that the pandemic has accelerated the demand for, and innovation of, digital education tools.”

Due to its late uptake in the latest innovation, EdTech is still coming to terms with how best to use its modern tools.

Simon Nelson, CEO of QA’s Higher Education business, comments: “COVID-19 moved the whole industry forward at least five years, by forcing rapid adoption of EdTech solutions around the world.

“But, before the impact of COVID-19 was felt, the industry had already reached a significant stage in its evolution. The large quantity of EdTech start-ups that emerged and grew through the 2010s have started to mature. At the same time, the funding has begun to flow through the UK and European EdTech sectors in a way that was previously only seen in the US and Asian markets, largely due to the scale of opportunity and the maturity of the tech funding space in those locations. Finally, we are starting to see consolidation in what was a very fragmented market.”

IMPACT ON SCHOOLS It is estimated that UK schools have a collective annual IT budget of around £900m. With EdTech barely scratching the surface in many areas of the country, change is on the horizon for the education sector. So, what shifts in schools will we see?

William Britton, Founder and CEO of AutonoMe, comments: “What we’ve witnessed recently is that COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of new models of learning, in particular a blended learning model that combines face-to-face teaching with online learning embedded into the curriculum.

“Education providers are keen to utilise the new technologies they have been exploring throughout the pandemic in a more settled environment. Blended learning is now seen as an opportunity and this increasing openness to technology is creating opportunities for companies like ours. Educational institutions have recognised that technology-enabled, remotely-delivered learning and wider support will become increasingly mainstream and, thus, an expectation from students.”

Much like the wider business community, the education sector has had to fully embrace digital transformation.

Diego Fanara, CEO and Co-Founder at Unibuddy, explains: “When universities had to switch to online teaching and learning in March 2020, EdTech finally got the starring role in education that digital education specialists had for years cajoled their more traditional colleagues to give it.

Teaching staff and students adapted and embraced EdTech in order to weather a global emergency.

uncertainty that came with COVID-19.

Not only did it have to cater to the urgent needs of its current students, but the needs of its staff, as well as its prospective students. A digital approach was urgent, necessary, and initially challenging.

However, once executed successfully, it was an eye-opener and, perhaps, an involuntary but much-needed shake-up.

“Once the challenges were overcome and the sector adapted to a digital-first approach, it became clear that the changes were welcome. And despite the negative criticism initially endured, it was evident that higher education had seen a positive shift in its traditional methods of educating and recruiting.”

"WHEN THE EDTECH SECTOR WAS FIRST DEVELOPED, IT FELT A BIT MORE NICHE. TODAY, IT’S A MUCH BROADER MARKETPLACE THAT IS COMPLETELY MODERNISING EDUCATION AS WE KNOW IT." Kirill Bigai

But what are the big developments set to take place in the UK education sector?

Hallstedt said: “The industry is constantly evolving with much innovation. Learning

“The higher ed sector was not nearly prepared for the effects of a global pandemic. Like the rest of the world, higher ed had to pivot, change, shift and navigate through the

EdTech has created new trends in the education of students of all ages, and now is the time to prepare them for a fully-digitised world and adapt to the latest trends.

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researchers and academics are now coming into the field, combining science and top research with leading tech expertise, which is bringing new, innovative products.

Artificial intelligence, which is still is its infancy for education, is one of the biggest developments we can expect to see over the coming years. In 10-15 years from now, we will have reached personalised learning using AI. A massive game changer for the industry – how we learn, teach, and behave.

more modularised approach to learning, for example, unbundling the components of a traditional qualification, such as an undergraduate degree, into micro credentials. This more flexible approach to learning allows students to acquire the knowledge and skills required to make them attractive to employers, while also accommodating work and personal commitments. Learners completing all the component parts are still able to achieve an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.”

“As the consumer advances their technology expectation and the industry innovates, we will see more game embedded teaching platforms rather than adding gamification onto traditional maths tasks. Games motivate and motivation is a key factor for learning.

“By 2030, half the world’s youth will live in countries with mobile-first or mobile-online internet connections, so we can expect to see EdTech spreading more widely and being used by schools and children worldwide.”

When looking at higher education and the impact on the business community, there are other trends to be aware of. Nelson comments: “There is a move towards a

"EDUCATION PROVIDERS ARE KEEN TO UTILISE THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES THEY HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC IN A MORE SETTLED ENVIRONMENT." William Britton

HELPING THE VULNERABLE It is not just the next generation of the workforce that have benefitted from the EdTech revolution – but it is also helping to level the educational playing field for those suffering from learning difficulties.

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Britton explains: “It has long been recognised our educational system struggles to cater as effectively as it could to children and young people with additional needs. Resources are limited and specialist training for teachers in how to effectively support neurodiverse learners and those with disabilities is not widespread.

“Technology can help with this – it’s a powerful educational enabler for people with learning disabilities and difficulties – building confidence and raising the aspirations of learners, parents and educational professionals is of crucial importance.”

WHAT’S NEXT? Despite the sector’s initial trepidation in embracing the influence of technology, EdTech is set to go from strength-to-strength in the UK. Parvaz concludes: “Trends such as remote work, high demand for upskilling, microlearning and on-demand platforms that can be adapted to suit a learner’s changing schedule are set to dominate the industry for the next few years. We’ll likely see more unicorn companies coming out as more investment comes into the space. It’s an exciting time to be in EdTech for sure.” 

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INTERVIEW

HOW IS TOUCHSTONE EDUCATION HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS? Business Leader caught up with Paul Smith, Founder of Touchstone Education, to discuss the company’s growth plans, the current state of the EdTech industry, and what the future holds for the education sector. The property investment company provides a wide range of training courses to inspire financial freedom and effective wealth management.

CAN YOU GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF TOUCHSTONE? Touchstone Education provides wealth education focussing on the property industry, in order to enable people to change their lives regardless of their starting point. We have a community of over 10,000 investors and over 5,000 active students from over five countries.

Paul Smith Founder, Touchstone Education

WHAT SERVICES DO YOU NOW OFFER? Our product suites fall into the main categories: Property or Real Estate Investment, Business, Finance, Marketing, Wealth Creation and Management, Legacy Planning, and Mindset. All of this content is available online using state-of-the-art multimedia delivery.

All of our content is CPD accredited and updated with any major industry change. All of the documents, contracts, templates, business plans that we have invested many hundreds of thousands to acquire over the years are also available to our students.

This is supplemented by live online sessions multiple times per week to deliver the latest content, hold the students accountable and offer the support they need.

WHERE DO YOU SIT WITHIN THE EDUCATION SECTOR? We offer education, network, support and accountability in property investment, business structure, tax efficiency and mindset in order to enable transformational change for our clients.

Touchstone Education don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’

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TOUCHSTONE EDUCATION

service. Everyone’s backgrounds and journeys are different. We aim to inspire our students and not to motivate them.

Motivation is an external force which quickly fades; inspiration is drawn from within, it builds, perhaps, slowly at first. Ultimately, inspiration will win over motivation every time.

Our courses are 100% online, which enables global access. This opens more doors for more people and removes geographical, travel and time zone constraints. Critically, we practice what we preach. Everything we teach, we have done typically for decades.

