GAMECHANGERS MAGAZINE TWO SIXTEEN

Gamechangers TWO / SIXTEEN

TM

MAGAZINE

EXPERTS GIVE THEIR CYBERSECURITY PREDICTIONS FOR 2016 P-56 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, JAGUAR LAND ROVER’S CLIMB TO THE TOP P-72 REDEFINING TRADITIONAL VIEWS AND DEFINITIONS. P-90

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE: JOHN KLEOPAS, CHAIRMAN OF ALLIOTT GROUP, DISCUSSES AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO CROSS BORDER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

CyberspaCe 2025 Today’s deCisions, Tomorrow’s Terrain

Authors David Burt Aaron Kleiner J. Paul Nicholas Kevin Sullivan

N Avig AtiNg the Fut ur e oF Cyberse Curit y P ol iC y

June 2014

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CONTENTS

21 COVER

21.

VISION, KNOW-HOW AND STRONG PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS FOR SIMPLIFYING CROSS BORDER BUSINESS WHILE REDUCING THE RISKS.

40.

ANDY KHAWAJA, CEO & FOUNDER OF ALLIED WALLET THE BILLION DOLLAR GAMECHANGER OF THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY.

40 WORLD VIEW 48.

THE WORLD’S RICHEST HEDGE FUND MANAGERS

50.

BUILDING AND MAINTAINING CORPORATE CULTURE

52.

BEPS AND ITS EFFECTS ON TRANSFER PRICING IN VENEZUELA

56.

CYBER SECURITY IN 2016

GameChangers™ welcomes news and views from its readers. Correspondence should be sent to gamechangers@acq5.com For more information about GameChangers™ visit www.acq5.com/posts/gamechangers/ GameChangers™ Copyright © 2016 GameChangers™ No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without permission.

SAFE HARBOR The interviews in this publication may contain certain forward looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations of the businesses profiled. These statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors which could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements and forecasts. The statements may have been made with reference to forecast price changes, economic conditions and the current regulatory environment.

Nothing in these announcements should be construed as a profit forecast.

Gamechangers 4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BEHIND THE BRAND 66.

REAL MADRID TO AGREE WORLD’S FIRST £1 BILLION KIT DEAL

68.

STAR WARS DEAL PROPELS DISNEY TO TOP OF THE ‘MOST POWERFUL BRANDS’ LIST

70.

72.

CONSORTIUM OF AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES WINS £5.5M FUND TO TRIAL DRIVERLESS CARS ON UK ROADS

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, JAGUAR LAND ROVER’S CLIMB TO THE TOP

+

ARISE

REPORT

90.

114. DOW JONES

REDEFINING TRADITIONAL VIEWS AND DEFINITIONS BCMS

92.

94.

96.

SHARIA-COMPLIANT INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS Path Solutions A PERFECT YEAR TO REACH FOR THE SKIES C & C Alpha Group

NEW SEARCH ENGINE HELPS SAVE LIVES WITH THE CLICK OF A BUTTON Elliot For Water

72

VENTURESOURCE QUARTERLY REPORT FOR EUROPE, 4Q’15

115. ALTIUS HIGHLIGHTS

EIGHT KEY CHALLENGES FACING PRIVATE MARKETS IN 2016

116. DEAL REVIEW AND

LEAGUE TABLES 2015 UK AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND – M&A AND ECM TRANSACTIONS

117. MORGAN LEWIS

ANNUAL GLOBAL CARTEL ENFORCEMENT REPORT

118. BLP - PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENT INTO MINING DOUBLES IN 2015

99.

BIRCHAM DYSON BELL BRITISH ENTREPRENEURS REMAIN OPTIMISTIC AND RESILIENT AT THE YEAR END

TEAM David Rogan - President & Editor-In-Chief Jon Van Dyke - Editorial Director James Wiltshire - Publisher EDITORIAL J Robson - Editor-At-Large L. B. Kooler - Deputy Editor P Ramone - Senior Editor J LaRusso - Copy Chief M-C Fisher - Editorial Assistant B Sancheze - Senior Staff Writer ADVERTISING A Bott - Digital Advertising Director J Downey - Advertising Director Z Wolfel - Business Development Director C Thomas - Account Executive H Smith - Account Executive ADMINISTRATION A Kessler - Finance & Admin Director T Dolby - Technology Manager P Hughes - Operations Coordinator T. A. Black - Office Manager J Aaron - Design Assistant

5 Gamechangers

BRIEF

Fiba Enters ‘New Era’ With Landmark Perform Deal The International Basketball Federation (Fiba) has signed a wide-ranging strategic partnership with digital sports content and media group Perform that is set to be worth a guaranteed sum of close to €500m ($541.1m).

For the period of four Basketball World Cup cycles spanning 2017 to 2033, Perform will be Fiba’s worldwide partner for the distribution and sale of all media-related rights, with respect to men’s and women’s national team competitions.

The partnership will cover more than 5,000 live games including qualifiers and major championships - such as the Basketball World Cup and EuroBasket - over the term of the agreement, with more than 1,500 live games in the first cycle spanning 2017 to 2021.

The partnership will result in the creation of Fiba Media, a joint venture between the two organisations, committed to increasing the value of the basketball fan experience. Fiba Media will also seek to deliver maximum exposure, on multiple platforms, providing fans with unprecedented access to content.

Perform will guarantee and invest close to €500m in the strategic partnership, enhance live production, broadcast services and data and editorial distribution through the dedicated Fiba Media unit, along with providing basketball’s global governing body with its industry expertise and experience.

Fiba will have an active role in respect of all major strategic and commercial activities of Fiba Media, and will share in any future revenue growth beyond the guaranteed amount. Perform will package and distribute all live Fiba content to broadcasters and digital platforms. Committed to promoting live international basketball across its leading consumer portals, such as Sporting News, Perform will also collect and distribute live data via its RunningBall and Opta brands.

Fiba secretary general Patrick Baumann said: “This strategic and innovative partnership marks a new era for Fiba. It allows us to combine the strength and benefits of our successful commercial subsidiary - Fiba Media & Marketing Services SA - with the extensive global resources of Perform. This partnership will support Fiba’s objective of making basketball the most popular sports community in every part of the world, by delivering great action of our sport across the available media offerings.”

Perform chief executive Simon Denyer added: “Basketball has long been a major focus for Perform and Fiba is a fantastic partner that continues to evolve the game globally.

Fiba and Perform’s strategies are perfectly aligned. We want to grow its properties through investment in production, sales and distribution to ensure fans around the world have access to the full portfolio of Fiba games on all platforms.”

Gamechangers 6

Supporting The Next Generation Of Brokers Hitachi Capital Business Finance commitment to apprenticeship programmes.

Following the announcement of the joint apprenticeship scheme between NACFB and Hitachi Capital Business Finance, the NACFB has announced the first apprentice to be developed through the Hitachi Capital sponsored scheme.

Martin Nield, from Berkhamsted, has spent his first day of the scheme at the NACFB’s offices in London; he is now on a six-month rotation at Hitachi Capital’s offices in Staines upon Thames, which started on 4 January 2016. In the summer Martin will be back with the NACFB for a month before going on to a five-month stint with a broker.

Adam Tyler, chief executive of the NACFB, said: “This is a very valuable initiative by our Association and Hitachi Capital Business Finance, working together to bring on a new generation of commercial finance brokers.

Martin Nield will be the first of many new brokers who will enter the market fully trained at the highest level, and the effects of this initiative will, in time, be felt by lenders and Britain’s small businesses alike.”

In addition to the joint initiative with the NACFB, Hitachi Capital Business Finance also run their own National Apprenticeship Scheme and have recently welcomed four new individuals to its offices in Staines upon Thames. Romaine Jones and Hannah Wood, who are studying for a diploma in business administration at Martin, who has a masters in business studies, Brooklands College, will be working in rotation was selected by a panel with representatives across the proposals team, new business from both the NACFB and Hitachi Capital, he deal management, business support and said: customer support. They are joined by intern Harry Gallivan along with Kyle Dyett who is “I was attracted to the position by the currently undertaking a 12-month placement opportunity to learn multiple aspects of as a proposal management executive as part of commercial finance from the inside and out and Randall,toCEO Closedoing Brothers Asset Finance his business studies with economics degree at theMike opportunity learnofwhilst the job.

Bournemouth University.

There is going to be a lot to learn, but I’m really looking forward to the next year.”

Gavin Wraith-Carter, general manager at Hitachi Capital Business Finance said: Hitachi Capital Business Finance has committed to cover the cost of the training for a 12 “We are committed to investing in apprentices month period which includes a six month and are excited to have the opportunity to in-house position at Hitachi Capital Business further invest in the development of new talent Finance’s office in Staines, and six months for the broker marketplace. We are delighted to with a commercial finance broker. This will be welcome all our new apprentices and we have a supplemented with day release sessions on a structured rotation programme that ensures that regular basis with the NACFB in London. At the they can start their careers with a recognised end of the training programme, the individual qualification. It is vital we continue to support will be equipped with the necessary skills to apprenticeships and hope the industry will set up their own venture, or join an existing continue to get behind the serious talent brokerage at an experienced level. coming through.”

Capital Law Launches GroundBreaking £50M Litigation Fund Capital Law, the Cardiff-based commercial law firm and current Welsh Law Firm of the Year, has launched a UK-first £50m litigation fund that is set to shake-up the UK commercial market. Capital Law was inspired to launch the new £50m litigation fund following the successful conclusion of a 20 year litigation claim on behalf of an Employee Share Ownership Plan in January 2015.

The long-running claim was brought by Roadchef employees against their former CEO: at the time one of the UK’s wealthiest men. It shed light on the myriad obstacles that potential litigants with reasonable cases have to overcome under a current system that is biased towards the funder rather than the claimant.

The simple ground-breaking differentiator: the fund is secured and will be managed by Capital Law directly, rather than by a litigation financier beholden to other equity and asset management partners. And this will have numerous benefits for claimants: • • • • •

Faster: decision-making takes a matter of weeks Safer: Capital Law’s fund takes on the finance and the risk Easier: lower entry point Better: potential to revisit ‘written-off’ cases and, therefore, assets up to 12 years old Financially beneficial: increased potential % recovered damages

Christopher Nott, senior partner, said: “Capital Law’s litigation fund has a simple premise: in realising that a claim can be an asset, businesses can now seek to recover that without taking on the finance and risk themselves. And, as it is controlled and managed by us, it ensures that all decisions are taken quickly and costs involved within a business’ litigation claim can be covered. Its structure and lower cost also enables Capital Law to fund smaller cases that may have been previously ignored, whilst also allowing it to fund larger litigation cases that may have been ‘written-off.”

BRIEF

Struggles Of Traditional Banks Highlight The Winning Principle At The Heart Of Fintech Innovations FinTech services are creating problems for big banks with a revolutionary consumer-centric offering As banks embark on their reporting season, the traditional institutions are setting out how they have fared in a tough global environment.

Credit Suisse are due to release year on year results on Thursday, which are expected to show that the restructuring undertaken by the Swiss bank has not yet fed into their share price. Last week’s report from Deutsche Bank showed their first full year loss since the financial crisis of 2008, attributed by their CEO to on-going legacy issues.[1] It is clear that traditional banks are feeling the pressure from the disruptive impact of FinTech innovators.

These pressures are highlighted particularly in the retail sector, with those banks with high exposure to customers experiencing profound disruption from FinTech competitors. A report by

PwC highlights that 55 per cent of bank executives believe that non-traditional players pose a threat to traditional banks. The report identifies the development of a customer-centric business model as the highest priority for banks if they are to remain competitive over the next 5 years.[2] Technological innovators such as TransferWise, Nutmeg and Funding Circle are increasingly fragmenting the market by unbundling financial services to create an agile offering. They are disturbing the established order by leading with customer focused innovation. This characteristic is at the heart of the battle between the FinTech sector and traditional banks.

Dan Wagner, Founder and CEO Powa Technologies, comments: “FinTech companies have recognised the value of offering a completely new proposition to consumers. In contrast to their traditional competitors, many of them giant and overreaching, successful Fintech

start-ups are specialising in just one or two aspects of financial services. They remain agile and responsive to customers, tailored specifically for the age of the ‘digital native’.

“Over the past few years we’ve seen the rise of mobile banking, particular in the U.S. where it exceeded physical banking in 2015. There are predictions that 81 per cent of Americans will do their banking on their smartphone by 2020, with the popularity of the service not just limited to the States.[3] “In the case of mobile banking, the path to ubiquity has been paved by the availability of this service ‘anytime, anywhere’. This is the message that users of FinTech products are sending loud and clear to banks: convenience has never been a higher priority for customers.

Traditional banks will continue to struggle if they fail to meet consumer needs in this area.”

£43M Factory 2050 Opens Doors One of the most advanced factories in the world has opened its doors in Sheffield.

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing has taken possession of Factory 2050, the glass-walled “reconfigurable factory” at the heart of the University of Sheffield’s new advanced manufacturing campus on Sheffield Business Park.

The AMRC is now installing the technology that will be used in research programmes designed to revolutionise UK manufacturing after construction group Interserve handed over the keys to the landmark building, designed by architects Bond Bryan.

will allow us to explore the techniques and technologies that are vital to achieving the mass customisation of products now being demanded by companies and consumers.”

Factory 2050’s landmark, glass-clad rotunda will house reconfigurable, data driven assembly technologies while its long, rectangular extension will accommodate any commercially sensitive or larger footprint projects.

Initial projects include a programme to take aerospace manufacturing technology into the construction industry, explore future digital factory technologies for building commercial aeroplanes and investigate digitally assisted

assembly technologies which could help to fill a looming skills gap in the aerospace sector.

Factory 2050 is a £43m development, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, each of which have contributed £10m to the project.

It could employ up to 70 staff and is expected to contribute almost £2m directly to the local economy every year.

Installing equipment will take several months and Factory 2050 is expected to be fully operational by spring 2016.

Professor Keith Ridgway, AMRC executive dean, said: “We aim to make Factory 2050 the most advanced factory in the world, built to carry out collaborative research.

“It has been designed to ensure the UK’s advanced manufacturing supply chain can access the expertise it needs to make the most of new challenges and opportunities, and that our region retains its international lead in high value manufacturing.”

Hopes are that Factory 2050 will repeat the success of the AMRC by attracting advanced manufacturers and well-paid engineering jobs to the new Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, being created in the Sheffield City Region as part of the government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative.

Factory 2050 will be home to the AMRC’s Integrated Manufacturing Group (IMG).

IMG’S Ben Morgan said: “Factory 2050

7 Gamechangers

iDEAL BRIEF

fifty-five Sells A Majority Stake To You & Mr Jones Clipperton, a leading European corporate finance firm focused on the Technology and Media industries, announced the closing of the sale of a majority stake in leading European data marketing company fifty-five to You & Mr Jones, the world’s first Brandtech group. fifty-five’s unique technology approach helps brands collect, analyze and activate their data across paid, earned and owned channels to increase their marketing ROI and improve customer acquisition and retention. Founded in 2010 by former Google senior executives Nicolas Beauchesne, Alan Boydell, Mats Carduner, Arnaud Massonnie and Jean Neltner, fifty-five has grown rapidly from startup into a company with 150 employees in Paris, London and Hong Kong, a host of major global brands as customers, and operations in over 20 countries.

Backed by $350m in funding from renowned investors, You & Mr Jones was launched in June 2015 by former Havas Global CEO David Jones as the world’s first Brandtech group with a mission to help businesses build brands better, faster and cheaper using technology. The acquisition of fifty-five is motivated by a shared vision of where marketing is heading and will see the data agency become a key cornerstone of You & Mr Jones. The deal also empowers fifty-five to develop faster and fuel its global ambition, starting with the immediate opening of an office in New York.

Commenting on the transaction, David Jones, founder & CEO of You & Mr Jones said: “Data is probably the most important building block in any technology company so we’re absolutely thrilled that fifty-five will be joining You & Mr Jones. We looked at many different data companies but found fifty-five’s combination of talent and technology a level above everyone else. Their Google pedigree obviously speaks for itself. The world is already obsessed with data, but I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of the impact it is going to have on every business over the next decade. fifty-five will be the data engine for the group and will become one of the leading global players in this space.”

Mats Carduner, co-founder & CEO of fifty-five added: “Since the launch of fifty-five we have experienced extremely rapid organic growth.

The company was born from our conviction that data and technology completely redefine the boundaries of marketing and customerunderstanding, a vision we share with You & Mr Jones. It’s really great for us to work with like-minded entrepreneurs within the You & Mr Jones group who have the same ambition and give us the means to accelerate our growth and become part of an exciting global company.”

This acquisition further illustrates Clipperton’s strong cross-border M&A track-record and represents yet another sell-side transaction successfully executed and announced by Clipperton over the last few months, following the sale of Leetchi (acquired by Crédit Mutuel Arkea), Radionomy (acquired by Vivendi), and NBS System (acquired by Oceanet Technology).

Gamechangers 8

Close Brothers Asset Finance acquires Finance for Industry Close Brothers Asset Finance has announced it has bought Finance for Industry, a leading specialist finance broker for the engineering, print, plastics and machinery sectors.

Headquartered in Kings Langley, Finance for Industry’s business covers the whole of the UK and is run by three experienced directors; Andy Curran, Stewart Ainsley and Steve Ackerman.

The acquisition will expand and strengthen Close Brothers Asset Finance’s existing offering in the market.

Finance for Industry will be integrated into the industrial equipment division of Close Brothers Asset Finance, under Managing Director, Steve Gee. In the short term, it will continue to operate under its own brand. Finance for Industry’s sales team will remain unchanged, with existing customers able to maintain the same contacts following the deal.

Mike Randall, CEO of Close Brothers Asset Finance, commented: “Finance for Industry is an exciting and complementary addition to our industrial equipment division. This acquisition will bolster our set of services, and is perfectly in line with our strategy, enhancing our existing offering and providing access to a new customer base.

“The industrial market continues to evolve rapidly and we are always on the lookout for opportunities to grow and to acquire strong and ambitious companies that match our expansive business model. Today’s acquisition is evidence of this and will make a significant contribution towards achieving our long term goals.”