HOW HAS THE EDTECH SECTOR CHANGED IN RECENT YEARS? EdTech has gone from being an option to necessity. The days of education, networking, mentorship, and mastermind only being available face-to-face are long gone. Any business in our sector planning to stubbornly stick to that way of business, unfortunately, is likely to flounder.

We’ve just seen the largest year in global EdTech investment the world has ever seen. Learning online is the ‘new normal’.

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE COMPANY’S GROWTH PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC? Strategically, we started moving our education business online in 2017. Our first complete online property investment courses were released in 2018.

In just the first 12 months, our online sales, although just a few percent of our

total company turnover, jumped to over six figures. This confirmed our customers were ready and poised for the online EdTech revolution as much as we were.

We then turned our attention to aligning our company with this proven consumer demand.

HOW DID THE COMPANY ADAPT THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC? Simplistically, we pivoted a live eventsbased business and improved the range and quality of our service offering, whilst moving the delivery 100% online. This enabled huge growth, more client success, and more staff. The new post-pandemic environment catalysed ten years’ growth in ten months.

WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THE COMPANY’S SHIFT TO EDTECH? During 2020, our online EdTech offerings exploded, resulting in several millions of pounds in turnover, and, of course, much more importantly, many new students using our offerings to generate significant income, using our property investment techniques supported by accountability.

Our reach is now global, not local. The numbers attending our online sales events have more than quadrupled versus the numbers at our previous live events since joining the online revolution.

Our event costs have plummeted: hotels, catering, and travel expenses. Client conversion rates are higher. All of this combines to mean we can serve more people more efficiently.

"EDTECH HAS GONE FROM BEING AN OPTION TO NECESSITY. THE DAYS OF EDUCATION, NETWORKING, MENTORSHIP, AND MASTERMIND ONLY BEING AVAILABLE FACE-TO-FACE ARE LONG GONE." Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect

The result? 300% increase in turnover year-on-year, taking us to over £10m and doubling our staff numbers during the 2020 period.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR GROWTH AND INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION? Profits are up by 400%, highlighting our successful adoption of our new strategy.

Our 2021 forecast is set to reach more than £4m. On current trends, profit will double again in 2022.

The very fact that we are able to have this ‘international’ conversation is amazing.

It’s all down to the fact that we have an incredible in-house team, generating exceptional results: tripling our leads, quadrupling our conversions whilst reducing our marketing costs to 24% of turnover.

We are recruiting the very best international talent and running our live online events from wherever we want to in the world. The breadth of our service offering is broadening as we adopt an international, as opposed to UK, focus.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE EDTECH SECTOR? The switch has been thrown, there is no turning back. Convenience, quality, and service are all much improved, access costs are down and results for our clients are better than ever.

This year we will serve over 5,000 clients in our flagship programmes.

Our typical Mastermind student amasses a property portfolio of, on average, £2m after their first year and is part of a collective raising, on average, just over £10m in private finance each month for use in their property investments. These students also introduce several more ‘Masterminders’ to our programmes, due to their own success.

Touchstone Educations’ reach is snowballing. We will continue our laser-like focus on service and significance for our clients. We know we will be handsomely rewarded for this, to an extent in the financial results we achieve but far more so in the difference we make to our client’s lives.

The enabler and catalyst for this has been EdTech, and it’s here for the long run. 

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APPOINTMENTS

People & Appointments Business Leader gives a rundown of recent appointments and promotions across various sectors

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANCY WATERSTONS APPOINTS NEW CEO Business and technology consultancy Waterstons has appointed Michael Stirrup as its new Chief Executive Officer to drive forward investment, job creation and client experience. The news comes as Waterstons launches its new brand and website.

CLEARWATER INTERNATIONAL APPOINTS FORMER SENIOR PWC CORPORATE FINANCE PARTNER AS NEW CEO

PIERS LINNEY APPOINTED FIRST EVER GEN UK AMBASSADOR GEN UK, the not-for-profit organisation that represents GEN Global to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the UK, has appointed SME champion and former Dragons’ Den star, Piers Linney, as its first ever Ambassador.

GEN UK will work with Piers to garner in-kind and financial support and collaboration from prospective partner organisations to enable GEN UK to increase its capacity to create positive impact through its events and activities such as Global Entrepreneurship Week.

BOARD INTERNATIONAL APPOINTS MARCO LIMENA AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Board International, a decision-making platform provider, has announced the appointment of Marco Limena as CEO. Limena will focus on expanding the growth of the company while leading its next phase of development.

INSURTECH URBAN JUNGLE APPOINTS EX-PWC DIRECTOR AS NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Insurtech company Urban Jungle has announced Alan Rennie, previously a Director at PwC, as new Chief Financial Officer.

Urban Jungle offers home insurance products to renters and homeowners, crafting policies that are transparent and don’t price on age or whether you rent or not.

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Clearwater International, the global mid-market corporate finance house, has announced the appointment of Julian Brown as Chief Executive Officer, along with his addition to the firm’s International Board of Directors. The appointment comes on the back of a record period of growth, which saw the business complete more than 90 deals worth £7.6bn.

CAPREON APPOINTS GEORGE MINNS AS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR Capreon, the real estate investment and advisory arm of the Noé Group, has announced the appointment of George Minns as Managing Director, as the firm continues to grow its international investment portfolio.

FINTERN ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF FOUNDER OF MASTHAVEN BANK AS NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Fintern, a fast-growing digital consumer lender on a mission to expand access to affordable lending, has appointed Andrew Bloom to its board as a Non-Executive Director. Andrew brings deep expertise launching and scaling lending businesses in the UK.

JAYA CHAKRABARTI MBE ANNOUNCED AS NEW PRESIDENT OF BRISTOL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INITIATIVE Serial social entrepreneur and community activist Jaya Chakrabarti MBE, founder of social enterprise TISCreport, has been announced as the new President of Bristol Chamber of Commerce & Initiative. Having served as Vice President for the past seven years, Jaya replaces outgoing President Richard Bonner.

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Top 32 business schools in the uk For our latest Top 32 list, Business Leader has profiled the UK’s leading business schools and the senior figures who run them.

HOW HAVE THE TOP 32 BEEN CHOSEN? Many of our readership have spent time at these iconic educational institutions and they have suggested the names for this list.

However, if you feel there are other business schools that are deserving to be on it, please email editor@businessleader.co.uk and they will be included in the digital version on www.businessleader.co.uk.

This list is in no particular order.

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TOP 32

LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL FRANCOIS ORTALO-MAGNÉ Ortalo-Magné is the ninth Dean of LBS, a position he has held since August 2017. He is leading a strategy focused on academic research and its impact, learning innovations and alumni engagement and inclusion, striving for gender parity and greater socio-economic and ethnic diversity. Since taking up the role, he has led the relaunch of the school’s brand, the growth of degree programmes and a significant increase in philanthropic support for scholarships.

WARWICK BUSINESS SCHOOL ANDY LOCKETT The Dean of WBS, Lockett has been at the forefront of the school's mission to produce world-class, cutting-edge research.

His work on strategy and entrepreneurship has given him a worldwide reputation and he has been a Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at WBS since 2010. As the leader of the largest department of the University of Warwick, the school offers both excellent facilities and a prestigious reputation to students who come from around 120 countries to learn at undergraduate, masters, MBA, and PhD levels.

Francos Ortalo-Magné London Business School

LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE BARONESS MINOUCHE SHAFIK As one of the nation’s leading economists, Shafik is the Director of the school, and has held the role since September 2017. She has spent a career at some of the world’s leading financial institutions, including becoming the youngest Vice President of the World Bank at the age of 36. She has also worked with the UK Government, the IMF, and the Bank of England. Under her leadership, the school is the second ranked in the world for social sciences and management.

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BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN THE UK

Mauro F. Guillen Cambridge Judge Business School

IMPERIAL COLLEGE BUSINESS SCHOOL

CAMBRIDGE JUDGE BUSINESS SCHOOL

FRANCISCO VELOSO

MAURO F. GUILLEN

Veloso is a leading authority in innovation and entrepreneurship, whose research has focused on how firms and regions develop and leverage science and technology for economic growth. His work has included studies into the development of Silicon Valley and into the innovation and scientific impact of developing nations. He was appointed Dean of the Business School in 2017 after serving as Dean of Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Portugal’s leading business school, since 2012.

Appointed in March this year, Guillen only took up the role as Director on September 1 2021, succeeding Professor Christoph Loch, who has been Director of the school since 2011. Since its creation in 1990, the school has regularly featured in leading publications as one of world’s leading educational facilities for innovation, entrepreneurship, and management.

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TOP 32

Wendy Loretto University of Edinburgh Business School

SAïD BUSINESS SCHOOL SUE DOPSON Dopson was recently appointed as Interim Dean and Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the business school.

Her research lies in the area of innovation, change and healthcare studies. She has led several research projects in the health service sector. These include the evaluation of work aimed at exploring evidence-based medicine, developing skills of healthcare managers, and investigating the changing role of healthcare assistants within the NHS workforce. Her most recent work involves exploring issues faced by women in their leadership journey.

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UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH BUSINESS SCHOOL WENDY LORETTO The University of Edinburgh Business School enjoys a long tradition of teaching and research, opening the doors to their first cohort of students in October 1919. Loretto is Dean of the Business School and Professor of Organisational Behaviour, and her main research field is age and employment, with a particular focus on changes in employees’ and employers’ attitudes and practices in extending working lives. She is especially interested in the ways in which gender, health and age interact to affect work and retirement experiences amongst older men and women.

DURHAM BUSINESS SCHOOL SUSAN HART Hart became Dean in July 2016. Susan is a recognised expert in product innovation and marketing management, an experienced business school leader and an established adviser to a range of international accreditation bodies and professional associations.

She leads the three departments at the school: Accounting, Economics and Finance, and Management and Marketing.

Her research interests include innovation and product-service development, marketing and competitive success and marketing performance measurement.

NORTHUMBRIA BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR ROBERT MACINTOSH MacIntosh trained as an engineer and now specialises in strategy and change related work. He has held leadership roles in four business schools and is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Business and Law at Northumbria. He is also Chair of the Chartered Association of Business Schools and sits on the Council of the British Academy of Management. He has extensive experience working with, facilitating and researching strategy in a range of publicly traded firms, large public organisations and third sector organisations and has supervised a number of senior leaders from the US, Canada, Europe and the UK to doctoral completion.

ADAM SMITH BUSINESS SCHOOL JOHN FINCH As Head of the Business School, Finch has led the organisation through a period of significant growth, development, and change. Being a triple-accredited business school with international reach and an emerging presence, its research-led and professionally-focussed school concentrates on finance and enterprise. As a leading Professor of Marketing, specialising in business-to-business marketing, his research has been published in Research Policy, Marketing Theory, Industrial Marketing Management, and Journal of Business Research.

LEEDS UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL JULIA BENNELL

LANCASTER UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SCHOOL

Bennell has been the Executive Dean of Leeds University Business School since January 2020 and has led the school through the pandemic. The full-service business school is regularly ranked as a leading producer of business leaders and entrepreneurs, and one of a small number of schools worldwide to be triple accredited by AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS. It delivers undergraduate, masters, MBA, PhD, executive and professional education, and online study to over 5,000 students from around 100 countries.

BAYES BUSINESS SCHOOL

ANGUS LAING

PAOLO VOLPIN

Laing was appointed Dean in October 2015, and in addition to his role leading the school, he has been the Chair of the Association of Business Schools in the UK. He has responsibility for the strategic leadership of the faculty and membership of the wider Lancaster University leadership team. LUMS is one of the leading business schools in the UK, holding AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS accreditations. It is consistently ranked globally for the high level of graduates it produces.

Formerly Cass Business School, Volpin is the Interim Dean of the globally-renowned institution located in the heart of London.

They are known for their world-class business education and close connections with industry leaders. The faculty members are experts in their fields, producing cutting-edge research with real-world impact. The school educates 4,000 students each year across all levels of study including undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive education. On graduating, students join a strong alumni community of 50,000 from 160 countries.

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TOP 32

Jan Godsell Loughborough University School of Business and Economics

Stephen Brammer University of Bath School of Management

LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS PROFESSOR JAN GODSELL Godsell has previously held senior roles at the University of Warwick, Cranfield University, ICI/Zeneca Pharmaceuticals and Dyson. She has advised government and industry on supply chain strategy and its relationship to industrial and business strategy. Speaking about her vision for the School, Professor Godsell said: “We’re excited to work with organisations to help solve the business challenges of the future, whether that’s through harnessing our research expertise or the high calibre of our graduates.”

UNIVERSITY OF BATH SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STEPHEN BRAMMER Established in 1966, Bath is home to one of the UK's leading business schools. Brammer is recognised globally for his research in the fields of corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate reputation, stakeholder management, and sustainability. His research focuses on business ethics, CSR, and sustainability with an emphasis on firm-stakeholder relationships, the strategic management of these, and corresponding impacts on organisational performance and reputation.

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ASTON BUSINESS SCHOOL GEORGE FEIGER Executive Dean and Pro Vice Chancellor since 2013, Feiger has built a reputation delivering a strategy that has led the school to the forefront of world-class business research, to engage with enterprise, locally and globally, and to be one of the best business schools in the world for employability and social mobility. Aston aims to be a global leader in bridging the world of intellectual discovery and the practical needs for enterprise.

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD MANAGEMENT SCHOOL RACHAEL FINN George Feiger Aston Business School

This multidisciplinary school offers an environment for research and teaching within the world of business, employing over 90 academic staff. Sheffield has achieved 'Triple Crown' accreditation (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS) since 2012 - this accolade puts them in the top 1% of business/management schools worldwide. Finn was appointed Interim Dean in July 2019 and her research lies within the field of organisation studies, with a particular focus on the realities of health and social care organisation. She also focuses on critical management and qualitative methodologies.

HENLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL JOHN BOARD

John Board Henley Business School

Henley is a triple-accredited business school and part of the University of Reading. With campuses, offices, and partnerships around the world, over 7,000 students from more than 100 countries and over 80,000 alumni from 160 countries, they are a renowned international institution. Board has been Dean since October 2010, and his research has focused on the regulation of financial markets and the issues of market fragmentation, as well as the various scandals and crises in financial markets.

NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL DUNCAN ANGWIN The educational institution is an international, tri-campus business school with campuses in the UK, China, and Malaysia, with strong connections to the corporate world and highly rated influential research. Angwin is the Dean of the business school and is also Professor in strategic management. He is best known for his research into M&A industry. He has authored and co-authored 14 books, including Europe's top-selling strategy textbook, Exploring Strategy.

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CARDIFF BUSINESS SCHOOL RACHEL ASHWORTH As Wales’ leading business school, Ashworth leads the institution in helping it grow the business community across the country.

She has served as Dean and Head of Cardiff Business School since September 2018 and is a Professor in Public Services Management. Her research can be viewed in relation to four key themes: organisational and institutional change in the public sector; scrutiny and accountability in public services, equality and diversity in public services and public service performance.

OXFORD BROOKES BUSINESS SCHOOL TIM VORLEY Set in a historic student city, Oxford Brookes is one of the UK’s leading business schools and enjoys an international reputation for teaching excellence and innovation, as well as strong links with business and industry. Vorley is Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Oxford Brookes Business School, and the VCG lead for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise. His research and publications are predominantly in the fields of entrepreneurship, enterprise, and regional economic development.

SALFORD BUSINESS SCHOOL DR JANICE ALLAN The contemporary business world operates on an increasingly global scale and this agenda sits at the very heart of how Salford Business School engages with its students and partner organisations. Appointed in February last year, Dr Allan leads on the transformation of the school to help strengthen its ties with industry leaders through the application of credible research. She aims to help the university deliver its vision of working with industry to strengthen its expertise in robotics, digital and smart living over the next few years.

BIRMINGHAM BUSINESS SCHOOL

MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL DOMINIC MEDWAY Supporting industry and commerce in the city since 1889, MMU offer undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees as well as professional qualifications, many of which are recognised by industry associations. Home to 8,000 students, the faculty is one of the largest and most popular in the UK. Medway – who only took up the Pro-Vice Chancellor role in January – played a critical role in MMU’s successful EQUIS accreditation in 2019, helping to make it the first triple-accredited business school in a UK post-1992 university.

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER BUSINESS SCHOOL

CATHERINE CASSELL

DAVID ALLEN

A research-led, multidisciplinary, international business school, developing a new generation of global business leaders and entrepreneurs, Birmingham focuses its research on the key challenges that face our economy and our society, and are committed to making a difference. Professor Cassell is Dean of Birmingham Business School and is an internationally renowned researcher in the field of organisational psychology, with a particular interest in qualitative research methodologies.

She also researches in the area of diversity and organisational change.

Even though the school was only created in 2008, it has risen to become one of Europe's leading destinations for business students. Allen joined the school in September 2016, but has had a long, successful career in education and business. As an entrepreneur, he has operated a trading company, founded a financial services strategic consultant firm, and worked with numerous multinational firms including Banco Santander, Diageo, Pfizer, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, La Caixa, Eli Lilly, and Amadeus.

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BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN THE UK

BLOOMSBURY INSTITUTE JOHN FAIRHURST The Bloomsbury Institute offers four-year degrees, including a foundation year in business, law, and accountancy. Located in the heart of Bloomsbury, as central London’s academic and intellectual hub, since 2002, they are perfectly placed to enable business in the capital to reach new levels. Fairhurst took up the role of MD and Academic Principal in September 2012, and is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the Institute.

LEEDS BECKETT BUSINESS SCHOOL GEORGE LODORFOS Based in the heart of Leeds’s thriving financial and business district, the school offers a range of innovative and varied courses covering subjects across the landscape of business. The school's aim is to help entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life and provide access to knowledge and funding to develop thriving, sustainable firms. Dean Lodorfos has extensive practical and academic experience in the field of strategic management, R&D and adoption of new technologies and innovation.

George Lodorfos Leeds Beckett Business School

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX BUSINESS SCHOOL STEVEN MCGUIRE

Steven McGuire University of Sussex Business School

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Sussex's school is one of the nation's highestranking institutions when it comes to qualifications in management, economics, science, technology, and innovation studies – and its graduates have then used this to make an impact on the future of people and businesses the world over. McGuire has been Dean since 2015, and his research interests are international political economies, international business, and corporate political activity. He also serves on the council of the Chartered Association of Business Schools.

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BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN THE UK

KINGSTON BUSINESS SCHOOL JILL SCHOFIELD Kingston has a number of accreditations, which recognises the high-quality and standard of its business degree offering.

The AACSB Business Accreditation signals to the world that the school has met the most rigorous standards of excellence in business education. Schofield was appointed as Dean of the newly-formed Faculty of Business and Social Sciences in August 2018 and is responsible for the academic and resource management of the faculty. Her main research focus is on the implementation of policy initiatives.

SURREY BUSINESS SCHOOL STEVE WOOD Surrey is nationally-renowned as one of the leading institutions for developing flexible business models that are fit for a constantly advancing digital world. They offer a wide variety of degree courses that have been designed to reflect the needs of society and industry. All courses are taught by world-leading academics whose research is having real world impact. Wood was made Dean in December 2019 and is currently responsible for 110 academic staff and 2,800 students. He has wide-ranging experience of academic leadership, including accreditation, the development of a Research Excellence Framework submission and forming business strategy.

Jane Hendy Brunel Business School

BRUNEL BUSINESS SCHOOL JANE HENDY Accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the highest global standard for business schools with only 5% worldwide achieving this accolade, Brunel has forged a reputation as one of the nation's leading educational locations for business leaders.

Hendy has been Dean since 2016 and her research is focused on large policy initiatives for government and applying organisational theory to leadership and innovation. She regularly sits on commissioning panels for national and international healthcare funding bodies.

CRANFIELD SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT DAVID OGLETHORPE Cranfield School of Management is one of the oldest business schools in Europe. As part of Cranfield University, the UK’s only wholly postgraduate university, they are uniquely placed to connect technology and leadership. As well as Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean since September 2019, Oglethorpe is also Chair in Environmental Sustainability and as a trained environmental and natural resource economist, David’s research has focused on the creation of, and demand for, externalities of production, principally food, taking a quantitative, operational research and mathematical modelling approach.

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October/November 2021

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INTERVIEW

HOW TECHNOLOGY IS REVOLUTIONISING ONE OF THE UK’S MOST FAMOUS SCHOOLS Business Leader recently spoke to Emma Bateman (COO) and James Wilton (Deputy Head) of Repton School about the school’s recent EdTech journey and how they have helped their students throughout the pandemic.

CAN YOU GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF REPTON SCHOOL? JW: We're one of the oldest boarding schools in the UK and were founded in 1557, yet Repton has a very modern outlook on education, and our 625-student senior school has world-class facilities you would expect from a significantly larger school.

We know how technology is changing the world, and how it continues to alter the way people work. In the world of business, what your leaders are going to want is people with exceptional interpersonal, problem-solving, and collaborative skills. What we think is unique about us is that we are supplying those things in abundance through our traditions as well as our modern, techfocused education. That's what sets us apart.

HOW HAS THE SCHOOL USED TECHNOLOGY TO GROW? EB: I don't come from the sector; I come from a corporate and commercial background. And when I arrived here, the single greatest area of dissatisfaction from all my internal customers was technology.