Africa - The Land Of Continued Opportunity For Private Equity As 2016 gets under way, amid growing concerns over a slowdown in China and a wider global economic malaise, the long-term growth trajectory for Sub-Saharan Africa seems to be as strong as ever.

Private equity fundraising for Africa has been robust and there is now a significant level of dry powder within a small number of competing GPs. From 2014 to date, $7.6 billion of funds have closed, more than 80% of which is held by just eight funds, with an average size more than $700 million. Yet during the same period, only 10 of 138 transactions completed have had ticket sizes of more than $75 million, suggesting that a lot of money is chasing scarce assets in Africa and that there is a risk of a private equity related ‘bubble’.* However, the numbers would suggest this risk is overplayed; even Sub-Saharan Africa’s record fundraising year of 2014 saw a significantly smaller amount raised as a proportion of GDP than that seen in Europe. In addition, while larger operators may have struggled to put big funds to work, opportunities for those in smaller and mid-market segments are far more widespread in what remain in the main smaller countries with highly fragmented business landscapes.

Supporting this, in October it was reported that international private equity had become the fastest growing source of investment in Sub-Saharan Africa**. However, better risk management tools are needed, as is a continuing maturation of the market, in order to ensure the benefits of this capital are realised.

Most importantly, Sub Saharan Africa’s growth looks to be sustainable, driven by a shift in the population to cities coupled with an increase in discretionary spending from a growing middle class that will fuel domestic demand for local products. The young, growing population also serves as a source of competitive labour and boosts the consumer market as a whole. By 2040, Africa will have a larger working-age population than China or India and ƒby 2050 the number of people living in urban areas is set to reach well over a billion***. Consumer-facing industries such as FMCG, Financial Services, Healthcare and Telecoms, will naturally account for the majority of growth, providing a strong platform for success. *EMPEA, Syntaxis analysis, Source: Ernst & Young Broadening Horizons joint study with AVCA; Preqin **Overseas Development Institute (ODI) ***United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs

iDEAL BRIEF

Elysian Capital Ii LP Acquisition With Management Of Sambro International Elysian Capital II LP has acquired, in conjunction with the company’s management, Sambro International Ltd. This is the first platform deal in the Elysian Capital II LP Fund which closed in the summer 2015 at £250m.

Sambro is the UK’s leading creator, designer, producer and distributor of licensed children’s products covering a wide range of product categories and world famous franchises. www. sambro.co.uk Based in Bury with offices in Hong Kong and the Netherlands, Sambro has more than doubled sales over the last 3 years to £60m under the leadership of Tom Duffy (MD), Nikki Samuels and Jeremy Clynes. The company is now a trusted partner to global brand owners such as Disney, Universal and Nickelodeon who value the company’s innovation, excellent products and access to its wide network of retailers.

Recent growth has been both domestic and international supported by more franchises, new product categories, compelling products and new territories – and this is set to continue with exciting plans for the future.

Ken Terry, CEO at Elysian Capital said “the Sambro team has done a fantastic job in creating a market leading licensed products business. We were attracted to the high growth delivered by the business, its in-house product design team and partnership approach with brand owners and retailers. But most importantly we are backing a passionate team with tremendous ambitions for their business whether that be further organic growth or through acquisitions. This is a fitting first investment for our new fund that meets our desire to back aspirational management teams who would benefit from our differentiated and aligned approach.”

Tom Duffy, MD of Sambro, said, “We are thrilled to do this deal with Elysian Capital who quickly understood and appreciated what makes our business special, who have shown real belief in us as a management team and who have taken such a keen interest in our business from day one. We have ambitious plans and in Elysian we have a partner with genuine operational in-house experience that can support us through the next phase. Our products are enjoyed by children throughout Europe and beyond and we are excited to continue this growth story in partnership with our valued brand partners and retail customers.”

Elysian Capital was advised by PwC (corporate finance, financial and commercial due diligence); Eversheds (legal); Aon Group (Insurance) and Crimson & Co (supply chain); Sambro shareholders and management were advised by KPMG (corporate finance) and DLA Piper (legal).

Senior Debt and Working Capital Facilities were provided by Barclays Bank, Manchester who were advised by Addleshaw Goddard.

Top Companies Boost Diversity With Apprenticeship Scheme LEADING employers including ICAP, RBS, Macquarie Group, EY and many others are taking part in a unique apprenticeship scheme to recruit new talent from a diverse range of backgrounds.

The blue chip companies will host work placements for up to 250 young people during 2016 and 2017 as part of a national programme organised by social mobility charity Leadership Through Sport & Business (LTSB).

Apprentices are drawn from a wide range of social and ethnic backgrounds and they will study for an academic qualification in accounting whilst receiving on-the-job training.

The scheme offers huge benefits to employers as a recruitment channel at a time when companies seek to diversify their workforce to meet the requirements of the modern business environment.

David Pinchin, Chairman of LTSB, said: “The successful companies of the future will be those that maintain a competitive edge by encouraging diversity in the workplace in order to reflect the changes that are taking place in their customer base and in wider society. We are partnering with the best global companies to create opportunities for bright young talent from a diverse range of backgrounds - and we are actively seeking more top employers to come on board. We have enjoyed great support from the financial sector and we believe the scheme will also be of huge interest to leading

employers in other industries.”

The programme includes a pre-work training period during which LTSB and corporate partners prepare apprentices for the corporate environment and they develop leadership skills through sports coaching with top football club foundations at Aston Villa, Chelsea, Leyton Orient and West Ham. Supporters of LTSB include Lord O’Neill of Gatley, Commercial Secretary to The Treasury (pictured on the right with David Pinchin), Michael Spencer, the Trustees of Futures for Kids, Macquarie Group Foundation (Principal Corporate Funder), Lord Davies Of Abersoch, Lord Justice Pitchford and Virginia Wade OBE. Lord O’Neill, formerly Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs, recently told a group of LTSB apprentices: “This is a fantastic opportunity for young people and it’s great to see the participation of some of the country’s leading employers. I went to a school full of kids from a tough environment. Many of my friends didn’t have the network of support that Leadership Through Sport & Business gives to its students.”

Commenting on the scheme Mike White, Apprentice Manager of RBS, said: “Recruiting people from all walks of life is crucial to our future success because a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas, perspectives and views on how to serve our customers better. It’s been great working with LTSB, who have shown they can provide talented, motivated and dedicated people for our RBS apprenticeship programme in London.”

Details of the scheme are available at http:// www.leadershipthroughsport.org/

UK Dealmakers Claim M&A Deals Are Taking Too Long To Close Bankers, lawyers, consultants and accountants specialising in mergers and acquisitions have expressed their frustrations in closing M&A deals, according to research carried out by ansarada - the dedicated data room provider for M&A deals.

A survey of 520 UK-based M&A dealmakers has found that 49 percent want to close twice as many deals as they are currently completing.

The average M&A consultant currently closes four deals per year on average but wants to complete eight M&A per year.

The ansarada research also identified the main causes of delayed transactions. The number one reason was one quarter of M&A dealmakers (26 percent) admitted that the due diligence process got in the way of deal completion.

A further 23 percent blamed indecisive sellers as the main reason why deals are held up.

This was significantly more of a problem than indecisive buyers, which only accounted for holding up 14 percent of deals.

UK dealmakers also acknowledged that there is significant time wasting in the M&A process. The average transaction has 12 days of wastage, adding significant amount of cost to an M&A deal. However nearly one in five (19 percent) of those surveyed stated that 20 or more days are wasted in the average M&A deal.

Stephen Dearing, ansarada’s Vice President EMEA, said, “With the significant increase in M&A deals and the time taken to execute, there has been greater focus on successful completions. Naturally, there are elements of a deal which get in the way of closing that can frustrate all parties involved. As a business, ansarada are always searching for ways to reduce these blockages down to zero. Our mission to make life easier for everyone in involved in M&A necessitates that we eliminate as many of the frustrating elements of a financial transaction as possible.”

9 Gamechangers

“A Gamechanger changes the way that something is done, thought of or made; they transform the accepted rules, processes, strategies and management of business functions. They shift behaviour, shape culture and make clever happen.�

Gamechangers

11 Gamechangers

MOVES

in phases of growth, change, acquisitions and refinancing. After graduating from NEOMA Business School in his native France, Eric began his career as an accountant with KPMG in Lyon. His career progressed quickly and in 1997 he moved to the UK to take on the role of European CFO and Vice President for strategy implementation at Dun & Bradstreet, a US listed company. Before joining First Names Group, Eric was Group CFO of Hyperion Insurance Group, headquartered in London.

Speaking about his appointment, Eric commented:

First Names Group Appoints Chief Financial Officer First Names Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Eric Fady as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). This strategic hire marks a significant milestone for the international trust, fund and corporate services provider, adding to its senior leadership roster and building further expertise as the business moves into its next phase of growth. The appointment is effective immediately.

“I am very excited to be joining First Names Group at this pivotal stage as the business embarks upon its next phase of growth.

Opportunities to work in such dynamic and forward-thinking organisations do not come around very often and I am delighted to be joining at such an exciting time. I am keen to dedicate myself to driving the further development of its global presence, helping ensure maximum success and stakeholder satisfaction in the process.”

Reporting directly to the CEO, Cengiz Somay, Eric will assume overall responsibility for delivering on the Group’s financial support needs in order to help achieve its vision for continued growth. Working closely with the board, management team, finance team (led

by Andy Ruddy) and our private equity partner, AnaCap Financial Partners LLP, Eric will oversee corporate finance, accounting, investor relations and capital and financing strategies for the Group.

Eric has over 20 years’ international and corporate finance experience working for public and private equity backed companies, mainly

Chief Executive Officer of First Names Group, Cengiz Somay, said: “It is a great pleasure to welcome Eric to First Names Group. I am confident he will bring a great deal to the business and lead our Group Finance function expertly; his extensive experience and CFO credentials make him the ideal choice to support the team and bolster their significant internal financial expertise as our growth strategy continues. We are lucky to have such a knowledgeable professional on board and I know the whole team very much looks forward to working with him.”

Ey’s Legal Services Division Hires Richard Goold To Grow Its Tech And Finance Technology Practice EY has hired Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co co-chair of technology Richard Goold as a partner to lead and grow a legal Tech team, as well as support the firm’s wider Tech and FinTech practice.

Mr Goold has been working in the Tech and FinTech markets for over 10 years and has advised companies and investors across Europe and the US. Before leading Wragges’ technology division he worked as the head of the firm’s US sales team.

Ambition to grow legal services Philip Goodstone, head of EY’s UKI legal services team, said: ‘Our ambition has always been to grow our UK legal services practice around some of the key sectors where EY already has a wealth of experience. Richard’s appointment marks a key step towards achieving this strategy.’

Building offering Mr Goodstone joined EY in 2014 to launch the firm’s legal offering in the UK and Ireland, having been recruited from Addleshaw Goddard. The accountancy firm was granted an ABS licence shortly after his arrival and since then has also hired ex-BLP finance head Matthew Kellett to launch its UK financial services team. EY is also set to significantly build on its Manchester offering when former Addleshaws managing partner Paul Devitt and corporate partner Richard Thomas join on 1 June.

Adrian Stone Is Kpmg’s New Head Of Uk Audit Big Four firm KPMG has announced Adrian Stone as its new UK head of audit Stone joined KPMG’s Sheffield office in 1984 and has been an audit partner at the firm since 1997. He was head of audit for the North and Scotland between 2005 and 2010, when he became the chief operating officer for the UK audit practice until 2013.

Stone has also held the role of head of internal

Gamechangers 12

audit and of head of KPMG’s department of professional practice.

Most recently, he had been the firm’s interim head of audit since November last year. He replaces Tony Cates, who is now head of KPMG’s international markets and government practice. Stone said, “I have been a KPMG auditor for my whole career and I am absolutely delighted to take on the head of audit role.

“Audit faces a time of huge change and opportunity as wide ranging regulatory reforms

take effect prompting unprecedented levels of tendering activity, and increasing use of data and analytics transforms the audit process.”

Simon Collins, chairman of KPMG in the UK, said Stone is one of the most experienced audit partners at the firm.

The announcement comes on the same day that KPMG was noted as the top auditor of AIMlisted clients with a total of 151 clients.

MOVES

PLMJ Appoints 12 Managing Associates And 7 Senior Associates The largest law firm in Portugal now has 270 lawyers and 57 senior associates PLMJ – Law Firm is pleased to announce the appointment of 12 managing associates and 7 senior associates. In making these appointments, PLMJ has taken yet another step in the policy of organic growth that is a hallmark of the largest law firm in Portugal. This step also recognises the merit, high level of specialisation and leadership capacity of its lawyers.

For the first time, PLMJ has introduced the new category of ‘managing associate’. The role of the managing associate is to coordinate key clients and matters in PLMJ’s various practice areas. These promotions confirm PLMJ believes in the importance of recognising the significant contribution lawyers make towards increasing the competitiveness and efficiency of the firm.

The managing associates were chosen on the basis of a career of more than 10 years in the law, using the main criteria of experience, knowledge and leadership capacity. This position is one preparation for partnership, and its main objective is the management of teams, projects and clients. The 12 lawyers appointed as managing associates are: • Cláudia Varela, of the employment and labour team • Vasco Franco, Head of PLMJ Algarve/Faro Office • Raquel Ribeiro Correia, of the commercial litigation team • Marta Pedro, of the Mozambique Desk team • Alexandra Mota Gomes, of the criminal litigation team • Rita Assis Ferreira, of the China Desk team and currently in Macao

• Margarida de Osório Amorim, of the real estate and construction team • Sara Blanco de Morais, of the public law team • Ana Oliveira Rocha, of the energy and natural resources team • Célia Vieira de Freitas, of the corporate/M&A team • Raquel Azevedo, of the private equity/M&A team • Catarina Gonçalves Oliveira, of the capital markets team In turn, based on the excellence of the work they have been doing and on their daily contribution to increasing PLMJ’s competitiveness and reputation, the following seven lawyers have been promoted to senior associate: • António Pinto Monteiro, a member of the PLMJ Arbitration team • Sofia Coutinho, a member of the real estate and construction team • Raquel Sofia Lemos, a member of the commercial litigation team • Hugo Nunes e Sá, a member of the banking and finance team • Filipa Nunes Dias, a member of the commercial litigation team • Alexander Ehlert, a member of the private equity/M&A team • Priscila Santos, a member of the tax team For PLMJ managing partner Luís Pais Antunes, “these appointments are recognition of the level of specialisation and the work done for clients, and they reflect PLMJ’s culture of rewarding the merit of its lawyers. The appointment of these new managing associates is also a challenge to those appointed to develop their leadership and management capacities and represents

a strengthening of PLMJ’s constant focus on growth and on valuing its lawyers. This is in line with an exacting and rigorous career progression policy that aims to ensure not only technical excellence and sustainability of the different practice areas, but also the personal and professional development of its lawyers.”

PLMJ has been involved in the largest deals of the year, in very complex domestic and international cases that have made it necessary to strengthen its team. This has been achieved through 20 lateral hires and the arrival of 26 trainee lawyers, but also through internal promotion, represented here by the appointment of seven new senior associates and 12 managing associates.

This is yet another step in the consolidation of the strategy of PLMJ, which, over its almost 50 years of history, has been able to build successive generations of teams that are unparalleled in the market. This has been accomplished through a culture of organic growth complemented by a policy of lateral hirings of highly specialised leading professionals, with a clear emphasis on young and dynamic teams.

With these appointments, PLMJ enters 2016 with fresh commitment and a new dynamic, which are necessary to face up to challenges and to maintain its leadership in Portugal and its growing international standing, particularly in the Portuguese-speaking world.

PLMJ has consolidated its position as Portugal’s largest law firm, with a total of 270 lawyers, including 57 senior associates, spread across nine countries.

13 Gamechangers

“Gamechanger: A visionary strategist bringing fresh and unique ideas to the table, an individual or business that stands out from the crowd with ideas that inventively change the way a situation develops.�

Gamechangers 14

PARADE

Fuel3D Scanner Say hello to the Scanify...

A high-speed, high resolution, handheld 3D scanner that allows you to quickly and easily capture 3D models of everyday objects for 3D printing or on-screen applications.

Capture your world in three dimensions and generate amazing high-resolution 3D models to make incredible designs at home, to share online and integrate into business applications. Right out of the box Scanify captures a 3D image in just a tenth of second with incredible detail: down to 350 microns and its fullcolor 3D scans are great for capturing organic shapes, skin and artifacts.

iHealth Align Meet the world’s smallest, most portable mobile glucometer. The small, discreet and powerful meter plugs directly into your Smartphone’s headphone jack, and displays results instantly on the phone screen. Just slightly bigger than a quarter, its compact size and mobile sync capability make it a small and powerful tool for diabetes management. This tiny FDA approved meter and mobile app make your smart phone even smarter. The Gluco-Smart app allows you to take and log measurements anywhere and view trends and statistics for a span of 7, 14, 30 or 90 days. The iHealth Smart-Gluco app works as your automatic logbook that stores readings and notes. Set-up reminders for medication, plus record pre/post meals or fasting and insulin dosages. The mobile app keeps track of test strip quantity and expiration dates for you. With iHealth Simple Savings, you’ll no longer have to deal with insurance paperwork because we’ve kept the cost at or below the typical insurance co-pay contribution.

Gamechangers 16

PARADE

Powered by InfoMotion software suite Get moving with the most up-to-date software and cloud based analytics.

Their core innovations fuses several complex technologies into a single, powerful, product architecture – delivering a sophisticated yet power-efficient operating platform designed specifically for applications where it’s important to make motion measureable and less variable. It is designed to solve problems in the manufacturing and fitness industries because the complexity of motions for these users require both continuous, in-the-moment contextual feedback and cloud based analytics to maximize how to improve the way humans move.

Swiftpoint GT Scroll away in comfort.

The Swiftpoint GT is the world’s first mouse that allows touch gestures with a natural finger and wrist action without having to touch the screen – infact; you don’t need a touchscreen at all! This dramatically improves productivity in Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as other office and content creation applications. The GT features a unique patented ergonomic design. Other small mice often cause cramping because you have to hold them with a claw grip and let’s not even start on that dead pinky, but the GT’s pen-like grip feels natural to use in anyone’s hands – large or small. Giving you effortless access to touch and helps you avoid the need to reach for the screen – both reducing fatigue and improving ergonomics.

17 Gamechangers

PARADE

ZUtA Pocket Printer Taking the stress out of printing onthe-go.

The printer is outfitted for everyone’s day-to-day life. With rechargeable battery and an on/off switch, the portable device connects directly to smartpholnes and to PCs, and allows the user to print on any size piece of paper. Equipped with a unique mechanical drive system, WiFi connectivity for connecting to mobile devices and a battery that provides a full hour of printing, this little printer is not limited to standard paper sizes.

Oombrella The genius umbrella that brings a true value when rain or snow are on their way.

Oombrella is the first smart and connected umbrella. Smart because it collects weather-related data on the go. Connected because it sends hyperlocal weather data and receives realtime severe weather alerts.

Sending you severe weather alerts in vicinity, Oombrella sends an alert if you forget it at the restaurant or somewhere else and share live data to the Wezzoo community.

Gamechangers 18

PARADE

Xcooter/URB-E Driven by innovation, design, and mobility, the URB-E foldable electric scooter is your way to a better commute.

As the champion of innovation, design, and mobility, the URB-E has no parallel. Join the revolution in urban transportation. Weighing approximately 35 pounds and traveling at a top speed of 15 mph, the URB-E is the vehicle for urban living. With its ultra-efficient 250 watt brushless motor and 36v lithium-ion battery, URB-E has enough power for a 20-mile range and takes only four hours to charge to full capacity. Made of American 6061 aircraft aluminum with a patent-pending folding mechanism, URB-E goes anywhere you do. A cross drilled rear disc brake, CNC billet foot pegs, and never flat tire technology combined with a breathable comfort seat and integrated shock absorption system get your to your destination safely and comfortably. Personalize your URB-E with a variety of sleeve inserts, a cup holder, or LED headlight. Each electric scooter is inspected before being released to ensure a high level of quality.

Lumo Run Run free. No smartphones. No wires. No goggles. No wristbands.

As a runner, you strive for your best – your fastest mile, your farthest run, your best form. You chase the unencumbered feeling of running free and breaking barriers. Lumo Run incorporates the personal attention of a running coach with the professional data of a lab – all within the lining of your shorts to help you achieve your best. With running metrics, real-time audio cues and state-of-the-art sensor – get powerful, post-run insights on your running form through lab-grade biometrics in the Lumo Run App. Auditory coaching through your headphones gives you real-time feedback on your form for immediate improvement.

The small but powerful sensor is waterproof, machine washable, and lasts up to at least one month on a single charge.

19 Gamechangers

COVER

Vision, Know-How And Strong Personal Relationships: The Essential Ingredients For Simplifying Cross Border Business While Reducing The Risks.

Ranked among the world’s leading professional services organisations, Alliott Group has 170 member firms in 70 countries.

The long-established, award-winning international alliance offers something different to businesses and the progressive professional services firm - a vibrant membership of both accounting and law firms that dares to be bold in the way it looks and acts. The group’s philosophy emphasises simplicity in getting business done across borders while reducing the risks. Using the resources and connections offered by Alliott Group, companies can build their business across borders while professional firms can build their reputations.

GameChangers Magazine talks exclusively to Alliott Group Chairman, John Kleopas.

Gamechangers 21

COVER

Worldwide Members Alliott Gulf Limited Kabul Afghanistan Melhenas & Associes Les Sources Bir Mourad Rais Algeria Gizzi & Payaslian Buenos Aires Argentina Broadley Rees Hogan Brisbane Australia Hanrick Curran Brisbane Australia Jamison Alliott Melbourne Australia SLS Accounting Perth Australia Allan Hall Business Advisors Pty Ltd Sydney Australia PZP Steuerberatung GmbH Ried im Innkreis Austria BMA Brandstaetter Rechtsanwaelte GmbH Vienna Austria Rothenbuchner & Partner Vienna Austria Peeters Advocaten-Avocats Brussels Belgium Tax Consult, S.A. Brussels Belgium Walter Heuer Auditores Independentes Rio de Janeiro Brazil Sb Accounting & Consulting Sofia Bulgaria Hardy, Normand & Associes, LLP Montreal Canada Devry Smith Frank LLP Toronto Canada Vohora and Company Chartered Accountants LLP Vancouver Canada Lee & Lee Associates Beijing China HJM Asia Law & Co LLC Guangzhou China Shanghai J&J Certified Public Accountants Firm Shanghai China Wabisen CPA Firm Shenzhen China Alliott Colombia Buhols S.A.S. Bogota Colombia Alliott Partellas Kiliaris Ltd Nicosia Cyprus Audico s.r.o. Prague Czech Republi Svejgaard Galst Qwist Law Firm Copenhagen Denmark Lopez & Associates Guayaquil Ecuador Alliott Ecuador - Atig Auditores Cia. Ltda.

Quito Ecuador El Geziry Accounting Firm Cairo Egypt 3APEXCO Paris France Bensussan Berenthal & Associes Paris France TLC AG Berlin Germany audalis Kohler Punge & Partner Dortmund Germany WIR TREUHAND GmbH Dusseldorf Germany Basten GmbH Frankfurt Germany Bader Foerster Schubert Frankfurt, Offenbach Germany NPP Niethammer, Posewang & Partner GmbH Hamburg Germany Spitzweg Partnerschaft Munich Germany REVISA Treuhand GmbH Neckarsulm Germany actis ag Saarbruecken, Berlin Germany Hettinger und Partner GmbH St. Leon-Rot Germany Dachs, Bartling, Spohn & Partner Tubingen Germany Kleopas Alliott Business Consultants SA Athens Greece Dixcart Trust Corporation Ltd St Peter Port Guernsey Alliott Tsoi CPA Ltd Hong Kong Hong Kong Lawrence Cheung CPA Company Ltd Hong Kong Hong Kong Payne Clermont Hong Kong Hong Kong P & P Auditing and Consulting Kft. Budapest Hungary M/s Kochar & Associates Mumbai India B.M. Chatrath & Co. New Delhi India LexCounsel New Delhi India KAP Arief Jauhari Jakarta Indonesia Dixcart Management (IOM) Ltd Douglas Isle of Man Benita Shimon CPA Askelon Israel Bar Moshe Yair & Co CPA Bene Brak Israel Meidan CPA Kfar Sava Israel Shemesh Sasson and Co. Netanya Israel Cohen CPAs Or Yehuda Israel Chasdai Sternberg Rachmany CPA

Ramat Gan Israel Kuperberg Rabin CPAs Ramat Gan Israel Rachel Komemi CPA Ramat Gan Israel Samuel, Langerman & Co Ramat Gan Israel Y. Elron CPA Ramat Gan Israel Y.Berenholtz-Horovitz & Co Ramat Gan Israel Giora Lentz & Co CPA Rehovot Israel Moshe Kadar CPA LLM Rishon le zion Israel Nahum Kaufman CPA Rishon le zion Israel Ariel Fatal Tel Aviv Israel Ben-Shimon, Elias & Co Tel Aviv Israel Be’eri & Co CPA Tel Aviv Israel Raviv Rozenberg CPA Tel Aviv Israel Schwartz Schreiber & Co CPA Tel Aviv Israel Shohet Rabinovitch Tel Aviv Israel Yehuda Liberman & Co CPA Tel Aviv Israel Yeskin & Co. Tel Aviv Israel Sorefisa Spa Milan Italy Studio Legale Associato Calleri Noviello & Morazzoni Sangalli Milan Italy Studio Associato Cella Callatroni Bianchi Piacenza Italy Studio Internazionale Rome Italy Tabuchi Accounting office Osaka Japan

Gamechangers 22

COVER

Spring Partners Tokyo Japan Volaw Group St Helier Jersey Dongnam Accounting Corporation Seoul Korea Johar Audit Kuwait City Kuwait Sidani & Co Beirut Lebanon UAB Botasta Kaunas Lithuania FOP Cogest SA Bertrange Luxembourg Thielen & Associes Luxembourg Luxembourg Gomez & Company Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Taxsafe SDN BHD Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Dixcart Management Malta Limited Ta’ Xbiex Malta Alliott Mauritius Port Louis Mauritius Robles, Tostado, Corona y Sanchez Gil S.C. Guadalajara (Zapopan) Mexico AVAN C Consultores Mexico City Mexico Villegas y Villegas Monterrey Mexico Grupo Consultor EFE Tijuana Mexico KB Chitracar & Co Kathmandu Nepal Borrie Rotterdam Netherlands Alliott NZ Limited Auckland New Zealand G. E. Osagie & Co Federal Capital Territory Nigeria Maganlal Thacker & Co Muttrah Oman Alliott Consulting Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd Karachi Pakistan Alliott Shahid Hadi Karachi Pakistan Rejas & Alva y Asociados S.C. Lima Peru FL Tax Warsaw Poland Alves, Botelho, Varela & Associados Lisbon Portugal LLM&D San Juan Puerto Rico Prospect Consult SRL Bucharest Romania Auditorija Limited Liability Company Moscow Russia Petro-Balt-Audit, Closed Joint Stock Company St. Petersburg Russia Maitre Cheikh Fall Law Firm Dakar Senegal HJM Asia Law & Co LLC (Singapore) Singapore Singapore K.G. Tan & Co. PAC Singapore Singapore Torras & Asociados Barcelona Spain Abbantia Abogados y Asesores Tributarios Seville Spain Goteborgs Smaforetagarcenter Goteborg Sweden Provida Consulting AG Frauenfeld Switzerland Guggenheim et Associes Geneva Switzerland Buis Burgi AG Zurich Switzerland Caliber CPAs Taipei Taiwan ICS Bagimsiz Denetim A.S. Istanbul Turkey Alliott Hadi Shahid (Abu Dhabi) Abu Dhabi UAE Alliott Management Consulting UAE Dubai UAE Smith Cooper Ltd The Midlands United Kingdom Ellisons Solicitors The East United Kingdom Alliotts London, Guildford United Kingdom Sherrards Solicitors LLP London, St Albans United Kingdom Harrison Drury & Co Limited Preston United Kingdom Nichols, Cauley & Associates, LLC Atlanta United States Walter & Shuffain, P.C. Boston United States Casey, Neilon Inc. Carson City United States Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. Chicago United States Graff, Ballauer & Blanski, P.C. Chicago United States Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP Cleveland United States Cobb Ezekiel Loy & Company, P.A. Graham United States Miller Grossbard Advisors, LLP Houston United States NSBN LLP Los Angeles United States Avila Rodriguez Hernandez Mena & Ferri LLP Miami United States Taggart Morton LLC New Orleans United States Farkouh, Furman & Faccio, LLP New York United States Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe LLP New York United States Timpson Garcia, LLP Oakland United States Montgomery Coscia Greilich LLP Plano United States Grant Bennett Associates Sacramento United States Chu and Waters, LLP San Francisco United States Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP Santa Rosa United States Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors Santa Rosa United States C&D LLP Solvang United States Brotemarkle, Davis & Co LLP St Helena United States Bowman & Company, LLP Stockton United States Chortek LLP Waukesha United States Weber, Shapiro & Company LLP Woodcliff Lake United States Estudio Lussich Torrendell & Asociados Montevideo Uruguay Ortega, Rodriguez, Arrieta & Asociados Caracas Venezuela GIA CAT Consulting and Auditing Company Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Kanokanga & Partners Harare Zimbabwe

23 Gamechangers

COVER

Q. Will you tell us more about Alliott Group, and your role as Chairman?

Alliott Group was founded in 1979 as a response to the growing internationalisation of business. We were one of the first movers in this market – there were indications that the volume of cross border business was set to increase sharply in the years ahead due to political and economic changes, including signs of ever closer union within the ‘European Community’ (as it was then known) and the widening of EC membership, including admission of my own country, to encourage cross border trade. In my role as elected Chairman, I provide strategic advice to the management team and feedback from the grass roots of the membership to ensure we remain in touch with key trends and developments.

3APEXCO 8 Esplanade de la Manufacture 92 100 ISSY LES MOULINEAUX Tél 00 33 1 55 95 56 60 International contact par tner : Thierr y BENYAMIN

WHO ARE WE 3APEXCO is acting as Char tered Accountant and Auditor.

We suppor t hundreds of entrepreneurs across France and worldwide through our alliance ALLIOT T GROUP. 3APEXCO operates in: trade and crafts, ser vices, industr y, agriculture, independent, associations, public and para-public sectors. 3APEXCO is at the hear t of enterprise information systems.

OUR VALUES Values around which we develop our Group are as follows: Respect Is the bond of all our values. This is the essential foundation of the relationship of trust that affects our internal relationships and the relationships we have with our customers, par tners, suppliers and

Gamechangers 24

the community.

OUR TEAM

Our added value

Independence

Super vised by par tners, many of whom were trained in the major international audit firms and consulting, our employees are from the best schools (universities and business schools). They aim to put their multidisciplinar y exper tise to large groups of SME - SMI.

An audit approach based on a risk assessment of the company and its internal control, as well as the principles of corporate governance.

In a business that combines master y of the complexity of operations and financial resource mobilization, 3APEXCO focused its exper tise on the areas of mergers - acquisitions.

AUDIT

Contractual audit

The group brings you 3APEXCO insurance on financial repor ting. We have been able to build an offering tailored to SMEs - SMIs, both in terms of ser vices as technologies used works.

The purpose of the contractual audit is to express an opinion on the financial statements of a corporation as par t of a restructuring, a merger or acquisition.

Due diligence

Our firm is the auditor of Public Interest Entities and subject to this title to H3C quality control (French agency for auditors control).

The diligence of acquisition or "acquisition due diligence" is per formed to evaluate and validate the strengths and weaknesses of a target company, and allow the drafting of clause warranties.

We are independent in our thinking.

Whether in our audit or consulting business, we always act with the same independence.

Excellence Our ser vices are provided by highly qualified staff regularly trained through a personalized plan. Their experience, team spirit, but also their motivation bring you the suppor t you need: a strong par tner on whom you can rely.

Continuity Anxious to bring our customers a local ser vice and quality, we strive to maintain the remaining teams for many years with the same client. The stability of our employees helps us greatly. Our relationships, our experience and knowledge sur vive.

We act on statutor y audit and consolidated financial statements.

To be followed on our website : www.3apexco.com

COVER

Q. How did you find yourself in the industry?

I studied at Piraeus University of Business and Economics in the late1970s and always knew that my aptitude for not only numbers but also business would result in a career within the financial sector. However, in my early days I was a professional footballer in Greece, another profession that demanded discipline, teamwork, communication, strategy and determination, attributes that continue to serve me well today. My own firm (Kleopas Alliott) joined Alliott Group two years after its establishment in 1992 – as a result of my own travels and natural curiosity, I was always acutely aware of developments in the wider global economy and believed that the path to growth in my business and in my clients’ business lay in taking a broad international view and in building strong relationships around the world that would facilitate success.

STAY TUNED FOR THE

RELAUNCH in SPRING 2016!

The philosophy of actis is based upon the idea of a philharmonic orchestra which is borne by musical units. Our group’s structure enables, comparable to an orchestra, an interplay of all actis consultancies as well as the incorporation of your beliefs that will be brought into a harmonic accord.

A selection of our instruments: Accounting & Inbound/Outbound Taxation – Sales & Marketing– HR Services Rather like a concert grand that comes to the fore by giving diverse, creative impulses whilst being musically supported by the remaining orchestra: We focus on the core consultancy service that is your priority and expand our services by the instruments that make sense for you. You choose.

Let us be your orchestra and the game will change! actis Group Heinrich-Barth-Straße 1 66115 Saarbrücken / Germany t +49(0)681-98916-0 f +49(0)681-98916-99 m: info@actis.ag w: www.actis.ag

25 Gamechangers

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Q. What are the key factors in the smooth running of an international alliance of accounting and law firms?

As with any business, you must always listen not only to your own customers but also to what is happening in the wider business environment.

We are customer led and always try to be a few steps ahead to ensure we remain relevant to the market. Despite the emergence of many new competitors, we have evolved over time thanks to the energy and entrepreneurial spirit of our members, a clear vision and strong leadership.

More specifically, I would say that pragmatism in admitting the right firms to the membership has been key to our smooth running – firms that are passionate about the importance of one to one personal advice and see themselves as trusted business advisers as opposed to ‘bean counters’ or lawyers who focus merely on compliance. It has also been important to appoint firms that are fully committed to the Alliott Group vision of providing an alternative cross border solution to the mega firms for the middle market business.

Room 303/Southern Building, No 77, E Shan Road, Shanghai PRC 200127 Tel: 86-21-58399302, 58399303, 58391533, 58391936 Fax: 86-21-58391733

http://www.jjcpafirm.com

Email: Headoffice@jjcpafirm.com; headoffice@alliott.cn

Presented through Alliott Group a worldwide Alliance of independent firms

China is the Emerging Star in the World Economy, there are still another twenty years to go. China is full of chances even though in its economic recession now.

China is a miracle for its economy for the past 30 years. It ’s booming up still in the world. Shanghai is the economic Center of China, the engine of its economy.

Shanghai J&J CPA Firm LLP is the member of Alliott Group - an alliance of independent accountants and lawyers. It ’s located in Lu Jia Zui Finance Center in Pudong New Area.

It majors to provide ser vice to investors from all over the world, especially from Europe and USA. John Liu, the managing par tner has the China CPA and UK AAIA membership and he is familiar with

Gamechanger 26

both local GAAP, tax regulation and the Western GAAP, IFRS and world taxation principles. He helps the world investors in China to cross the gaps between World and China.

John and the firm also registered in USA PCAOB – Public Company Accounting Oversight board, it ’s an organization super vising all auditors for public companies.

John and its firm staff think “globally ” and help customers to know all things “locally ”. John entered the CPA firm in 1990 and gained experience of 26 years in this field.

John and the firm staff has the root of integrity deep in their mind and safeguard the customers interest sincerely.