Repton required a complete rebuild of absolutely everything: infrastructure, hardware, software, and user experience. Literally every layer needed to be rearchitected and reconfigured. And my view was that it could be done better by outsourcing to a third party. That isn't a common view in this sector, as many schools still seem to have in-house teams and on-premise solutions.

Given my background, I could see an opportunity to bring in an expert partner, and to go cloud-based.

I looked around for a third-party IT outsourcing company and there were many that delivered a perfectly good service. And many of them work in the education sector. But none of them were educationalists. None of them actually run the schools. We then started working with the Greenwood Academies Trust, who were already doing fantastic work with technology in schools.

They were already running an amazing technology service for their own Academy trust, which had grown from one school to 45 in five years. They set up a commercial division and we

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effectively became the first external customer. We now have fantastic IT service from people who truly understand education.

We are now ahead of the curve when it comes to technology in schools.

HOW DID YOU SUPPORT YOUR STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS DURING LOCKDOWN? EB: We are award winners for our efforts in this – as we were presented with the Education Business Award for outstanding Remote Learning provision during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ideas we implemented to support our pupils and families were exceptional and ran against a lot of the advice that was out there about what could be achieved. Repton has wellestablished principles of teaching digitally, and we were able to get up and running to teach online quicker, when compared to a lot of organisations.

However, we were conscious of that extra level that we always offer our pupils in terms of support. We pivoted towards giving them as much familiarity as possible – let's still do tutor meetings, every lesson on the timetable; offer music, sport, chapel, and one-to-one counselling sessions – the list went on.

What we found was that in probably the most anxiety-ridden period any young person has had to face, 97% of our pupils were reporting they have little or no added anxiety at all – they felt that they were being well supported, and that allowed them to keep learning and grow at Repton.

I think that has been and will always be the key to technology at Repton – our approach is about the intersection between the technology and the human experience and using one to enhance the other – that’s what sets us apart. 

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FEATURE

Human versus tech what are the pressing challenges facing the recruitment sector?

The recruitment sector is a key bellwether for how the country is performing and in 2019 its direct contribution to the UK economy reached £42.3bn.

He explains: "I’m going to start by talking about the sector itself and hiring, and as we know activity dropped off a cliff during the pandemic months and bottomed out in June and July in 2020. This naturally had an impact on M&A activity.

This isn’t small change and Business Leader and finnCap Group recently organised a debate that looked into what the future holds for the sector. It was hosted by Oli Barrett MBE and the conversation was illuminating – throwing up subjects as diverse as tech, diversity, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity.

"But buoyed by the billions of pounds of government support and the ‘opening’ of the economy, we’re now seeing many clients reporting records levels of activity when it comes to hiring and this is influencing the deal side and we’re seeing

three types of deal. You have the global majors like Randstad and Adecco who are buying their way into management services, technology, and solutions.

"You then have the mid-sized recruitment businesses, and they are acquiring companies in niche sectors and niche geography, so they can create integrated offerings in their businesses. Finally, you have the private equity firms who are becoming a force in the market too and they are looking to deploy cash."

Mark Kingston, who is a Partner at finnCap Cavendish, started the debate by speaking about the latter and said that he is seeing a trend of consolidation from businesses in the space, both on the service and technology side.

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HUMAN CAPITAL

Mega-trends With the big boys buying into managements services and RPO services, does this mean that businesses could push back and say they want to be in control of their data, and they don’t want to outsource?

Ross Crook who is Managing Director at Sanderson, comments: "Well I don’t think so, because businesses are looking to scale quickly and it’s hard to build internal teams to recruit for you if you’re looking to grow fast. What this means is you can do this and augment a recruitment team into yours, which can also feed your management information and have the recruitment function taken care off."

Her take is: "29.1 million people are currently employed in the UK and there are one million vacancies and that has always been the case. You also currently have around four million people unemployed.

Tech is at its best when we use it to identify how skills can be transferred and to make sure the skills people have acquired in their work and life translate into being place in the correct role.

"Data and tech need to be used to fill deficits and to make sure we are training people in skills that are required and not skills that are dormant."

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one vertical within technology that is changing how candidates are found.

Rob Blythe, who is the CEO of Instant Impact, agrees: "To build an internal recruitment team takes time and effort.

Or you can partner with an expert to come in and do that and this partner can also handle the technology and keep up with trends for you. It’s not about outsourcing, it’s about becoming part of your team and embedding what we do as it’s not about losing control."

Mark Kingston Partner, finnCap Cavendish

Steve says this is more difficult: "This is a lot harder to do but in the future it will become much easier. Recruiters will not get eliminated by technology because they will be able to support this approach.

They will spend less time sifting through candidates and more time looking at the mindset and values of the people they are placing in roles for their clients."

Technology influencing valuations Interestingly, Mark says that one of the impacts of recruiters embracing technology has been how this effects valuations.

He says: "We are seeing technology businesses increasingly looking to integrate propriety tech into their businesses, which allows them to achieve scale and growth quicker. They will never be pure tech companies but hybrid ones and this is underpinning a premium valuation for them when they’re looking to exit."

Managing culture With the debate focusing on the megatrends impacting the sector, it was expected that culture would be one of them too.

Technology Recruitments firms moving into managed and RPO services is a key trend affecting the sector. Another trend, unsurprisingly, is the adoption of new technology that enhances hiring for both the recruiter, the business, and the candidate.

To talk about when is technology at its best, Fiona Hudson-Kelly, who is Chairperson at Not a CV, joined the debate.

Many in the recruitment space believe that skillset is less important than mindset, so can you use AI to match for mindset?

Ross Crook Managing Director, Sanderson

Steve Beckitt, who is the founder of Sourcebreaker, explains how: "AI can help recruiters to make better matches between candidates and opportunities because you can automate a huge amount of the process and it gives humans the ability to spend less time shortening the shortlist and more time engaging with the employer and employee."

On how this goes above simple matching techniques, which have been in the space for a long time, Steve explains: "It’s about the ability to understand at a deeper level that this job requires java skills, for example, and the candidate has java on their CV. But even more than that, it can make connections deeper than this, that are more meaningful, and also take into consideration other life skills and experiences by understanding context and not just that two words match."

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Fiona believes it’s never been more important, especially for smaller businesses to invest in culture and go beyond talking about it: "In the UK, most businesses are what you would consider small. A recent survey that looked at five million firms found that only 40,000 employed more than 50 people. If you get culture wrong in a smaller firm, it won’t grow and it is much more visible."

Culture is also about building teams that are diverse – both in person and thought but we are seeing it become mandatory to hire in a more diverse way.

Rob says it is, but it becomes complicated when you set targets: "When we work with clients, we will look at what does your business currently look like and how would you like it to look in the future. We avoid setting specific targets, but we look at where do you want to improve your business.

Cont. 

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FEATURE

HUMAN CAPITAL

"You need to hire the best people for every role and not fall into the trap of positive discrimination."

Steve says that technology can play a role in helping with culture and diversity.

He explains: "The way that AI is used and constructed is critical from the start because AI doesn’t build itself and it’s created by humans. So, if you have facial recognition technology built by white males, it’s most likely it will pick out more white males when screening of talent.

Therefore, it is important that AI is built so you don’t have deeply biased algorithms.

That will improve over time as people become more aware of it."

Fiona says that AI can help with social mobility too, and she says it’s important that it does: "We need to be using AI to remove bias and encourage employers to look at the whole person and removing where somebody has been to university and where they live and their age and gender to provide a more unbiased initial list."

Fiona Hudson-Kelly Chairperson, Not a CV

Steve Beckitt Founder, Sourcebreaker

This is one way technology can help with culture and diversity, but such an example can be countered by stressing – what about the disadvantaged person who went to Oxford University so they could stand out to recruiters, now being told it’s not going to be picked up by the technology.

It’s an important debate and one that will rumble on as diversity and culture rightly become more important issues.

To end the thread on culture and diversity, Mark was asked whether this is an issue investors care more about than they did two years ago.

"YOU NEED TO HIRE THE BEST PEOPLE FOR EVERY ROLE AND NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP OF POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION." Rob Blythe CEO, Instant Impact

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Rob Blythe

He says: "They do care about diversity and inclusion and it’s top of the board agendas. Investors are looking at companies who embrace this and it’s a hot niche in the human capital sector."

What are skills we need?

The debate concluded by looking at where the skills gaps are – and HGV drivers and hospitality aside – the longer-terms more stubborn skills requirements were in tech, with Steve saying that data scientists were particularly hard to find, as well as good salespeople.

Rob also said that with the move to a more sustainable economy accelerating, making sure we have the talent to fill the roles is one to keep an eye one.

Fiona stressed that digital marketing people are in short supply and highlighted that with one million people coming off furlough and one million vacancies in the economy, it’s important to look at what this is telling us. 

October/November 2021

INTERVIEW

COULD YOU GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY? OnBoard is a board management platform that’s been providing businesses, nonprofits and other organisations cloud-based board management since 2011. The goal of our solution is to bring board intelligence into those boardroom conversations.

We built OnBoard specifically for the unique challenges that board leaders face, with a platform that streamlines and integrates all parts of board operations. Everyone involved in making a board work, from administrators to senior directors and executive leaders, needs a collaborative platform with up-to-date data and analytics, security and intuitive workflows.

The goal is this: Make board meetings more informed, more effective, and less complicated – so boards and the organisations they lead can accomplish more.

WHY IS ONBOARD DIFFERENT FROM THE COMPETITION? When we endeavoured to build the most modern board management platform, we started by designing around the goals of

being mobile first, cloud only and with a user experience that’s clearly more intuitive and thoughtful.

Legacy board portals and management platforms typically can't be real-time like OnBoard. Previously, businesses retrofitted older, disparate platforms to be able to integrate all the tools, data and analysis that board work requires – OnBoard has been built from the ground up as a single, holistic system.

Our customers’ success using OnBoard speaks for itself: if you look at rankings on Apple's App Store, for example, we are the highest ranked application and OnBoard is consistently rated as the leading board management solution on software review sites like G2 and Capterra.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF ONBOARD? We built OnBoard with the needs of a modern board in mind. Every aspect of activity within the platform creates discrete anonymised data that can be analysed and optimised; this is how we create actionable board intelligence. For example, when you send the board packet ahead of the meeting, OnBoard provides a heatmap of what content directors are spending the most time with and what elements receive the most annotations.

This data can then be used by meeting organisers to determine what agenda items need more, or less, discussion time in the actual meeting. The OnBoard platform is designed specifically to enable boards to improve interaction and engagement before, during and after the board meeting.

Another data-based feedback loop we’ve created to optimise board meetings is measuring participant feedback about the effectiveness of the meeting itself.

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un de r, O

Business Leader recently spoke to Paroon Chadha, Founder of OnBoard, a digital management platform, used by industry-leading brands such as Gousto, Breitling, Starling Bank and MoneyCorp to help them streamline their meetings.

Chadha talks about the unique features of the platform and why businesses should look to use their service.

nB oar d

Revolutionising boardrooms across the world o Paro

a dh ha nC

Fo

Most organisations assess the board’s collaboration and effectiveness through an annual board assessment process. While this is important work that should continue, we believe more frequent feedback can help boards improve their effectiveness more quickly.

To accomplish this, we’ve introduced a meeting ratings feature so every meeting is an opportunity to receive anonymised feedback from board members. This is another way OnBoard creates data points to better answer questions like, ‘Are there too many agenda items for the meeting?’ or ‘Are we addressing the organization’s strategic needs?’.

OnBoard provides a seamless experience across mobile devices, where a single app can manage everything. If you switch devices, there's a seamless, secure experience with all the updates reflected in real-time.

HOW HAS THE COMPANY GROWN IN RECENT YEARS? We began in the USA and we’ve moved steadily into new markets in the last few years, including the UK and Ireland. We’ve recently expanded into Australia and New Zealand. In 2018, we received some funding that allowed us to reach more customers and we’ve been growing as a company rapidly since, going from about 50 employees to nearly 200. This year, we’ve had the opportunity to take advantage of a $100m investment that will allow us to grow at scale at an even more rapid pace. 

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FAST TRACK

HOW HAVE ROBOCOP, HE-MAN AND THE MUPPETS HELPED CREATE ONE OF THE FASTEST-GROWING COMPANIES IN THE UK? In each edition of Business Leader Magazine, we profile a UK business experiencing exponential growth in a feature called Fast Track. This time, we spoke to specialist advertising agency, Born Licensing.

Founded in 2014, the London-based firm became the world’s only licensing company, specialising solely in globally-known characters IP from the entertainment industry for advertising campaigns.

This year, the company ranked as the 58th fastest-growing company in the FT1000, which compiled data from Statista, and lists European companies that have achieved the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue between 2016 and 2019.

Born Licensing saw a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 168.2% in that timeframe, with an absolute growth rate of 1828.4%. Born Licensing ranks 15th in the UK and last year reported revenues of £2.1m.

David Born Founder & Director, Born Licensing

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BUT, HOW DOES IT WORK? David Born is the Founder and Director of the company. He comments: “We help advertising agencies and their clients to license characters, clips and

October/November 2021

BORN LICENSING

For avid viewers of television, Born Licensing are behind the licensing of Skeletor and HeMan ‘Dirty Dancing’ for Moneysupermarket. com; RoboCop, Donatello and Bumblebee each getting their own action-packed ad for Direct Line; The Muppets celebrating the launch of Barclaycard Entertainment, and many more.

DISRUPTIVE INFLUENCE Before the company came into existence, Born worked extensively within the world of licensing in both Europe and Australia for over eight years.

He was first introduced to the world of licensing while at an Australian licensing agency who represented the likes of Marvel, The Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants. His role was within the FMCG and promotions space. He then spent four years at Warner Bros. Australia, again managing FMCG and promotions, working with brands like Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes, Batman and Harry Potter.

Born then moved to London where he was appointed Head of FMCG & Promotions EMEA for Turner Broadcasting. It was here that the idea for his company first started after a conversation with Volkswagen’s advertising agency.

other intellectual property from film, TV, animation and video games for use in their advertising campaigns. Our business model is similar to a talent agent who represents celebrities, but instead we represent some of the most popular characters in entertainment.”

"THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY EMBRACES CELEBRITIES, SPORTS STARS AND MUSICIANS. HOWEVER, THEY DON’T REALLY THINK MUCH ABOUT THE IMPACT POPULAR FICTIONAL CHARACTERS CAN HAVE IN ADVERTISING."

He said: “They hadn’t had much luck with the rights holders for a major animation, so were thinking about incorporating a generic, unrecognisable clip from a stock footage library instead. They grumbled to me that getting in touch with rights holders was always an extremely difficult thing for them.

That was a big light bulb moment, which led to me starting the company.

“While performing in my licensing roles it became clear to me that no rights holder was really focused on the area of licensing their IP out in the advertising space. After further research, I discovered that most rights holders had no resources or systems in place to pursue opportunities in the advertising world. I realised that if I started my own company, I would have the rare opportunity to have a truly unique business, with very few competitors.”

MODERNISING ADVERTISING So, with a clear goal in mind, Born now had to create an innovative and disruptive company that would challenge the industry.

He continues: “The licensing industry has always been focused on licensing their IP out in traditional consumer product

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categories such as toys, apparel and publishing. Their systems, relationships, priorities, and focus are on these traditional categories. However, the area of advertising is still not a focus for most rights holders.

“The advertising industry embraces celebrities, sports stars and musicians.

However, they don’t really think much about the impact popular fictional characters can have in advertising.”

In fact, if you’re watching an advertisement in the UK, it is 13.4 times more likely to have a celebrity, sports star, or musician in it than a fictional character. That’s despite 38% of the UK saying that they ‘most like’ to see fictional characters in advertising compared to celebrities (22%), musicians (22%) and sports stars (18%), according to a recent Ipsos MORI survey.

“Right now, we are disrupting the advertising industry by raising the profile of using fictional characters in advertising, and demonstrating the benefits compared to celebrities, sports stars and musicians, which is what they’re most familiar with.

We are creating a significant shift in how advertisers and their agencies perceive working with characters.”

CHALLENGING BEGINNINGS Despite the company’s recent success, Born Licensing took a few years for its rapid growth to happen. Many new companies face a seemingly never-ending set of hurdles in order to gain momentum – and Born faced these same struggles.

He comments: “When I started the company, I had eight years of experience and a raft of great relationships in the licensing industry, but very little experience or contacts in the advertising industry. As with most entrepreneurs, I was quite naive in thinking that prospects would throw open their doors to have me present my business to them, and that deals would come through very quickly. I imagined that in 12 months the business would be absolutely flying.

“The reality is that in the early days, I had to fight for every single meeting. I learnt quickly that advertising agencies are incredibly busy, and that they are mostly focused strictly on the projects they’re working on right now.

Cont. 

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BORN LICENSING

"Any time I was spending to talk to them about licensing characters, clips and IP in advertising was taking them away from urgent work that was piling up. I had to really grind just to get meetings. To make things more difficult, at the beginning, I had no examples of our work or capabilities because we were just getting started.

“I soon discovered that if I was able to get in front of the right people, they would be very interested in what I had to say. They were fascinated by the process involved with licensing characters, clips and IP for their work, and seemed to almost be relieved that there was finally a specialist in this area that could help them.”

KEYS TO SUCCESS In order to overcome those initial challenges, Born took inspiration from many successful entrepreneurs – having a relentless drive and self-belief in what the company was able to offer to the market.

He comments: “I had a number of strategies in place for advertising agencies that wouldn’t meet with me in the early days. Sometimes I would send them a brochure about our company, or I would go over to their office and give something to the front desk to hand to them. On a few occasions, I would go to an advertising industry event and track them down there.

Anything to get their attention, because they wouldn’t respond to emails, phone calls or LinkedIn messages! It was relentless hustling in the early days, which I really try to remind myself regularly to ensure I don’t forget that important ‘pounding the pavements’ sales spirit that we all need to hold on to.”

After overcoming the initial challenges of starting a new business, rapid growth presents a whole new dilemma for business owners. So, in order to maintain the levels of growth Born has experienced in recent years, the company has made moves to constantly monitor the industry.

"IT WAS RELENTLESS HUSTLING IN THE EARLY DAYS, WHICH I REALLY TRY TO REMIND MYSELF REGULARLY TO ENSURE I DON’T FORGET THAT IMPORTANT ‘POUNDING THE PAVEMENTS’ SALES SPIRIT." 64

Born explains: “Over the last 12 months, we ran a series of surveys, asking key advertising industry professionals about their views on licensing characters and IP in advertising. The results allowed us to understand the pain points that we need to offer solutions for.

“For example, we learnt that a lot of the time advertising agencies just need quick answers. They’re on such a tight deadline that often they need to know very quickly if the script they’re working on is even feasible. For that reason, we introduced our 24-hour promise, guaranteeing that we will respond and provide guidance within 24 hours of them contacting us.

“Another discovery was how concerned advertising agencies were about being charged for our services at a time where they had no budget signed off. We have now addressed this by offering research and development services free of charge, giving them the reassurance that if they no longer want to pursue the licensing of the character, clip, or IP, then there won’t be any charges from us.

"These and other tweaks we’ve made since reviewing our research has resulted in an increase of leads, which, in turn, has led to business growth.”

FUTURE PLANS After achieving an impressive rate of growth, Born has positioned itself as a go-to specialist licensing agent – but how does the company plan to maintain its position in the market?

Born comments: “Our biggest focus is ensuring that we make the lives of advertising agencies, brands and rights holders easier. For advertisers and brands, we must continue to provide a supreme level of service.

"This means further understanding their needs when it comes to licensing IP in advertising and implementing systems to address them.

"For rights holders it’s about bringing them incredible opportunities in the advertising space. Opportunities that we know tick all the boxes needed to get their buy in quickly and wholeheartedly.”

WHAT IS NEXT FOR BORN LICENSING? Born concludes: “I strongly believe that we are still at the very early stages of success.

By being the go-to company for this unique licensing service and having awareness globally, we have the opportunity to grow to a size much, much bigger than we are today.

“We have proven that our business model works, so the natural next step for us is to scale our offering to other markets.

Luckily, many of the characters and IP that we represent have strong awareness and fanbases around the world.

"That means that we can continue working with the same rights holders, and further our successful business with them. We’re also in a great position of having very little competition globally and being global leaders in this space.” 

October/November 2021

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CEO IN FOCUS

CEO IN FOCUS:

ROMI SAVOVA

Romi Savova is the Founder and CEO of leading online pension provider, PensionBee, which was founded in 2014. The London-based firm is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the UK, and in April this year the business listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Romi talks to Business Leader about the inspiration behind the company, its disruptive influence in the sector, and what it means to be a leader.

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CAN YOU GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY? We are here to make pensions simple, so everyone can look forward to a happy retirement. PensionBee helps our customers to combine their old pensions into a new online plan that they can manage from the palm of their hands. We also give them control and clarity over their retirement savings, so that they know exactly how much they have saved, how much they need to contribute to reach their goals, how they're investing their pension, and whether that's in line with their beliefs and values.

From the age of 55 onwards, the PensionBee product gives our customers the ability to withdraw their pension and spend in retirement. We aim to be with our customers from the ages of 18 to 80, and provide them with an excellent lifetime pension experience.