The Firm’s concept is to provide professional ser vice to customers and it covers all field as follows: 1. Aud i t and assurance, i nclud i ng d ue d i li gence and S ox compli ance testi ng and super vi si on etc.

2. B ook keepi ng and tax fi li ng 3. Cashi er and secretar y ser vi ce; 4. Payroll 5. Trai ni ng for book keepi ng and taxati on; 6. O perati on problems d i agnosi s; 7. VAT ser vi ce i n Chi na i nclud i ng VAT-i nput i nvoi ce ver i fi cati on and VAT- output i nvoi ce d ata copy to tax office 8. Company regi str y, regi str y change and d e -regi str y ;

China is a self-called developing countr y, developing means change.

Change means challenge. So all professional people feel pressures that all is changing so fast. It ’s not so comfor table for overseas investors. They plan schemes for several months, but the situation has changed when such a scheme is to be implemented. Then they feel puzzled and feel totally at loss.

John and its team usually help such investors to understand the China economic change and its change trend and the new policies discussed in the government circles to prevent such things happen.

Due to the fast development and over-investment in the traditional industries, such industries appear to be over-supplied. So China is facing the structural change of its economy. The recession is actually a huge chance for its potential structural change. After the change, a new China will rise up again.

COVER

Q. Can you tell us more about the risks that can occur when communicating and doing business across borders?

There are always risks when doing business across borders. Sometimes it can be a leap into the unknown in terms of what and who you are dealing with. Ours is very much a people business - trust and clear communication are absolutely key when the expertise of another professional is needed in another jurisdiction or field in order to achieve the desired outcomes.

In our experience, problems can occasionally occur due to cultural misunderstanding rather than anything technical or more sinister – and that is where the Alliott Group point of difference comes into play. We are firmly focused on providing a global platform that ensures the communication and sharing of knowledge between professional advisers who meet face to face at our meetings and conferences and who are also able to work virtually across borders using the resources we provide.

ABVADVOGADOS

ALVES, BOTELHO, VARELA & ASSOCIADOS

Sociedade de Advogados R.L. | Law firm

Av. Álvares Cabral, n.º 84, 2º, 1250-018 Lisboa, Portugal T. (+351) 213 703 600 F. (+351) 213 882 554 E. geral@abvlegal.pt www.abvlegal.pt

1 / INTRODUCTION

3 / MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE

ABV ADVOGADOS is an independent law firm based in Lisbon. Our team of experienced and technically proficient partners and associate lawyers will ensure quality, speed and positive outcomes for our clients.

/ Company Law and Corporate, including M&A

The firm's activity covers the main areas of the Law. Apart from Portugal, we also provide legal advice together with our local partners in the Portuguese-speaking African countries.

/ Labour and Employment law

2 / OUR APPROACH AND VALUES

/ Real Estate and Construction / Banking and Finance

/ Oil and Gas, particularly in Angola and Mozambique / Private Client Area, including immigration and nationality matters. In this regard, we work specifically with the Portuguese Golden Visa program and the Portuguese tax regime for non-habitual residents.

ABV ADVOGADOS is a boutique law firm focused on its clients' interests.

4 / INTERNATIONAL We believe that only a close relationship with our clients and our partners, based on extensive knowledge of their situations and needs, can enable us to respond and satisfy their interests effectively.

Our lawyers are highly specialised in specific areas of the Law, ensuring clients enjoy the benefits of people who have a profound, up to date knowledge of the latest laws and regulations affecting their business.

Wherever in the world we are operating, our lawyers are committed to the highest standards of professionalism and ethics.

In addition to our activity in Portugal, the firm actively supports many companies involved in international projects, particularly in Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique, jurisdictions where we have vast experience and strong local partnerships.

Our membership of leading international alliance of professional firms Alliott Group enables us to serve our clients not only in Portugal and the other jurisdictions where we typically operate, but also in the 70 countries where Alliott Group has members.

27 Gamechangers

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Q. How do you simplify cross border business whilst still reducing risk?

Cross border business can be complex with the raft of compliance, tax, legal, HR and audit issues that need to be considered. However, one of Alliott Group’s top level objectives is to make cross border business easier by ensuring organisations involved in cross border business have a clear choice when they need help – we have handpicked the best, owner managed, local professional firms in all of the markets where we have a presence.

Each firm must be registered with their national regulatory body and have a sterling reputation. There are stringent membership requirements to get into and stay in our group – non-performance is not tolerated. This de-risks the decision to hire our member firms and gives businesses confidence that they will be looked after well in terms of levels of service and of course the final bill, wherever in the world they need assistance.

Alliotts, Char tered Accountants and Business Advisors Imperial House 15 Kingsway London WC2B 6UN +44 207 240 9971 colin.farmer@alliotts.com www.alliotts.com

Businesses need to think ‘global’ to operate competitively.

Businesses par ticipating in the global market place will have access to more customers, increased oppor tunities and will be more competitive. At Alliotts we work with entrepreneurial business owners, helping them to grow their businesses. Over 40 years ago we recognised that we needed to help our clients gain access to overseas markets and they needed reliable professional advisors to give them the same level of ser vice, and so we founded Alliott Group, an international alliance of independent accountants and lawyers. This has enabled us to give our clients the suppor t that they need to grow on a global scale and the reassurance of working with trusted professional advisors who

Gamechangers 28

are known to us personally.

Understanding the needs of international businesses is a key focus for Alliotts. Colin Farmer heads up our team of specialist advisors across our London and Guildford offices to help inward investors set up in the UK. We can help make the process easier whether setting up a company, buying an existing business or establishing new supply or distribution networks. Colin also ser ves as Chairman of the EMEA Advisor y Committee of Alliott Group.

Overseas businesses investing in the UK need to have access to experienced advisors to guide them through a step by step process and to help make their investment in the UK as successful as possible.

Our ser vices and advice to inward investors includes entity set up and tax efficient structuring, taking care of compliance matters such as filing accounts and audits; and a complete payroll ser vice. Our multilingual outsourced ser vices team provide a full range of scalable ser vices including book keeping and accounts and management repor ting to head offices, which is par ticularly attractive to larger inwardly investing businesses.

Corporate taxation is a challenge for companies setting up in the UK, especially if par t of an international group. Our tax specialists led by David Gibbs advise international businesses on structuring tax efficiently to meet their corporate objectives and ensure that

companies are aware of and take advantage of the tax incentives that are available to cer tain sectors as well as for businesses involved in research and development activity.

Our tax specialists also work with overseas businesses that choose the UK as a location for their international holding company, as it provides them with stability and a favourable tax regime.

Alliotts is a truly international team, helping businesses to think global.

Our experienced international business advisors in London and Guildford help UK businesses expand globally by introducing them to trusted advisors worldwide via Alliott Group and advise overseas business on setting up and doing business in the UK, making the process as easy as possible.

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Q. How do you manage the constant evolution of technology and marketing differentiation?

It is important to be agile and technology plays a key part in ensuring we are able to respond to changes in the marketplace. Recently, we have embraced cloud based technology as well as mobile innovation to ensure members have easy 24/7 access to the most up to date global resources they and their clients need. In many ways, we are a marketing led business – technology plays a part in our ability to listen and communicate. We also understand and are pursuing a strategy that will differentiate the Alliott Group brand. In our view, marketing communications can feel mechanical and impersonal if boxes are simply being ticked – our strategy is very focused on ensuring communications are as personalised as possible and that creativity provides that spark of interest in what we offer in a very crowded professional services marketplace. To stand still is to go backwards - a clear vision and quantitative marketing goals are critical to ensuring we continue to evolve in the right direction. Like any leading brand, we aim to ‘own’ our category.

Tax and expatriate services in the Rhine-Main area We are specialized in serving expatriates and the international community. Our consulting services include the full range of taxation, accounting and business services for both individuals and companies.

Thanks to our alliance with the Alliott Group, we can provide access to independent accounting, law and consulting firms all over the world.

For international clients

• German taxation, tax registration and answering questions around tax return • Income Tax and Payroll • VAT and Trade Tax • Services for Freelancers • MOSS registration and reporting For national clients • Tax of individuals and small firms

We look forward to hear from you soon.

Basten GmbH Im Haindell 1 65843 Sulzbach/Taunus Bei Frankfurt am Main

Tel.: +49 (0)6196 / 5002-15 Fax: +49 (0)6196 / 5002-50 sebastian.basten@datevnet.de www.basten.de

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Q. Comprising of first-class achievements, Alliott Group has won its fair share of awards. What do you feel is key to such success?

In many ways, it is a simple answer – we have a shared vision that our member firms have all bought into. While all firms have their own unique characteristics and value their independence, we all understand how important it is in today’s globalised market to pull together in the same direction to ensure that our clients achieve the results they want when working across borders and continue to view us as their solution providers of choice. I cannot emphasise enough the strong personal connections that exist within Alliott Group – many clients tell us that the service experience is unique – our members are not only colleagues, but also good friends they provide the type of VIP service that can only result from the inherent desire of each and every member to serve a new client in the way they would want their own client to be served. And the depth of expertise available from our member firms will also surprise organisations– many of the partners running our member firms left large international firms to set up their own firm, preferring the flexibility and more hands-on approach a smaller firm can provide. This has, for example, resulted in profound knowhow in mergers and acquisitions, international tax and corporate finance.

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Q. How will we see the brand develop over the course of the year?

We are in a process of transition – a strategy led by our CEO James Hickey and supported by our Worldwide Head of Marketing Giles Brake will see the Alliott Group brand evolve noticeably in the next 12 months. While the name and logo will not change, our strategy will deploy marketing innovation to create a strong point of difference in terms of our image and messages in the marketplace and ensure business decision makers are more aware of what Alliott Group can offer their organisation, whether they work within a professional firm or a business with cross border interests. We have seen a gap in the market and are actively pursuing it.

Ellisons Solicitors, Headgate Cour t, Head Street, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1NP www.ellisonssolicitors.com Email Seamus Clifford direct on seamus.clifford@ellisonssolcitors.com Email Tim direct on tim.logan@ellisonssolicitors.com Colchester (Head Office) – 01206 764477 | Ipswich – 01473 556900 Frinton – 01255 851000 | Clacton – 01255 421248 Dovercour t – 01255 502428

Ellisons Solicitors Ellisons Solicitors was ver y pleased to have had such a busy and productive year in 2015. This was the case across all our offices, including our Head Office; located in Colchester, Essex.

The Head Office is in a prime location, just 50 minutes from London by train. Our Par tners will happily travel to see clients wherever is most convenient.

During 2015 (and so far in 2016) the firm celebrated many new client wins and so continued to meet client demand with an array of new hires, both lawyers and suppor t staff.

Ellisons are able to offer a broad mix of ser vices, including: Corporate Commercial, Commercial Proper ty, Employment & HR Suppor t, Insurance Litigation and Dispute Resolution for our business clients, as well as: Cour t of Protection, Dispute Resolution, Employment, Family, Personal Injur y, Wills, Trusts & Probate and Residential Conveyancing for our private clients. We are also specialists in a range of sectors: Retail, Insurance, Manufacturing, Hospitality/Leisure and Transpor t/Automotive.

Realising that legal advice so often comes hand in hand with a change in personal circumstances and new financial responsibilities, Ellisons recently launched Ellisons Financial Planning.

In recent years, our work has also taken us overseas. Our clients are increasingly doing business on international territor y and as such we have adapted to ensure we are able to help them achieve their legal, accounting and tax related needs seamlessly and with maximum cost-efficiency through access to the close personal relationships the firm has built up with both the law and accounting members of Alliott Group.

Our experience of international work has included, (but not limited to), commercial advice and assistance related to expansion of businesses overseas; employment of international staff ; dealing with sales and purchases of commercial proper ties and tax related matters.

What do our clients have to say?

You shouldn’t just take our word for it: "Its’ client ser vice is first-class and the levels of ser vice are consistent from the senior par tners to the junior members of staff."

Seamus Clifford, [ranked as Band 1], is head of the depar tment and a "responsive, professional and well-informed" lawyer with experience dealing with the full gamut of corporate matters.

(Chambers & Par tners.)

If you’d like to discuss any of your legal matters, please call the office on 01206 764477.

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Q. What changes have you seen over the past few years in the industry?

Broadly speaking, in the professions we have seen a lot of consolidation – some firms have sought mergers in order to survive or to secure succession. As a result of the global economic downturn, there has also been downward pressure on fees – firms have had to up the ante in terms of the value they provide – it’s not enough to be good at compliance, that is a given – clients expect the insights and creativity that will make a difference to their business. Clients expect services to be much more tailored to their needs than in the past. In some markets, we are also seeing alternative business structures in the professions with for example, in the UK ‘high street’ law practices being eroded by big businesses such as The Co-operative Group and non-lawyers being allowed to own, run or invest in legal businesses. These are all threats in the marketplace that more traditional firms must adapt to and learn from so that they become opportunities.

DOING BUSINESS IN LATAM, THE SMART WAY. A constant issue of entrepreneurs wanting to do business in the LATAM region, is the need for a trustworthy and reliable firm of professionals that can help set-up the business and follow thought its growth, turning complex tax and legal systems into simple and clear advice that clears the path to interesting opportunities.

Grupo Consultor EFE™ is a Mexican audit, tax and consulting firm with presence in over 10 countries around the LATAM region, and a staff of over 500 professionals ready to help you in a personalized way, like things are supposed to be. Please contact us and let us help you in your path to success.

Contact info E: info@grupoconsultorefe.com T: +52 (664) 634 3311 Languages: Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese. www.grupoconsultorefe.com

Mexico

Costa Rica

Panama

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Honduras

Nicaragua

El Salvador

Peru

Dominican Republic

Colombia

®

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Q. What defines a Gamechanger in your eyes?

In my eyes, a gamechanger is someone who has the vision and know-how to bring something new and refreshing to a market category. However, it takes great leadership to introduce new ideas and to inspire people to alter their direction and to come on the journey. If we are honest, the professional services sector can be a rather grey place – this is a shame as some of the sharpest minds work in our fields and make a huge difference to our communities. Alliott Group is a game changer in that we are looking to introduce something new and different that will stand out in the crowded professional services marketplace, and that will ultimately make cross border business more simple.

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Q. What does the future hold for accounting and law?

There will always be change and that is what keeps life interesting. New companies will always try to disrupt ‘the way things have always been done’. We cannot accept that clients will always be loyal to us – we will need to work hard to retain their loyalty and our status as trusted advisers.

Loyalty cannot be taken for granted in any business, not least in ours where clients pay higher fees and expect outstanding results. Keeping a keen eye on innovation in the market will be essential to ensure that accounting and law firms continue to play an essential role in the growth of the global business economy and in ensuring best practice prevails.

We are your Partner in Austria Austria: Ask & Win Rothenbuchner & Partner is a constantly growing tax consult consulting firm with international focus sited in Vienna. We offer a wide range of services – from international tax consulting and auditing to in-depth depth knowledge in IT systems. With high level of professional competence and quality we provide comprehensive assistance and consulting.

Our team is characterized by flexibility, promptitude, innovative ability and adherence to schedules. We communicate in German, English, French, Russian and Ukrainian. Being a member of Alliott Group we gained lots of international experience and can rely on high level competence of our colleagues.

Our special subjects are: •

Expatriate SServices: Wee develop systems for salaries of expatriates which grant constancy of remuneration in different fields of taxation and purchase power - optimised in the area of tax and social security law. law

•

Mergers & Acquisitions: The transfer of companies, shares etc. requires a due diligence assessment to discover relevant chances and risks.

We accomplish this assessment for you in the areas of taxes, finance, ea earnings, rnings, assets and business model as well as information technology technology.

•

International transfer pric pricing documentation Although between most of the world´s major countries tax treaties exist, reality shows that these still leave potential for discussion – to gain security for your company´s transfer pricing policy is our aim.

Clear Strategies. Creative Solutions.

Rothenbuchner & Partner Wirtschaftsprüfung GmbH T +43–1–503 58 70 Schwindgasse 4/7 E b. rothenbuchner@rothenbuchner.co.at 1040 Vienna, Austria W www.rothenbuchner.co.at

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Q. Can you let us in on what’s to come over the course of the next 5 years?

Expect to see an Alliott Group presence in a growing number of niche markets that are of importance to middle market companies involved in cross border business. Organisations face massive challenges in terms of achieving growth – for example, they need to get the right people to the right places at the right time, yet ensure they do this in the most cost effective way that will also not see them incur penalties by breaking laws.

Our plans in the next 5 years will provide middle market organisations with a clear choice for when they need to acquire the right mix of skills and services across borders to achieve specific challenges such as this. There is a big market out there for our member firms – and we are determined to take advantage.

Contacts: Paul Marmor, Alasdair McMillin Sherrards Solicitors LLP 7 Swallow Place Mayfair London W1B 2AG United Kingdom Contact Paul Marmor pdm@sherrards.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7478 9010 Fax: +44 (0)20 7499 3846

UK Trade & Investment (“UK TI”), the UK Government ’s international trade agency, has produced a case study focusing on the impression that Sherrards are making on the international landscape, in helping to sell and push UK plc overseas, with their suppor t highlighted on their web site: TinyURL.com/j79p4fm

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developing our China & Far East desk;

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advancing the Alliott Group international alliance, widening our global reach;

increasing our ties with international legal associations such as the IBA and the ABA;

-

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being recognised by the Law Society with an International Excellence Award;

The case study illustrates how UK TI has helped Sherrards to raise its global profile to become a “go to” firm for legal ser vices internationally.

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being featured in a video by the Law Society ’s International Division;

working on the Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UK, through the organisers, on the largest-ever reception for over 60,000 of the Indian diaspora welcoming Modi at Wembley Stadium.”

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working with the Taiwanese Government ’s UK People’s Representative Office;

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taking par t in development trips in central and eastern Europe (e.g.

Russia and Georgia)

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par ticipating in CSR initiatives suppor ting the Tapologo Outreach Centre in Rustenburg, South Africa, and the Friends of Chernobyl’s Children, Belarus.

Paul Marmor, Head of International, comments: “ The last eighteen months have been momentous, with a great deal of success internationally. We’ve been engaged in a wide range of international activities, such as:-

working with the World Bank, contributing to their ‘Doing Business’ project;

Alasdair McMillin, Sherrards’ Managing Par tner, states: “It ’s a core par t of our strategy to develop our international offering, for a number of reasons. First, it ’s vital for us to be able to provide our audience with access to similar law firms and like -minded professionals globally.

This helps our clients/contacts expand their offerings overseas. Secondly, we have received excellent instructions on inward investment-related transactions coming into the UK. Thirdly, our

international persona has helped to develop our standing in the legal profession, which is helping with recruitment of excellent lawyers, whether they be at par tner or assistant level, as we develop our offering, giving us a real edge over our competitors.”

Paul Marmor adds: “ Whatever the size of your company, UK TI is there for you. You can be any size of business, from ver y small to ver y large, and if you go to UK TI you’ll have embassies on your side and a huge network of contacts at your finger tips. If you want to establish a footprint in an international market you need to develop a USP and then go to UK TI. Working with them gives you immediate gravitas.’”

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Q. What have been some of the memorable and more challenging events since joining Alliott Group?

New regulations always present challenges – the accounting sector has seen huge change as a result of the fallout from scandals such as Parmalat and Enron. As a result, we took the decision to become an association rather than a network. Our members are proud of their independent status and at the end of the day, being a member of a network compromises this independence and presents a certain amount of liability risk. This was a pivotal point in our history and we are unequivocal in our view that this was the correct path to take.

Smith Cooper will change the way you think about an accountancy practice.

Over the last 30 years, our offer of bespoke and specialist ser vices, highly experienced staff and in-depth market knowledge has led us to becoming one of the most progressive firms of accountants and business advisors working across the Midlands and beyond.

As a firm, we are dedicated to responding to our clients’ needs innovatively and efficiently and as such, have invested heavily in developing our existing ser vice lines, creating new specialist teams and diversifying through our five group companies.

Working as an extended par t of your

Gamechangers 36

team, we offer a range of ser vices tailored to your individual needs, offering solutions that make a real difference.

Some of our ser vices include: Accounting and compliance Audit and assurance Business advisor y Business recover y and insolvency Communications and telephony solutions Corporate finance HR Independent financial advice Independent mor tgage advice Managed IT suppor t

Payroll Restructuring rescue and corporate recover y Sage software sales and suppor t Tax advice and compliance Transaction suppor t VAT and indirect taxes We also boast numerous accreditations and awards including Microsoft Gold Par tners and Sage top 10 Business Par tners and ACQ Award Winners.

Our main aim is to add true value to your business and to achieve this; we offer unlimited suppor t from an exper t par tner and highly skilled team.

Our close working relationship with clients and ease of access to

par tners, directors and managers, enables the deliver y of fast, quality advice and implementation assistance.

For fur ther information about Smith Cooper and the ser vices we offer, or to speak to a dedicated exper t, please visit www.smithcooper.co.uk

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More about you…

Q. What motivates you as Chairman of Alliott Group?

It is easy to be motivated in this role as I love what I do. Similar to anyone who feels their job is their calling in life, I get immense satisfaction from providing a good service and seeing the positive impact of my actions. And it is easy to find the motivation to carry on when you are surrounded by good people who have the same passion for business and who want to come on the journey with you.

Q. What does success mean to you?

Success for me lies in getting my clients across the line, particularly when a journey has been challenging and the odds have appeared to be stacked against you.

G u i l l e r m o Vi l l e g a s J n r. guillermo.va@villegassc.com.mx Villegas y VillegasNuevo León 307 Monterrey Nuevo León 64720 Mexico Te l : + 5 2 8 1 8 1 9 0 3 5 2 4 Fax: +52 8181903452 Web: www.villegasyvillegas.com.mx

Villegas y Villegas star ted out as a small accounting firm in Monterrey, Mexico located near the downtown area in the 1960s offering bookkeeping ser vices to a handful of local businesses. Almost 60 years later, our firm has grown way beyond the bookkeeping ser vices and now is par t of the wide Tax and Audit competition within the Nuevo Leon area thanks to an ethic of hard work and constant education for its staff members.

Our experience includes the offering of audit ser vices to

companies within the medical ser vices industr y, real estate, technology, and automotive sector. We’ve offered our tax consultation ser vices to both entities and individuals, generating a wide variety of tax ser vices associated with both compliance and planning.

We feel that one of the benefits of being around for more than half a centur y in a town like Monterrey is that its massive industrial and economic growth has played an essential par t in our development since our clients have also shown a great

development along with the city. Recently, our firm star ted to venture into the global market. Our first step was to join the Alliott Group and offer cross border ser vices to our existing clients.

Thanks to our involvement with the Alliott Group, we have been able to offer some of our clients a more integrated ser vice for their operations outside of Mexico throughout many member firms. Thanks to this new vision, we have included ser vices like transfer pricing analysis and expats tax

compliance ser vices into our ser vices por tfolio.

Our main focus for these ser vices have been transactions between Mexico and the United States but we’ve been getting more and more into different sectors around the world. For our firm, the main challenge is to take that leap from a small, local accounting firm, to a bigger size international oriented firm offering a wide range of ser vices required by multinational companies all over the world. w w w. v i l l e g a s y v i l l e g a s . c o m . m x

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Q. What is your greatest weakness?

Clients and friends tell me that I am too generous with my time, but I disagree. We work in a business where personal relationships are so important – a business can succeed or fail based on the advice we give.

Investing your personal time in getting to know a business owner helps to understand the whole range of issues a CEO or CFO is facing, whether business or personal so that his or her overall objectives are understood and advice is tailored accordingly to achieve the most favourable outcomes possible. What may appear to some a weakness, is in my view, one of my greatest strengths.

Simon Perchard D i re c to r, We a l t h St r u c t u r i n g G ro u p sperchard@volaw.com Te l : ( + 4 4 ) ( 0 ) 1 5 3 4 5 0 0 4 3 0

Volaw Group is one of Jersey ’s leading providers of fiduciar y ser vices. We specialise in the formation and management of trusts, companies, foundations, limited par tnerships and structures for tax, estate and succession planning and other financial planning purposes.

Volaw Group’s clients are based in many jurisdictions and their business requirements extend across many borders. Through our membership of the Alliott Group we are able to co-operate with fellow members to provide a complete ser vice solution, meaning we are confident that we can provide a truly international ser vice.

Volaw ’s work involves assisting private clients, including family offices, in their wealth structuring requirements. We also provide structured finance ser vices to institutions on behalf of their own clients and also to corporate clients.

Our Fund Ser vices Group provides fund structuring and fund administration ser vices and we have teams dedicated to Employee Benefit Solutions and Listing ser vices. We have in-depth experience catering for the needs of Islamic clients, including Shari'a-compliant wealth structuring and Islamic funds.

Volaw's ser vices are tailored to the needs of our clients in eight main ser vice areas:

• • • • • • • •

Wealth Structuring Corporate Ser vices Fund Ser vices Islamic Finance Family Office Ser vices Employee Benefit Solutions Listing Ser vices Structured Finance

We co-operate with other professional advisers in advising corporate clients, family offices and private clients on how best to establish offshore fiduciar y structures in Jersey or in other jurisdictions. Volaw maintains excellent working relationships with numerous professional firms across the world through Alliott Group and we have access to a broad range of financial and legal exper tise. Volaw is often suppor ted by its associated Jersey law firm Voisin.

Established in 1982, Volaw is owned by its senior executive directors and by some of the par tners of our associated law firm Voisin. As of Januar y 2016, Volaw was responsible for the administration of over 2,000 trusts, companies and par tnerships which together held assets wor th in excess of US$25 billion.

For fur ther information about our ser vices, please contact Volaw Group directors Simon Perchard (sperchard@volaw.com) or Mark Healey (mhealey@volaw.com) or visit www.volaw.com.

Volaw G ro u p, Fif th Fl o o r, 3 7 E s pl a n a de, St H el ier, Jer s ey JE 1 2TR , t: +44 (0)1534 500400, f : +44 (0)1534 500450, e: mai l@volaw.com, w w w. vo law. co m . .

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Q. What is your best advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and businesses out there?

It is good to have dreams, but do your market research and keep your eyes and ears open.

Having a gut instinct is fine, but you need to understand what potential customers are thinking and thorough research will ensure you understand market sentiment, market size and what you need to do to make a profit.

And of course, getting good professional advice at the outset from people you trust will save money and time in the long run!

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Andy Khawaja - The billion dollar Gamechanger of the payments industry.

“The sky is the limit and we’re like a rocket” As the world’s leading payment processor and one of the fastest growing e-payment solutions providers from America to Asia, it’s no surprise Allied Wallet has seen such vast expansion in recent years.

We spoke with founder and CEO Andy Khawaja, known for his innovative and fresh approach to running a business; about the secrets to the firm’s success and what exciting plans he has for the future of Allied Wallet. We dig deeper into their development within such a thriving global company and discover the secrets to their success.

Q. As a first-class merchant service, may you tell us more about Allied Wallet…

Allied Wallet started give or take about ten years ago now in the U.S., a couple of years later we moved to the UK where we opened our UK operation office to expand to the European market.

The whole infrastructure and the whole strategy behind Allied Wallet is to give opportunities to entrepreneurs so they can create a job and a career for themselves.

I was an entrepreneur when I first started; I had a very tough start. No-one will ever believe in the product you have, neither will they believe in you as a start-up (with no financial back up, references, etc.). I learned that lesson the hard way and as a result I decided to build Allied Wallet, so I could open up opportunities to entrepreneurs and enable them to create websites, ideas, applications, mobile apps, etc. whilst actually generating business out of it.

The financial industry is very much not keen on new business start-up if you don’t have the financial backing and are often hesitant in offering you credit card processing solution.

What if you go belly up? What’s going to happen? The banks don’t want to lose money; the bank is all about making money.

The idea and the culture behind Allied Wallet is all about understanding new start-up businesses and giving opportunities to entrepreneurs and freshly graduated university students, who want to start a business, and when that time comes, giving them that grounding to take off. That is why we conquered the market, not only domestically but globally. Every single region we enter is just a home run; a lot of financial institutes don’t believe in these people to be self-independent, to create businesses and successfully start up a company from with hardly any money in the bank account. Not everybody is born rich, not everybody has one or two million pounds to be launched with.

It is very difficult these days and I truly believe that is why Allied Wallet is so extremely successful, because entrepreneurs pitch us with a new idea and of course we will look at the business structure – as long as it safe, legal…why not.

Q. Can you tell us a little more about your background, what motivated you to launch within this industry and how that has impacted Allied Wallet...

I’m a jet setter, an entrepreneur – I’ve been in the high-end retail business, which is where we would accommodate consumers from all around the world. I used to run a chain of retail stores and myself, I was based on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. I used to meet customers from all around the globe; I would get networking, as I’m very social. This enabled me to see that the money comes from all different regions, in different currencies but in the end it gets into one settlement account. At the end of the day money is money. It got me thinking about how people use credit cards face to face, we call it face-to-face point of sale where you walk into a shop and you use your credit card, process the transaction and then walks away.

When the internet begun I started realising that there was something missing out there, at that point in time there were no websites with credit card transactions, only websites as a boutique advertisement, with no product to sell. It was at this point I was able to build the infrastructure which I called the virtual gateway – technology that takes credit cards and securely passes the details on to a data centre, avoiding the risk of a third party coping the details or stealing the identity.

In the beginning we started out similar to banks with the aim to secure consumer transactions but down the road we realised that we can actually make more money by transacting the card ourselves, by us being the financial institute and acting as the PSB (credit card processor). Since we insure the transaction, why not process the credit card and take the full liability? This way we can accommodate merchants to sell their products to consumers to their best advantage.

From being in retail, I grew to understand the global business very well. I had customers from all around the globe that come to Beverly Hills from England or Australia or Saudi Arabia, etc. This enabled me to understand concepts, the people and their cultures, what could work in that jurisdiction and what couldn’t – so it gave me a leap up on a level of communication with the national people outside of the U.S., especially in Europe. It was my opportunity to communicate with banker’s abroad and fully understand the culture, at least a little better than those who hadn’t visited or weren’t educated on the country or region.

Back in the day there was no money to advertise, it was word of mouth.

- “Hey, are you using Allied Wallet?”

- “Yeah it’s a great company, they accommodate multi-currency”

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How it works is, you can be in England and you can process in the Netherlands, you can be on the other side of the world but still process in dollars, like for like with no conversion, this was and still is unique because when banks usually offer those solutions, there will always be conversion fees for cross-water transactions. We don’t ever want to make money from that, we only want to make money on the transaction fee, not on the conversion fee or foreign exchange like other financial institutes. They’ll often bank on one transaction, only we don’t want to be rich on one merchant. We look at it as quantity, not just a few merchants that we can cash in on; in the service business, service is all about accommodating consumers and securing consumer’s credit cards, preventing fraudulent transactions and ensuring the merchant themselves can generate money and that they’re profiting from it. At the end of the day, if they don’t profit, they’ll go out of business and if they go out of business then no one will make money on it.

In the beginning it was tough but once Allied Wallet launched and began offering solutions and securing credit cards, people were happy with the service, it built up and it work out.

Q. How do you maintain such a high level of security when processing online transactions?

Everything we do is in-house and we have some of the best senior developers. Our coding is mostly based on security more than just banking technology, over the years we have worked a lot on building our own security infrastructure in-house. Our aims are to protect everyone involved in the transaction from harm and protect our customers from being exposed to any fraud or identity theft. There are about 28 senior Microsoft developers and their time is fully dedicated to improving the security system.

When you’re handling third party identity and credit card numbers, the core of the business needs to be secure. It’s so important to invest money in that.

In the past I’ve seen banks that don’t even have any more than 3-4 developers and you can’t run a bank with so few developers. They’re response is usually “But we don’t have the technology”. Well guess what, you are in the security business, it’s imperative to have security in-house. You are the bank; you understand exactly what needs to be done because you’re the one communicating with the consumer. It can prove difficult to bring in a third party who doesn’t understand your business as much as you do and then have them attempt to build product for you. If you have people in-house, sitting down with your sales, accounting, finance and I.T. teams, listening to every issue that needs addressing and creating that solution under one house, then you’re going to be one step ahead of the game. That is why we are the Gamechanger in the market because we do exactly what needs to be done and in the right way, we don’t do it guessing because we talk to our consumers and our merchants; constantly engaged in communications.

A lot of people are looking at us and like, “What is it that they’re doing right that will accomplish things that we haven’t accomplished? Why is a company like Allied Wallet when 4 years ago when the financial crisis hit and hundreds of thousands of people were laid off, thousands of financial institutes worldwide were closing and they were seeing three to four hundred percent growth?”

It’s very simple, the people want a Gamechanger, they trust that and consumers like that. Merchants want to be in business with one. It is simple, look after the merchants, and give them an opportunity to start and accommodate them – then why would they leave you?

Q. Unlike many companies and even those in ecommerce, you didn’t rely on investors’ money when launching; how do you feel that affected the business launch into the industry?

I started my company with less than $400 and now these days I’m network $17.8-17.9 billion. People ask me,” How did you become a billionaire overnight? You must be the luckiest human being alive.” I don’t believe in luck though, the key is to trust yourself, work hard, be good to others and make sure whatever you do, you build it for the future of others, enabling them to make money and to grow, just like you’ve grown yourself from the start.

Whatever I do, I ask myself how I’m going to help people like myself when I used to have nothing, where I’d sleep hungry and would treat myself to a nice sardine can at the weekends. How can I prevent anyone else suffering that? How can I make life better for others? How can I save them money?

How can I protect them from being a victim of fraud? How can I improve their businesses online? What should I do to enable them to process any market in the world? I’ve become a mentor for some of my start-up merchants and entrepreneurs because I love to lead them in the right direction and out of harm’s way. That is why I have been highly respected in the market and why we now serve more than 143 million customers worldwide.

The reason they come to me is because of trust, relationship, accommodation and the fact I actually help them – I don’t just take their money like the banking institutes do.

I’m an enabler.

Q. In relation to e-commerce, we can see that you have changed the game. In 2013 it was released that AW had 88 million customers in almost every country and processed 50 currencies. The past 2 years have seen AW attract an increasing user base of over 125 million now, what are the key decisions that have impacted such successful development?

- Listen to your merchants, understand what they need and add it.

- Listen to the complaints of consumers, assess the issues and solve it.

- Look at international businesses and see what most currencies spend money on online.

- See that most transactions can be conducted online and offer to old merchants or from new currencies that they’ve never thought about.

- Offering a new market that they can enter.

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You’re sat behind a laptop and you sign in, within seconds you’re online already - you are that readily exposed to the planet. That’s how we see it, not just as a small jurisdiction, we see it as global business. We encourage our merchants and teach them that it’s safe as we protect you, that we can take you to a new market that you could be surprised how much money you can potentially generate from. We do this to keep our merchants in business. I mean believe me, we have the banks come to them and offering them better or cheaper buy-rates than Allied Wallet, but we like to look at ourselves in a very unique way – we provide them with a service from A to Z. It’s like booking a BA flight from London to New York, an Economy pass ticket will cost you £600 and a First Class ticket may cost you up to or above £9,000. It’s same plane, it’s going to take off at the same time and land at the same time, and people are going to be sitting in the same aircraft. But the service is different; the service in First Class is very different to the service in Economy. At Allied Wallet we provide that First Class service, we pamper our merchants, we look after and we protect them, saving them money and advising them, we give them every single idea in the business book that they haven’t yet heard about, we educate them and tell them what’s right and what’s wrong, what they should be careful of, what consumers love and what products they should motivate more for that particular region. Everything we do, we do for benefit of the merchants. We don’t ask for anything in return, just be loyal and don’t switch over for a penny less. That has proven to work so far.

The internet is still new and a lot of the websites and applications have all been generated by entrepreneurs in the past 5 years. 70% of everything you see online has been generated from entrepreneurs. Unlike Allied Wallet, the financial industry has never believed in them. I have given them the chance and that is why our business has grown faster than anyone else.

Q. We’ve seen some phenomenal growth for Allied Wallet. Ecommerce has seen its fastest growing development in recent years; can you tell us more about recent developments in the market place?