October/November 2021

ROMINA SAVOVA

WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE DISRUPTED THE SECTOR WITH PENSIONBEE? Yes, because pensions have traditionally been quite boring, complicated, and shrouded in mystery and paperwork, which tends to disengage most normal people from saving for retirement. The reality is that the State Pension is probably not going to provide most people the kind of retirement income that they would like to have. So, the ability to create a product that's easy to use, and also engaging for our customers, is absolutely disrupting the industry, but it's also hugely beneficial to consumers.

WHY DID YOU CREATE PENSIONBEE? I struggled with my own pension when I left my previous role at Morgan Stanley, and I had to move my money somewhere. What I uncovered is that pension providers just don't know how to talk to their customers, and they don't know how to serve customers in a way that enables them to have control and clarity over their pension – and ultimately build up their savings. A lot of pension providers are set up to work with financial advisors or set up to work with employers, meaning the consumer is rarely thought of.

effectively align together. Then there is the challenge of having a scalable business model that is well refined to help bring in investors, creating a team and then, ultimately, getting your first customer. All those pieces need to be in place.

"THE REALITY IS THAT THE STATE PENSION IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO PROVIDE MOST PEOPLE THE KIND OF RETIREMENT INCOME THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE. SO, THE ABILITY TO CREATE A PRODUCT THAT'S EASY TO USE, AND ALSO ENGAGING FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, IS ABSOLUTELY DISRUPTING THE INDUSTRY."

In April, we listed on the High Growth Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and raised over £50m of capital, which has enabled the business to continue growing at the rates that we have enjoyed in the past few years.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER PRIOR TO PENSIONBEE? I started my career in finance at Goldman Sachs in 2008, where I worked in the risk management division, and I became familiar with the overall financial services system. I then achieved an MBA at Harvard Business School and had broader exposure to business management.

Following graduation, I came back to London and joined Morgan Stanley, working on mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings and getting to know the pension sector well. It was after I left Morgan Stanley that I started PensionBee. WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME TO GET THIS PRODUCT AND COMPANY OFF THE GROUND? The biggest challenge is making everything come together in the initial phases – you start from a blank sheet of paper, and you must build everything. You're going from zero to a minimum viable product, in a heavily regulated industry, with a lot of different work streams that need to

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HOW HAVE YOU GROWN THE COMPANY? We are a business that's been predominantly angel-funded prior to our IPO this year. PensionBee has had investments from a large number of investors, and also some strategic investment from State Street Global Advisors, which enabled us to finance the business for many years.

Through this, we have the ability to help around 30 million people manage their pensions more effectively. A huge focus of the business is to acquire new customers and also to help our customers do more with their pensions. The capital that we raised is being used for getting new customers on board, and then also for building out the type of product that our new and current customers wish to see from us.

WHERE DOES YOUR PERSONAL MOTIVATION COME FROM? PensionBee is a very purpose-led company; we have a huge vision, which is to live in a world where everyone can look forward to a happy retirement. That is motivational because you know that the work that you put in every day is driving change for a vast number of people and, ultimately, that's the most rewarding thing that you can do as a human being.

YOU MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT THE IPO. WAS THAT ALWAYS THE LONG-TERM GOAL? We've been very upfront and explicit that we wanted to be listed. Most financial services businesses that serve consumers, ultimately, do list on the Stock Exchange.

So, it's always been something that we knew we would do.

Cont. 

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CEO IN FOCUS What encouraged us to take the jump this year was a very prolonged period of rapid growth and, of course, the ability to raise capital on the stock exchange.

The IPO helped raise the brand of the company, which further facilitates growth of PensionBee. HOW DID YOU FIND THE PROCESS? It's a gruelling process because the Stock Exchange has high standards for businesses that are listed.

From our standpoint, we were happy to demonstrate that we are a good addition to the LSE. I would definitely say that, for any other business considering going down that route, it's important to bear in mind that it’s a bigtime commitment. And it's also a commitment to being public about what you are doing.

ROMINA SAVOVA working in a hybrid fashion, it's important to continue to create closeness and to make sure that people know what's going on in the company.

As a leader, I tend to be quite metricsoriented. I love looking at numbers and understanding why numbers are the way that they are, and what we can do to change them.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CULTURE OF THE COMPANY? The culture is led by the five values that permeate the way that we behave towards each other.

Simplicity is one of the values that we have because we like to be clear and straightforward in the way that we do things.

Honesty is another because we think it's important to offer products and to behave in a way that is transparent.

WHAT ARE THE COMPANY’S PLANS NOW IT’S LAUNCHED ON THE LSE? We have a huge market opportunity in front of us, and we're excited to keep growing as rapidly as we can.

We want to reach more and more of our customers, and, of course, to develop our product range and the PensionBee brand.

DO YOU SOMETIMES FEEL SOME BUSINESSES RAISE AND RAISE BUT WOULD BE BETTER OFF ESTABLISHING PRODUCT OR SERVICE MARKET FIT? Before you raise any round of capital, you should consider what you have achieved from the last round of funding – and I think it’s important to tie fundraisings to specific objectives. In the early stages, establishing product market fit is probably the most important thing that you need to do. You can't just raise capital forever without establishing product market fit – eventually, the music stops playing. So, the sooner you get that, the better off you are as a business because you, ultimately, create something that is of value to people.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A LEADER? I believe I'm honest and transparent. I love engaging with the company and we regroup as a team every morning and have a weekly ‘Town Hall’ show and tell meeting, where often I present to everyone at the company.

In this day and age, where most of us are

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work remotely whenever and forever. It has enabled people to make the decisions that really benefit them and their families.

We've had team members moving outside of London, we have been able to hire from diverse places across the UK that we wouldn't have been able to hire from before. There are a lot of benefits to facilitating the ability to work remotely.

Innovation, as you would expect, is one of our important values too.

Ultimately, we're a fast-growing company and that means we are always leading change within the industry. Quality is an important value of ours as we are entrusted with our customers’ money.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE MISSION DRIVEN? Being mission driven is about keeping your priorities straight. The mission of PensionBee is to make pensions simple, and the vision is to live in a world where everyone can look forward to a happy retirement. The commitment to that mission, and that vision drives a lot of what you do, across every department throughout a business.

It has implications for the way that you build your product, and it has implications for the way that you communicate with customers.

It also influences the way that you organise customer service and makes a difference to the investment line-up that is available to customers.

MOVING ONTO CULTURE AND WORK, WILL YOU BE CONTINUING SOME FORM OF FLEXIBLE WORKING GOING FORWARD? Absolutely. At the very start of the pandemic, we told our team that they can

Finally, the most unencountered value in financial services is the value of love. And that translates into the compassion we show for our customers and the way our team interacts – we have an amazing culture.

HOW IS PENSIONBEE HELPING SAVERS DRIVE POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE WITH THEIR PENSIONS? I would say the most prominent thing that we have done when it comes to socially responsible investing is our Fossil Fuel Free Plan, which launched at the start of this year, following a huge wave of customer demand to exclude fossil fuel producers from their pensions. It’s one of the first mainstream products of its kind.

For people who want to use their pensions to reflect their values and to have their pensions make change and be a voice in the world, it's an option that should definitely be considered.

With pensions, your capital is at risk; pensions can go up and down in value and you may get back less than you invest. 

October/November 2021

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