Mobile payment is improving. When Allied Wallet launched its payment app, it was in a very unique way – multi-currency and multilingual – both for swipe and pin/chip. The mobile device works with Bluetooth so you don’t have to connect it to the phone but that’s the beauty of it, you can just walk in to a restaurant or shop or a taxi rank. We are changing the way people upgrade and as well, our mobile payments are one of a kind. That’s how mobile payment has taken over and we can confidently say that we are the leaders in that now.

It is very important to accommodate entrepreneurs, lead and inspire them, protect them from fraud and encourage them to expand. There are so many financial institutes who don’t make it their business to educate their merchants, often only in the business for making fast money. At Allied Wallet, we would rather educate. When you educate, you’re improving and with improvements come you’re increasing profit and your relationship with the merchants. So far it has worked for me.

Q. With the development of fingerprint payment, it seems Allied Wallet is the forefront of ecommerce technology. What is the future for ecommerce payments?

We have had the technology built up for a little over 2 years now. It’s based on tokenization, which is where the device memorises and stores your credit card data into the technology of Allied Wallet ‘the virtual wallet’. You never need to insert your card again. Any transactions you process via your mobile phone, your fingerprint will play as a tool to actually securely confirm and complete transactions. The reason why is because it’s linked to tokenization where it stores your card and encrypts the ID and data in a secured environment. All you have to do is use your fingerprint or ask if you want to type in your password and it will charge the card that is stored in the virtual terminal.

Q. Do you feel social media has played any part in the success of Allied Wallet?

Social media does exist but it doesn’t bring us the merchants that we want. It is more for consumer to consumer, which isn’t so relevant to us. It’s good to have social media to advertise but I don’t think anyone’s business is coming from social media. It is coming from real people, real merchants, and real conversations. I see that a lot, people don’t talk much on social media about banks and financial institutes, I.T. or technology. People on social media talk about celebrities and fashion, etc.

Q. What Allied Wallet do is very unique, are there any direct competitors in the field? When you’re facing other internet payment mechanisms like PayPal, how do you feel your company stands out in such a competitive environment?

I don’t feel we have any competitors in the market and there will never be any competitors in the market because what we do, no-one else can do. Anything related to financial businesses is based on making money and although we like to make money, that is not a philosophy.

PayPal is very limited to what sort of merchants they can take. When they set up merchants, they give you a limitation of volume and how much you can process. I mean God forbid you start a business, you fill out the application of PayPal which is for $50,000 a month and you’ve had a good month of $300,000 and there you go, your account is closed. They limit you for volume and are very much too risk-cautious when it comes to what sort of business they take on (especially for new start-ups) whereas we’re not, we will give the opportunity nor will we limit you as to how much money you can process, we give an unlimited amount of processing. We understand that one day could be good and another could be bad. We look at it in a very different way. We also understand global business, more than PayPal or any business in this market. PayPal is split 50/50 between consumer-to-consumer and business-to-business, whereas we are 100% business to business.

Q. How is AW able to meet the challenge of creating a true e-commerce experience based around safe and secure payment-technology, and simplify payment processing globally?

Our background and expertise are in simplifying. We started the global payment processing based on our infrastructure, based on a gateway that handles multi-currency, multilingual and accommodates transactions based on the ID generated from the issuer. We can track the pin that has been issued by the bank or who the pin issuer is, for what region and we can cascade that transaction to go into that region for high approval and safely for the local currency. It has taken years of technology - over 80,000 pages of codes and it’s a lot of work to do. No banks have it and no gateway even has it. We started something very unique and left a lot of people behind. A lot of people thought about it and said, “If I’m going to do something very similar it’s going to take me 7 or 8 years of 25 developers sitting down and coding for 7 years, the cost will be outrageous”. It’s not in their interest to dedicate that issuer to a certain region, but it’s in our interest because we want to make sure that we eliminate cross-border transactions or conversion fees, and that’s why were ahead of the game.

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It’s clear that AW is in the perfect position to educate our marketplace…

Q. How is AW making continuous investments in technology and processing capabilities, to ensure businesses of all sizes can access the most up to date payment technologies, available in the rapidly changing world of payments?

We are constantly adding unique brains to our technology with a lot of new developers who understand the future of the business, whilst also working with new entrepreneurs who would like to build something that no one else has built. We’ll take them off their payroll and bring them into the home of Allied Wallet, and let them be free to do what they do best. They’re not issued deadlines because deadlines have a tendency sometimes to kill the moral. We’ll let them fly free because once you have freedom of thought you can be more creative. The key to being creative and an innovator is to be within a stress-free environment – that is something we provide. We see a lot of top-notch developers leaving companies like PayPal, Google on Microsoft and come and get a job at Allied Wallet because it’s a much more liberal environment, stress-free and encourages creativity. We are constantly working on new features and new projects that is what makes our technology better and faster than anyone else in the market.

Q. In April 2015 AW partnered with Carta Worldwide. What were the intentions here and how has this impacted the business in recent months?

Shopping carts are very important, we have partnered with four shopping carts altogether. Some of these shopping carts have $10 million, $5 million, and even just a few hundred thousand customers so why not take advantage of that. PayPal built their own shopping cart because they preferred not to use a third-party shopping cart, whereas we don’t want to compete with our shopping cart competitors because we’re not in that business, we don’t want to be a competitor for them. Our aims are to accommodate them and find a solution for people to process credit cards so we don’t compete in the market where people are trying to make business. We give them a link to our backhand so that the customers and the shopping cart can be installed on our platform, expanding our payment options. We’re helping each other, they’re sending consumers to us and we accommodate them with secure credit card processing – eradicating competition altogether.

Q. In a recent statement released by Carta Worldwide it was recorded that AW felt partnering with Carta had enabled them to streamline the process of affiliate pay-outs worldwide, how will this affect the service we’ve all seen from AW over the past decade?

Allied Wallet is a member of the card scheme and a member of Visa/MasterCard, we are a processor and an issuer, we accommodate multi-level marketing and some sort of companies that provide payroll and prepaid cards, that is something of course that shopping carts are interested in because they do have merchants that require us. We are able to provide that for them and in return, it will give us massive growth, increasing our consumers and merchants.

Q. Can you share with us any future plans since the recent partnering?

We have a couple of interesting plans for the future. We are working with some large banking institutes in Asia to accommodate for local processing and local payment methods in China especially for Chinese consumers. That will be something that’ll be very exciting in the first quarter of 2016. It will allow for Chinese consumers in mainland China to be able to debit their bank accounts straight besides from using their China Union credit cards, they’ll also be able to process direct debits. This will expand the Chinese transactional market and enable Chinese consumers to buy products from European websites, American websites or any website outside China. Many Chinese don’t have credit cards so this is a prime opportunity for them to

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reduce any difficulties when processing transactions. It will be the easiest way for them to pay because we can use it just like a bank account locally.

Q. Being a Gamechanger yourself, what is your best advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and businesses out there?

- Believe in yourself - Don’t give up - Fight all the way to the end In the end you will win. Trust me, I’ve been there; I’ve been in your shoes and look at me today. I fought my way to the end, I fought it hard, and with the downside there is an upside. We all have to taste the better of life to learn how to be stronger but in the end it’s a win-win situation when you believe in yourself.

Q. What does success mean to you?

- To give back to the public - To give to charity - To give to the public - To teach the ones that need to learn the most - To make sure to educate the young and the children – there are a lot of bad things out there, especially some of the social media; a lot of it is brainwashing - To be alert and be strong and don’t get sucked into something that won’t make you a better person - Focus more on things that will make you a better person in the future - Focus more on your career - If you’re in technology, always create – be an innovator because that pays off Q. What does the future hold for both yourself and AW?

Future for me is endless, there are always things to build for the future, there is always excitement coming and I’m very anxious to keep on working forward for the future. In hope of making things better for others and to expand further.

For Allied Wallet it’s limitless, the sky is the limit and we’re like a rocket, we are taking off so fast right now. I’ll tell you one thing, the space is big, the internet is big and we keep on building, keep growing in a space that’s endless.

“Believe in yourself, don’t give up, fight all the way to the end.” Allied Wallet CEO Andy Khawaja

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WORLD VIEW

The World’s Richest Hedge Fund Managers Despite a decidedly poor year for hedge fund managers the world over in 2014, some 45 billionaires globally owe their fortunes to heading such an investment vehicle.

Gold News compiled a list, whittling it down to the 22 richest.

Indeed, though hedge fund performance during the year was less than stellar, most of the world’s hedge fund billionaires became decidedly richer.

George Soros remains the most affluent of these elite managers, with an estimated net worth of $24.2 billion. His family office, Soros Fund Management, returned approximately 8% in 2014.

This is far above the average hedge fund return last year, evaluated at 3.3% according to Hedge Fund Research (HFR).

Gold News presents the world’s richest hedge fund managers:

Name

Net Worth

Age Company

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

George Soros Ray Dalio James Simons Steve Cohen John Paulson David Tepper Ken Griffin Bruce Kovner Paul Tudor Jones II David Shaw Israel Englander Daniel Och Leon Cooperman Michael Platt Julian Robertson, Jr. Stanley Druckenmiller Edward Lampert Andreas Halvorsen John Arnold Bill Ackman Daniel Loeb James Dinan

$24.2 billion $15.4 billion $14 billion $11.4 billion $11.2 billion $10.4 billion $6.5 billion $5 billion $4.6 billion $4.1 billion $3.8 billion $3.8 billion $3.7 billion $3.5 billion $3.4 billion $3.1 billion $2.9 billion $2.8 billion $2.6 billion $2.5 billion $2.5 billion $2.4 billion

84 65 76 59 59 57 46 70 60 63 66 54 71 46 83 61 52 53 40 48 53 55

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Soros Fund Management Bridgewater Associates Renaissance Technologies Point72 Asset Management Paulson & Co. Appaloosa Fund Management Citadel Caxton Associates Tudor Investment Corporation D.E. Shaw Millennium Management Och-Ziff Omega Advisors BlueCrest Tiger Management Duquesne Capital (closed) ESL Investments Viking Global Centaurus Advisors (retired) Pershing Square Capital Management Third Point LLC York Capital

WORLD VIEW

49 Gamechangers

WORLD VIEW

Building and Maintaining Corporate Culture 10 strategies that will help companies build and maintain corporate culture.

In the recent $12.2 billion merger between Marriott International and Starwood Hotels, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson sent a letter to all 180,000 Starwood associates that centered not on the business benefits of the merger, but on the cultural implications. “A big part of our peoplefirst culture is treating people with respect and transparency,” wrote Sorenson, whose company has been on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list 18 times. “You’ll experience both as we work through this process.”

When the Internet emerged in the mid1990s, many saw it as a fad, promoted by young techies who had no idea how to run a business. Now we know that businesses that didn’t embrace the Internet early on had to catch up later.

When it comes to company culture, we at Great Place to Work see senior executives either resisting culture, expressing skepticism toward it, opening up to it, or embracing it.

Fortune’s 10 strategies will help companies build and maintain corporate culture; regardless of how often leaders resist or embrace: Sharpen the conversation With executives who see “culture” and “values” as mushy, it is particularly critical for team members to speak with clear definitions, distinctions, and ties to business outcomes. A company’s stated values are the core principles that guide decision-making, behavior, and create predictability and consistency across the organization. Culture is the pervasive beliefs and attitudes that characterize a company. In a greatcompany culture, employees trust leaders, have a sense of pride in their work, and enjoy their colleagues—and the culture serves the strategy.

Build personal meaning Try asking a culture-resistant executive about his or her own experience. “What’s

Gamechangers 50

the best job you ever had?” “What’s the best place you ever worked?” “What made it so great?” Answers like, “We worked as a team,” or, “We got it done— whatever it took” are the opening to say, “That is culture. And that is what we can intentionally create in every part of our company.”

Make the business case for culture Those who look to data for proof should know that companies on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list (a list we create) perform nearly two times better in stock returns compared to broader indices.

And great workplaces have voluntary turnover rates that are as much as 65% lower than their peers, helping mitigate the hefty cost of chronic employee flight (lost knowledge and productivity, hiring, onboarding, training, and other costs).

That is just the start—the business case for culture is strong. You can bring it home by identifying specific initiatives and performance indicators in your own organization that will be helped by greater trust.

Link to the pain points We believe the root of many serious business challenges is the absence of trust in the culture. The money question is: “How might higher levels of trust mitigate the problems we’re seeing?” Talking about your company’s pain points—rocky acquisitions, time-consuming projects, high costs, quality issues, poor cross-functional alignment, or failure to execute new strategies—is a good way into the real concerns of top leaders.

Establish social proof Author Robert Cialdini describes a number of strategies that could help make the case for culture. “Social proof” is particularly powerful. Visiting a respected company with a remarkable, palpable culture can inspire your leaders to dedicate themselves to similar efforts.

Make it a personal challenge Imagine saying to your CEO, “When I talk about culture, I am talking about the enormous power you have as a role model

here.” It’s normal to defer to CEOs, but in our experience, they welcome challenge.

It takes courage to ask: “How could you and other leaders role model a different set of behaviors, more like what you want to see?” You will have to push through resistance, but stick with it.

Make the personal appeal Never underestimate the power of looking someone in the eyes and speaking from the heart. Leadership author Seth Godin says you don’t need charisma to be a leader—you get charisma from being a leader.

Paint an inspiring picture When you are trying to persuade others, it can be tempting to protect yourself by under-promising. Don’t. Paint a powerful picture. If you believe it’ll work, then state your vision without qualification, caveat, or diminishment.

Tell stories “All politics is local,” said politician Tip O’Neill. It’s the same with culture. Find and share real, ground-level stories of what happens when the culture is strong, high-trust, and strategically aligned. More powerful are stories of the real suffering and damage low-trust cultures create. In a low-trust culture, people are unproductive and demoralized. Then they take that home. Stories help senior leaders feel it.

Invoke the golden rule The day-to-day work experience of senior executives is insulated. They are protected from many of the routine frustrations of a low-trust culture. Build empathy by asking, “Imagine you were a mid-level leader trying to do the right thing, but were often stymied by politics and other consequences of a low-trust culture. What would you want senior executives to do to help you?”

Stick with your beliefs about culture.

You are making progress and one day something, maybe something small, will catalyze big changes. Don’t be careful what you wish for.

WORLD VIEW

51 Gamechangers

WORLD VIEW

50 companies that have made a sizable impact on major global social or environmental problems as part of their competitive strategy. This list is not meant to be a ranking of the overall “goodness” of companies or of their “social responsibility.” Big corporations are complex operations that affect the world in myriad ways. The goal here is simply to shine a spotlight on instances where companies are doing well as part of their profit-making strategy, and to shed new light on the power of capitalism to improve the human condition.

Companies Who Have Changed the World

1.

Vodaphone and Safaricom 2.

Google (Alphabet) 3. Toyota 4. Walmart 5. Enel 6. GSK To assemble the list, the editors of Fortune 7.

Jain Irrigation Systems and FSG, a non-profit social-impact 8.

Cisco Systems consulting firm, reached out to dozens 9. Novartis of business, academic, and non-profit 10. Facebook experts around the world, asking for their recommendations. Fortune and a joint 11. MasterCard team from FSG and the Shared Value 12.

Grameen Bank Initiative then vetted more than 200 13. Alibaba nominees. In their evaluation, four criteria’s 14. Danone were considered: the degree of business 15. BYD innovation involved, the measurable impact at scale on an important social 16. Cemex challenge, the contribution of the 17.

Discovery Ltd. shared-value activities to the company’s 18.

Novo Nordisk profitability and competitive advantage, 19. SABMiller and the significance of the shared value effort to the overall business. A team 20. IBM of journalists from Fortune then further 21. Roshan vetted each of the nominees and reported 22. Vanguard on their impact. The final list of 50 was 23. Starbucks selected and ranked by the editors of 24. Patagonia Fortune based on the magazine’s own reporting and by the analysis provided.

25. Cargill

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26. BD 27. M-Kopa 28. Unilever 29. Ayala 30.

Whole Foods 31.

CVS Health 32.

Equity Bank 33. Intercorp 34. Philips 35. Ikea 36. SpaceX 37. Nike 38. Maersk 39. Intel 40. Arup 41. Twitter 42.

Ford Motor 43. Fitbit 44. Ecolab 45. Opower 46.

Waste Management 47. Costco 48. Kickstarter 49.

Marks and Spencer 50. Essilor

WORLD VIEW

All-Time

Historic High in Brand Acquisitions Very recently, accounting for brands experienced a historic moment with the preliminary re- porting of the brand value of US$ 41.3 billion acquired with Kraft Foods by newly formed Kraft Heinz. The brands account for 67% of the enterprise value of Kraft Foods Inc. This new alltime high comes after a long period of stagnation and declining importance of brand values.

The valuation and accounting of brands dates back to the mid eighties when British and Aus- tralian companies like NewsCorp, Reckitt & Coleman, GrandMet and Ranks Hovis McDougall pioneered the valuation, auditing and reporting of some of their brands in their financial state- ments.

According to new accounting standards, all acquired brands have to be valued and reported separately since 2000 in the US and since 2004 in most other countries.

A first record was the brand value of US$

4.8 billion reported by Grand Met with their acquisi- tion of Pillsbury in 1988. By 2000, the record figure had increased to US$ 11.7 billion with the acquisition of Nabisco by Philip Morris. Five years later in 2005, the acquisition of Gillette by Procter & Gamble marked another record high with a reported brand value of US$ 25.6 billion.

Since, only the acquisition of AnheuserBusch in 2008 by InBev came close the Gillette mark. Moreover, the share of acquired brands in the total deal value declined steadily from an aver- age 17% to 12% between 2004 and 2014, while customer relations increased from 8% of deal value to 18% during the same period.

After years of decline, the year 2015 could mark a turning point in favor of brands.

In addition to the new all-time high of Kraft Foods, the acquisition of Lorillard (Newport cigarettes) by American Reynolds

marked an all-time number two with US$ 27.2 billion. AB InBev’s pending acquisition of SABMiller could also clinch a place on the podium, depending on the corrective measures imposed by antitrust authorities.

Other high-value acquisitions of businesses with strong brand names during 20151 indicate that brands returned into the focus of equity inves- tors – at least at the top end of the market. We expect the value of brands in the Top20 deals in 2015 to triple over 2014 – subject to the finalization of valuations and their disclosure in the upcoming reporting season.

The new boost for expensive brands will fuel the enduring debate between marketing, account- ing and investors on the recognition of not only acquired but also internally generated brands on the balance sheet, and on the reliability of brand valuation methods and of the firms doing the valuing.

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WORLD VIEW

BEPS and its effects on Transfer Pricing in Venezuela Little has been written in Venezuela about the upcoming changes to the guidelines and standards proposed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (hereinafter OECD) under the G20 mandate, to address the issue of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). Although at the present time we are facing a series of new regulatory changes from the latest tax reform, in addition to other changes of major economic impact, we should not lose sight of other low-impact but yet important reforms.

formal mechanisms to document transactions subject to transfer pricing: the transfer pricing Information Return on Transactions with Foreign Related Parties (PT99 Form); and the transfer pricing study or report. Though the Law does not refer specifically to these mechanisms, it does it in a broad sense, as it defines the contents of the support documentation that taxpayers must provide on the analyses and supports of transactions with foreign-related parties, which is gathered in the form of a study or report.

Since mid-2013, the OECD has been working on an action plan, specifically, 15 initiatives to address the profit shifting issue among companies of a same multinational group which, among other effects, would result in a taxable base erosion. Specifically, regarding transfer pricing, five initiatives were designed, that, as a whole, seek to define new guidelines on aspects, such as the deduction of financial operations, intangibles, risk and capital, other high-risk operations, and any aspect related to the support documentation that taxpayers should prepare for their related-party transactions.

The OECD’s proposal set out in the Action Plan No. 13 establishes that taxpayers must keep three types of documentation supporting their related party transactions, namely a report based on a master file, a country-by-country report, and a local file. Now, the question is how will these changes in the documentation affect taxpayers in Venezuela? For such purposes, we should bear in mind that Article 115 of the Income Tax Law states that any aspect on transfer pricing not expressly regulated by this law shall be dealt with by reference to the 1995 OECD guidelines or their modifications, provided that they do not collide with this norm.

However, the Venezuelan Income Tax Law (ITL) establishes two

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Since the OECD guidelines are the

most commonly-used guidance to document related party transactions for taxpayers and tax administrations, they will have to abide by their amendments regarding new methods to documenting these transactions.

In the practice, how should we interpret these changes? First of all, with regard to the information to be requested locally from taxpayers in order to deepen into the documentation contained in the transfer pricing studies; and secondly, from the viewpoint of foreign related companies, either with the Head Office or any other company with which they perform transactions, since they will be subject to additional and much more detailed and standardized requirements to conduct their studies, and to prepare new documents based on the Reform, to be issued by the OECD, to meet the demands of the tax administrations.

Therefore, taxpayers in Venezuela should be aware of the fact that their related companies will be subject to new formal obligations that might locally affect the requests for additional support documentation, and that the Venezuelan Tax Authorities may ask for it directly, based on the changes to be implemented by the OECD in terms of transfer pricing documentation.

WORLD VIEW

Luis has over 12 years of extensive experience in tax, international taxation and transfer pricing.

In 2002 he joined one of the largest global accounting firms in Venezuela, where he worked in Tax Legal Service, Human Capital and Transfer Pricing areas, and participated in the preparation of the income tax returns of expatriate personnel. In the Transfer Pricing area, he participated in the preparation of the TP documentation in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, automotive and IT areas, amount others.

In 2004 he joined Ernst & Young Venezuela in the International Tax Service and Transfer Pricing practices. In 2005 Luis was a one of the former TP practices for Ernst & Young Ecuador and in 2006 he become as a Manager in Ernst & Young Venezuela.

In 2007 Luis was transfer to Ernst & Young Colombia and he participated in the preparation on the TP documentation in the Insurance and reinsurer sector, Pharmaceuticals, Oil and mining, food, automotive, services, telecommunication and IT areas, banking, amount others. Also he was participated in several the TP

Controversy with the Colombia Tax Authority. Early of 2011, Luis was transfer to Ernst & Young México where he was the opportunity not only to advice several companies in Mexico but also to participate in TP controversy in Costa Rica. At the end of 2012, Luis was transfer to Ernst & Young Venezuela as Senior Manager.

Luis was part of the transfer pricing team at Ernst & Young Venezuela, which won The Best Transfer Pricing Practice of 2006 by The International Tax Review and in 2009 was part of the transfer pricing team at Ernst & Young Colombia which won The Best Transfer Pricing Practice by The World Finance Magazine.

Education Luis is a Lawyer graduated from ‘Universidad Católica Andrés Bello’, Caracas, Venezuela and has a Master degree in Taxation Law from the same university.

Luis studied ESL at Dominican University, Chicago, Illinois, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. and the International Law Institute, Washington, D.C.

Luis E. Benitez Vegas EY’s ITS / Senior Manager Transfer Pricing

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WORLD VIEW

Cybersecurity, Digitisation And Agility: 2016’s Key Tech Concerns For Law Firms Cybersecurity, agility and digitisation of the courts will be the top IT concerns for law firms in 2016.

Converge Technology Specialists (Converge TS), the country’s only dedicated Cloud computing provider for law firms and Zylpha, the UK’s leading legal systems innovator, spoke to a range of clients who collectively predict that: Agility will become increasingly important as location becomes less important. Clients are demanding that law firms are able to provide them with access to legal services anytime, anywhere. As firms seek to boost profits and meet client demands, more will move to agile working to enable them to work at client sites, work from remote locations at times to suit clients and also to optimise fee-earners’ downtime when travelling or out of the office.

“Many clients don’t particularly need to see their lawyer very often, and remote accessibility is becoming as important as a physical presence,” says Andy Reilly, IT Director at Genus Law. Stacey Parkin, Operations Manager at Poole Alcock agrees: “We introduced hot-desking and remote working to streamline staff costs and offer employees greater flexibility about how and where they work. Clients have seen a difference, as staff now have better access to emails and case management systems, which are accessible from mobile devices.”

Matthew Claughton, Managing Director of criminal defence firm Olliers, sees the cuts to Legal Aid opening up opportunities for criminal defence firms who can “stay ahead of the game and find new and innovative ways of working.

Working remotely, in an agile manner, with a single back office is an exciting way of delivering the service.”

Increased digitisation and the growth of online services.

Firms expect to see further improvements in processes and accessibility to case management files with more systems becoming electronic and digital in 2016. Again client expectation will drive this efficiency as they demand access to services outside of regular working hours, whether for a case update, to view documents, or to be able to work remotely themselves.

The government’s £700m investment in the Autumn Statement in November will modernise the courts and justice system. Law firms will need to ensure they have the right technology in place to be able to operate in the new world,

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although questions remain about whether it is the courts or firms who will be ‘catching up’ in the brave new world.

The South London Legal Partnership has this year successfully launched digital court hearings with the elimination of paper bundles in the West London Family Court. “We have been able to pilot an easy to use solution that everyone is behind and which doesn’t require vast amounts of technology or training to get it to work smoothly,” says its Legal Practice Manager Paul Phelan. Seventy cases have so far been heard and the pilot is now being shared with other local authorities so that they can adopt digital courtrooms.

David Aird IT Director at DAC Beachcroft says a challenge in 2016 will be balancing how to be ‘always on’ with clients. Andy Reilly from Genus Law agreed, saying: “For everything other than legal services, our clients are used to being serviced over the internet, and so we are looking to products to help this transition.” Other firms echoed this, predicting that the next generation of solicitors will demand change within their organisations as their careers progress and as popular technology advances further outside the workplace.

• Firms re-examine risk as cybersecurity takes centre stage. Securing data and systems from cybercrime will be a major issue for law firms in 2016. High profile cybercrimes in 2015 highlighted that no business is safe. Law firms hold a huge amount of client data and they are obliged to protect this by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office. As the SRA continues to flag various scams, firms must tighten up security or face fines and loss of reputation.

Having a good disaster recovery plan in place will be key to protecting data and securing systems but it will also provide a competitive advantage. Poole Alcock has prioritised this and says: “Panels are asking for evidence of disaster recovery in place. We have this and it’s a proven advantage over competitors.”

• Technology linked to ROI with IT becoming a ‘proactive function’. Continuous innovation will be demanded but only where there is demonstrable return on investment (ROI). Robert Hastie, Finance Director at Total Conveyancing Services, says: “Any ICT solution must bring benefit to the business as a whole and deliver more streamlined and speedier process but without reducing the quality of work and the service we deliver…technology has to evolve with your business.”

Firms also see IT becoming a proactive function, which will be integrated across legal teams and other service delivery functions. Paul Harker, Head of IT at Anthony Collins, says: “More firms will be trying to be lean and adopt formal processes to achieve this, further driving greater efficiencies and differentiating themselves from competition.”

Zylpha’s Head of Marketing David Chapman says: “2016 could herald a marked departure in the status quo of IT. As firms begin to grasp the opportunities afforded to them by getting IT right and digitising processes, a new window may be opened to greater efficiency, opportunity and profitability.”

Converge TS’s Technical Director Andrew Taylor says: “2016 will be a definitive year for law firm technology. The move to agility will be spurned by client demands, improvements to IT security will be far greater as firms seek to offer enhanced data security to win more contracts, and the move to ‘IT as a service’ will signal a change in the future IT team with many viewing it as an operational cost rather than capital expenditure. ‘Paying per user’ could become a more cost effective way of running technology as firms look to scale it up or down in line with business strategy and objectives.”

A joint report called ‘Legal Landscape 2016’ which looks at the issues affecting law firms’ IT and case management experience, will be published soon.

WORLD VIEW

David Chapman Zylpha’s Head of Marketing

57 Gamechangers

WORLD VIEW

Simon Crosby, CTO and co-founder at Bromium

Gamechangers 58

WORLD VIEW

Experts Give Their Cybersecurity Predictions For 2016 In the blink of an eye, 2015 is now over. When looking back at it and what it meant for the cybersecurity industry, last year was predictably busy. Cyber security experts all have different ideas of what they think the year ahead will hold, and how they feel 2015 panned out.

Simon Crosby, CTO and co-founder at Bromium takes a look back at 2015, and gives his opinion on what we can expect in 2016.

“In 2015, we saw large acquisitions, including those of EMC by Dell and Websense by Raytheon, while companies such as Rapid7 and Sophos went public. Large funding rounds were a near weekly occurrence, and as a result the sector raised more than $2.3 billion within the first nine months.

Cybersecurity spending increased sharply and, at the end of 2015, should have finished at around US$80 billion, according to Gartner’s estimates.

While the U.S. House and Senate continued to debate cybersecurity legislation, US government agencies amassed a whopping security budget of $12.5 billion, collectively.

There were unforgettable breaches -- like TalkTalk, Hilton, and Carphone Warehouse, although the sexiest headlines went to the Ashley Madison breach. There also were countless daily reports of breaches due to “sophisticated attacks” and resulting losses from companies whose infrastructure -- despite all the spending -- remained woefully vulnerable.

Even United States President Barack Obama stepped into the fray, cementing an agreement with China in the hope of limiting the scope of nation-state hacking. Good luck with that!

Looking back, it’s painfully clear that while we may not have known then the names and faces of the victims, or the numbers behind the M&A, funding, budget and breach news, most of this was predictable in 2014. So will next year be any different, or are we doomed to repeat the past, yet again?

Unfortunately in most respects, 2016 won’t change much: users will still unknowingly click on malicious links; IT departments will still be bad at staying up to date with patching; the bad guys will continue to attack; and the tide of misery from breaches will persist. What matters most is whether your organisation will be a victim or not. Of course you could do nothing, and be lucky. But the only way to control your fate is to lead your organisation to the high ground based on a well-considered, security-first strategy.

It is important to remember that, despite their

claims, most security vendors cannot help you.

Within the market we see too many “me too” vendors, who’s main focus in on the staple of detection. Within the endpoint security sector alone, over 40 vendors are bringing to market a feature set that Gartner terms “EDR,” or endpoint detection and response. The sole goal of this is to help find a breach in progress -- provided you know what to look for in the first place. Despite vendor claims, detection can’t protect you, and it isn’t advancing much, even when disguised as artificial intelligence (AI). In a world of adaptive, intelligent attackers, even the best AI technologies have a tendency to make masses of mistakes. In fact, Ponemon estimates that a typical large enterprise spends up to 395 hours per week processing false alerts -- approximately $1.27 million per year.

Of course, security (still) won’t be solved inside the Beltway. Year after year, public sector companies hang their hats on the hope that cybersecurity legislation will somehow do the trick. This year was no different. You may recall recall that CISA and the Wassenaar Agreement both sparked industry-wide debates around data security, civil liberties, privacy and exploit controls. There is no doubt that security is a serious issue and a hard problem to solve, but it’s one that is not going to be solved by governments. . Much like healthcare, security is a systematic problem that requires more than a band-aid or firewall to fix. Security legislation will require government collaboration that it is simply unrealistic to expect at this current time. .

It is also important to remember that the same vendors that promise to secure you still won’t be held accountable for breaches. PwC predicts that the cyber insurance market will triple in the next five years. While insurance will do little for the peace of mind or job stability for CISOs whose companies experience a breach, it will hopefully force organisations to take a long, hard look at the cost of their continued insecurity. It’s time for you to force your vendors to be accountable instead. If a vendor claims to secure your network, force them to accept liability if your organisation is breached. Pay your endpoint security vendors based on the value they deliver. Free is a good option when regulations demand the functionality, but the vendors fail to protect you. Force your vendors to put their money behind their marketing messages. Greater accountability means greater drive for cybersecurity technologies that do

what they claim to do and actually help to mitigate threats.

Instead of relying on post-hoc analysis in the hope of spotting a breach, your focus in 2016 should be on adopting solutions that make your infrastructure more secure by design, to prevent a breach before it starts. Move to the cloud. Adopt micro-segmentation and micro-virtualisation. And upgrade to the latest operating systems.

I don’t think we’ll see an end to data breaches in the near future, but if organisations stop relying on faith in marketing claims and government and being complacent and start questioning the status quo and demanding answers and accountability from vendors, we’ll be able to see many of the breach news headlines disappear. “ 2015 was a big year for data breaches; from high profile hacks on companies such as Ashley Madison and Carphone Warehouse, and even the US government in the OPM breach. There were hacks on IoT devices, as well as attacks on LastPass and Kaspersky Labs. So what should we expect in 2016? More of the same, according to Benny Czarny, CEO and founder at OPSWAT, who gives his top 4 predictions for the coming 12 months.

Hacking IoT devices will increase In 2015 we witnessed the start of IoT hacking through Jeep, drones and other IoT devices.

In 2016 we should expect to see an increase in the hacking of IoT devices with more issues surrounding this, and possibly even fatalities.

From IoT devices within cars being hacked to the CISCO switch, we have only begun to scratch the surface of possibilities in this area.

Any device with a central processing unit (CPU) that needs to be updated is a possible attack target, with the possibility of malware that specifically targets CPU’s. With each one connected, they can become attack vectors that could be used to send phishing emails, take down competitor websites, and deliver attacks against nation-states or military etc. Of course, there are many different types of IoT devices; as we see the quantity of IoT devices increasing, the number of attack vectors are also increasing, and we will see growth in hacking switches, car computers and other devices.

59 Gamechangers

WORLD VIEW

There are several ways to defend against this trend in 2016. In network security, less is definitely more; auditing and tracking your devices, downloading firmware from an updated source, and segregating the networks are just where you get started. It is also important to maintain updates to the firmware in obsolete technology, whether it is through SCADA or other IoT devices. To counter this, CISO’s need to think about their insurance for IoT devices and SCADA systems, and what their exposure would be. As it is still too hard for insurance companies to rate security systems, and assess network security in order to write a policy that is going to be effective, we should also expect to see a significant rise in cybersecurity insurance. This makes it even more imperative for CISO’s to do everything they can to counter the possibility of their IoT devices being hacked.

Attacks on security companies will increase This year we also saw an increasing trend in the form attacks on three major security companies; Kaspersky Lab, BitDefender Lab, and LastPass.

This is of great concern because If criminals are able to attack a security company, they then control systems to the extent that all single sign on companies will become targets for attacks.

The best way to safeguard against this, and to protect the security company itself, is to segregate the networks and use multilayered defences. You should always assume that your security system will become vulnerable to malware, and that your network technology, along with one of your security systems, could turn against you. It is also important to invest in technologies that are self-defending. For example, always having an alternate recovery where your operating system is up booting.

There are technologies that are inexpensive and designed to evade or prevent malware, as well as technologies for reimaging that are affordable and could be used to prevent against attacks against your security systems.

The effectiveness of single anti-malware and sandbox solutions will continue to decrease Due to the increase in malware, and its sophistication, the decrease in effectiveness of single anti-malware and sandbox solutions is an ongoing trend that OPSWAT has been monitoring. We have been continuously checking and tracking their effectiveness using both our lab, and looking at three different third party sources; AV Comparatives, AV Testing Labs, and NSS Labs. All these sources provide information on how they rank both sandboxes

Gamechangers 60

and anti-malware virus solutions to prevent threats, and we are seeing a constant decrease in both single sandbox and single anti-malware solutions to detect and prevent threats. There are two things that IT managers can do to protect against this; the first is to use as many security systems as they can. If an organisation is currently using a four layer defence, then they should be using eight. If they are using a five layer defence, then they should use 10. One is not enough.

frictionless transaction experience. The only way to protect customer data and accounts and offer a painless user experience is with passive behavioural biometrics. In fact, the mobile space is a perfect pairing to biometric and behavioural analytics technologies because of the increased number of biometric measurement tools built in to every tablet and every smart phone.

The second is data sanitisation. Many companies are saying that sandboxes are dead, and if this is the case then data sanitisation is the best way to restrict data coming into the organisation and reconstruct it to a point where it is no longer harmful to the organisation. By using multi-layered defences in combination with data sanitisation companies will have the best chances of preventing and defending against the trend in decreasing effectiveness of both single anti-malware and sandbox solutions.

Fraud costs retailers every year to the tune of $9 billion, but the cost of false positives, where legitimate consumer purchases are cancelled due to overzealous traditional fraud prevention methods, is upwards of $118 billion in lost revenue, according to the report “FutureProofing Card Authorization” from Javelin Strategy & Research. And as criminals become more adept at successfully jumping Knowledge Based Authentication (KBA) hurdles, legitimate customers push up against ever greater levels of friction. Risk management leaders need to find a better way to identify their valued customers and identify those who present elevated risk.

Growth of malware in mobile devices This year even Apple was compromised at least once, with malware making it into both the Apple store and Android market. In 2016 we should expect to see a growth of malware in mobile devices, but the wild card here is Google. They are the dominant source of mobile operating systems today and therefore also the biggest attack vector. They can still share the market with Android, but it depends on their strategy and whether they are going to surprise the market with something new. Unless Google is going to do something significant in that market, we should expect mobile malware to become much bigger over the coming 12 months. For example, Google has the ability to buy an antivirus company and provide the software for free on their mobile operating system. Unfortunately even if they were to do that, the adoption isn’t going to be fast. So mobile malware in 2016, and particularly for Android, is going to be a big issue. “ Meanwhile, Ryan Wilk, vice president of customer success at NuData Security says that his top prediction for 2016 is that adoption of passive behavioural biometrics for user authentication will increase. Why? Two reasons.

We continue to see the weakening of PII-based risk prevention techniques as data breaches flood the market with readily packaged private information, like having the test answers ahead of the exam. More users move to mobile platforms every day, demanding a fast,

The Cost of Real Fraud, The Bigger Cost of False Positives

The key to accurately identifying and verifying customers is behavioural analytics, letting business become better predictors of risk while minimising the friction legitimate users face.

Biometric and behavioural analytics greatly increases industry efforts to devalue stolen data, eventually reducing the number, scale and impact of data breaches worldwide. This greatly benefits users, allowing them a frictionless and safe online experience, while continuing to protect their accounts even if their logins and passwords have been compromised. Allowing good customers to continue to interact safely online will be the most important issue in 2016.

Risk Objectives to Focus On Eliminating false positives and removing friction across the mobile ecosystem will be the key focus going forward, especially as users are looking for that fast, no-hassle experience we’ve come to expect on our tablets and smart phones. By harnessing the power of behavioural and biometric analysis, organisations can predict fraud with a very high degree of accuracy by identifying the real user behind the device.

Focusing on the good users and decreasing customer abandonment and attrition, can put billions back into merchants’ pockets,. The ability to move beyond the machine and truly know your customer will be the differentiator that allows companies to bypass the knowledge-

WORLD VIEW

Benny Czarny, CEO and founder at OPSWAT

based authentication arms race with frausters and leap ahead in terms of customer satisfaction and retention.

Chief Security Officers (CSOs) around the world should focus on three key objectives in the New Year to achieve this goal of frictionless user authentication: • Move beyond the device. Know the user on the other side of the machine through passive biometric and behavioural analytics.

• Become a facilitator of the business, not a blocker. Security through valid user identification will strengthen brand loyalty and increase conversion while protecting brand assets at the same time.

• Layer your defenses. Ensure that you are using an intelligent multi-layer risk prevention platform that measures behaviour over time, and gives you accurate, real time scoring to let you know exactly who your user is.

Let’s look at that third objective more closely.

A layered approached – using device and connection, analysing biometrics, measuring and comparing behaviour across networks and over time – goes beyond standard fraud detection checks to truly understand the user behind the device. By deploying a continuous evaluation of the user, this empowers organisations to:

Ryan Wilk, vice president of customer success at NuData Security

• Identify high-risk and anomalous activity earlier than ever before • Redirect suspicious users into a different Web experience • Allow real customers to self resolve risk triggers in session, and complete their online experience without additional delay • Decide how to respond in real time with all the necessary context and data to make a better decision.

Online fraud is a multi-billion dollar problem, and cyber criminals keep getting better at gaming the system. But there are so many more good users to every real fraud case. Go beyond just finding fraud to rewarding and protecting good users. With a multi-layered method that builds in biometric and behavioural analytics, merchants can truly understand every user, both the good and the bad. Invisible, anonymous, and with unparalleled accuracy, biometric and behavioural analytics offers a frictionless customer experience while it protects transactions, raises conversion and shields brand reputation. It is the must-have security toolkit of 2016.

61 Gamechangers

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Globeleq is an experienced developer, owner and operator of independent power generation projects specialising in the emerging markets.

Energy for a Changing World Since 2002, Globeleq has participated in nearly 14,000 MW of power assets in 27 countries investing approximately US$1.3 billion of equity across 44 different power projects.

As the leading African independent power company, it invests capital to enhance performance of existing assets and acquiring, developing and/or constructing new power projects.

With assets in Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Cameroon and Kenya, Globeleq focuses on developing economically sustainable projects that support the continued development of the power sectors in Africa, in turn driving economic development. The company actively participates in the communities located near to its operations and develops its community engagement programmes in collaboration with local community, businesses, governments and private and multilateral organisations.

Globeleq’s strength is the ability to develop, build and operate power generation assets in a variety of markets, electing technology appropriate for long term sustainability, generating reliable and affordable energy.

The company has a highly qualified team of power developers, engineers, legal, financial and administrative managers which is fundamental to the company's success.

The team has extensive experience at all project stages from inception, development, acquisition, financing, construction to operation and management of power assets.

Globeleq is proud to be voted by its industry peers for the third consecutive year in the 2015 ACQ Global Awards – the first company to ever receive this recognition during the 10 year history of the ACQ Global Awards:

International - Energy Business of the Year (Emerging Markets)

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Generating power for emerging markets Mikael Karlsson was appointed as Globeleq’s Chief Executive Officer in 2009. He has transformed Globeleq into the leading African power company with more than 1,200 MWs of assets delivering power to 15 million people in Africa.

Mikael has been involved in global development, acquisition, financing and equity investments of energy and infrastructure for around 25 years. He has been involved in power projects in China, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua.

With such extensive experience in emerging markets energy, industry peers recognized Mikael’s contribution to the industry.

Congratulations to Mikael Karlsson, recipient of the 2015 ACQ Global Award

International – Gamechanger of the Year (Energy)

London

Office Operations Development

Abidjan

Azito 430 MW

Dibamba 88 MW Kribi 114 MW Expansion

Kribi 216 MW

Tsavo 75 MW Dar es Salaam

Songas 190 MW

De Aar 50 MW

Droogfontein 50 MW

Cape Town

Jeffreys Bay 138 MW

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Azito

Songas

De Aar

Jeffreys Bay

Azito generates electricity at its power plant using natural gas supplied from the country’s offshore gas fields.

Songas’ business consists of two different operating streams – gas processing/ transportation and power generation.

De Aar Solar Power is a 50 MW photovoltaic (PV) facility and is one of the first solar generation plants in the country.

Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 138 MW.

Gas from the Songo Songo gas field is processed and then transported through a 225 km pipeline to Dar es Salaam where it is used in Songas’ 190 MW Ubungo power plant.

The plant is located 6 km from the town of De Aar in the Northern Cape on approximately 100 hectares of land owned by the local Emthanjeni Municipality.

Songas also processes and transports gas on behalf of the owners of the gas field to Dar es Salaam where it delivers gas to several other power generation facilities and other industrial consumers who use the natural gas in various manufacturing processes.

The plant has 167,580 PV panels generating electricity directly into the Eskom distribution system under a 20 year power purchase agreement.

Côte d’Ivoire

Located in the village of Azito in the district of Yopougon, approximately 6 kms west of Abidjan, the facility uses combined cycle gas turbines to generate 430 MW of electricity.

This equates to around 1/4 of the country’s base load generation.

The plant supplies electricity under a 24-year concession agreement with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire.

Globeleq owns 77% in the project company and 100% of the related operations and maintenance company.

In May 2015, an expansion to the facility was completed (total generating capacity 430 MW). The expansion project was awarded 2012 African Power Deal of the Year

by Project Finance International and 2013 Deal of the Year (Power) by Infrastructure Journal.

Tanzania

Using six gas fired turbines, Songas supplies the national electricity grid under a 20 year power purchase agreement, and supplies nearly 1⁄4 of the country’s electricity.

By using the country’s own natural gas resources, it is estimated that the Songas facilities have saved Tanzania more than US$5.0 billion by helping to avoid the high costs of importing fuel oil used for power generation and industrial applications.

The facilities are owned and operated by Songas Limited, of which Globeleq holds a majority interest.

South Africa

The plant generates approximately 85 GWh per year, supplying enough clean, renewable electrical energy to meet the annual needs of more than 19,000 average South African homes.

A percentage of the operational revenues benefit the local community through socio-economic and enterprise development programmes.

Globeleq is the majority shareholder in a consortium group and provides day to day commercial and operational management services.

South Africa

The facility is located between the towns of Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp, approximately 70 km west of Port Elizabeth in the Kouga Municipality area on the Eastern Cape. The site is situated across a total of eight farms and spans almost 3,700 hectares.

Jeffreys Bay uses 60 x Siemens 2.3 MW turbines and supplies enough clean, renewable electricity to power more than 114,100 South African homes.

A percentage of the operational revenues benefit the local community through socio-economic and enterprise development programmes.

Globeleq is the majority shareholder in a consortium group and provides day to day commercial and operational management services.

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Generating power for emerging markets

Droogfontein

Kribi

Dibamba

Tsavo (Kipevu II)

Droogfontein Solar Power is a 50 MW PV facility and is one of the first solar generation plants in the country.

Kribi Power 216 MW gas fired generation plant near the coastal city of Kribi supplies electricity to the national grid.

Tsavo (Kipevu II) 75 MW power plant in Mombasa supplies shoulder load electricity to the national grid.

The plant is located 15 km north of Kimberley in the Northern Cape on approximately 100 hectares of land leased from a local community property association.

Kribi is a natural gas fired power plant which was commissioned in 2013. It uses 13 Wartsilla 18V50DF generating sets. The plant sells electricity to ENEO, the national transmission and distribution company, through a 20 year power purchase agreement.

Dibamba Power 88 MW generation plant in Yassa Village near Douala supplies electricity to the national grid when demand is at its peak.

South Africa

Droogfontein uses 168,720 photovoltaic panels, generating electricity directly into the Eskom distribution system under a 20 year power purchase agreement.

The plant supplies approximately 85 GWh per year, providing enough clean, renewable electrical energy to meet the annual needs of more than 19,000 average South African homes.

A percentage of the operational revenues benefit the local community through socio-economic and enterprise development programmes.

Globeleq is the majority shareholder in a consortium group and provides day to day commercial and operational management services.

Cameroon

The Kribi power plant runs on natural gas with light fuel oil as a backup. Natural gas is supplied from the offshore Sanaga South gas field in Cameroon.

Globeleq is majority owner in partnership with the Government of Cameroon holding the remaining share of the business. Globeleq purchased its share in the facility in June 2014.

An expansion project for the Kribi project is currently in development and once completed, will expand the facility to generate a total of 330 MW.

Cameroon

The facility uses 8 Wartsilla 18V38A reciprocating engines and is fuelled by heavy fuel oil. The plant sells electricity to ENEO, the national transmission and distribution company through a 20 year power purchase agreement.

The plant was commissioned in 2009 in two stages. It was originally designed to be a peaking plant but due to demand for electricity continuing to outstrip supply, Dibamba is running more frequently.

Globeleq is majority owner in partnership with the Government of Cameroon holding the remaining share of the business. Globeleq purchased its share in the facility in June 2014.

Kenya

The facility uses 7 Wartsila 18V38 HFO reciprocating engines and sells electricity to the Kenya Light and Power Company under a 20 year power purchase agreement.

Tsavo is Kenya’s first privately owned generating plant. It performs efficiently and has maintained excellent availability records.

As with all of Globeleq’s operations, the Tsavo team has a strong emphasis on health and safety with zero lost time accidents occurring since the facility commenced operations in 2001.

Globeleq holds a 30% interest in Tsavo.

Globeleq Advisors Limited 2 More London Riverside London SE1 2JT United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7234 5400 Fax: +44 (0)20 7234 5486 www.globeleq.com

BEHIND THE BRAND

Real Madrid To Agree World’s First £1 Billion Kit Deal With Adidas - Blowing Man Utd’s £750M Out Of The Water German sportswear giant Adidas and Spanish LaLiga football club Real Madrid are close to agreeing a record-breaking extension of their kit partnership, according to Marca.

The Spanish newspaper claims the two parties are “a step away” from agreeing a new 10-year contract. The new deal will reportedly be signed before the end of this season, renewing the one that was penned in 2012 and was due to end in June 2020.

The deal, which Marca claims will net Madrid as much as 140m Euros ($153m) per season, would mark the most lucrative on an annual basis in the history of football kit sponsorship.

Real Stays Top Of Deloitte’s Money League Real Madrid has retained its position at the top of Deloitte’s annual Football Money League for an 11th consecutive year, with Spanish LaLiga rival Barcelona having overtaken English Premier League club Manchester United in second place in the rankings.

Financial services company Deloitte said that Real’s club revenue was 577m Euros ($629m) in 2014-15, boosted by a 22.7m Euros increase in commercial sales. Match-day income also rose by 9.1m Euros, although broadcast revenue slipped by 4.3m Euros. The combined revenue figure for the 20 clubs named in the Money League increased by eight per cent to 6.6bn Euros.

Barcelona shifted up two places to second with revenue of 560.8m Euros, with Manchester United slipping one place to third with 519.5 Euros after a marginal rise of 1.5m Euros. French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain edged up one place to fourth with sales of 480.8m Euros, with German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich falling two places to fifth with revenue of 474m Euros.

The top 10 was completed by four Premier League clubs – Manchester City (463.5m Euros), Arsenal (435.5m Euros), Chelsea (420m Euros) and Liverpool (391.8m Euros) – and Italian Serie A club Juventus (323.9m Euros). Serie A club Roma in 16th place (180.4m Euros) and Premier League club West Ham United in 20th (160.9m Euro) were the two new entries in the table.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “For the first time, the top three clubs in the Football Money League have all passed the 500m Euro revenue mark. Real Madrid once again delivered a strong financial performance, buoyed by growth in their commercial revenue. The planned redevelopment of the Santiago Bernabéu will help to continue the growth in match-day income in the coming years.

“Barcelona’s on-pitch achievements in the 2014-15 season have translated to financial success. The European champions have climbed to second place at the expense of Manchester United, with revenue growth across all areas of the business – match day, broadcast and commercial.”

Gamechangers 66

BEHIND THE BRAND

Adidas And Stella Mccartney Extend Long-Term Partnership Adidas and Stella McCartney are proud to announce the continuation of their longterm collaboration, which marked its 10th anniversary in 2015. The iconic designer will continue to create cutting edge designs alongside adidas on the adidas by Stella McCartney and adidas StellaSport brands, in a renewed agreement extended until 2020.

Brian Grevy, General Manager Training at adidas, comments: “Since the beginning of this collaboration, adidas has been focused on providing women with products that both perform and look great. In extending the partnership, we continue to empower the female athlete in her quest for technically advanced sports products, without compromising on style. Together, we have developed two lines with strong identities that women love and rely on.”

Launched in 2005, adidas by Stella McCartney was the first functional sports performance range for women designed by a luxury fashion designer. Offering a unique combination of supreme technical performance and standout style, the range includes apparel, footwear and accessories. Now available in 70 countries, the adidas by Stella McCartney line includes two seasonal collections for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter per year.

Stella McCartney says: “I am incredibly proud to have designed the adidas by Stella McCartney range for 10 years, and I am thrilled about what the future holds. This collection is for women who take both their sport and style seriously. It is about making a statement when you exercise and pushing yourself to perform at your best, every time”.

Following on from the success of the adidas by Stella McCartney collections, and designed to target a younger audience, the adidas StellaSport line was launched in January 2015. Under the creative direction of Stella McCartney, the range combines sport and style with bold branding, explosive colours and fresh prints; redefining sportswear with a brand new approach for the age group.

As further testament to the strength of the collaboration, earlier this year adidas announced Stella McCartney as Creative Director for the adidas Team GB kit at the Rio 2016 Olympics, having fulfilled this role previously in 2012.

Adidas’ first SPEEDFACTORY lands in Germany adidas recently revealed a first glimpse into the future of production with its pilot SPEEDFACTORY in Germany. Using automated manufacturing to bring production to where the consumer is, SPEEDFACTORIES create high-performance sporting goods faster than ever before.

SPEEDFACTORY includes intelligent robotic technology that not only offers the highest performance quality but also presents a unique design to the shoes. The first concept shoes comprising 500 pairs of running footwear will be revealed in the first half of 2016 with high-volume production for consumers set to launch in the near future.

“SPEEDFACTORY combines the design and development of sporting goods with an automated, decentralised and flexible manufacturing process. This flexibility opens doors for us to be much closer to the market and to where our consumer is,” said Herbert Hainer, CEO of the adidas Group. “Ultimately we are at the forefront of innovating our industry by expanding the boundaries for how, where and when we can manufacture our industry-leading products.” adidas is currently setting up the pilot SPEEDFACTORY in Ansbach with Oechsler AG. As well as better meeting the needs of consumers, the SPEEDFACTORY network will have a significant positive impact on the environment by cutting down on shipping emissions, whilst drastically reducing the use of adhesives.

“The set-up of the first SPEEDFACTORY has kicked off in Ansbach, Germany, to propel a global network of automated production which brings cuttingedge technology to cities around the world. These first 500 pairs will help us set the scene for large-scale commercial production so each consumer can locally get what they want, when they want it, faster than ever,” stated Gerd Manz, Vice President Technology Innovation at adidas.

SPEEDFACTORY is just the beginning in adidas’ vision to offer consumers a holistic high-tech experience using revolutionary manufacturing technologies, in-store customisation and interactive digital experiences. Starting with SPEEDFACTORY, adidas will roll out ground-breaking initiatives in stores and via cutting-edge digital consumer experiences.

67 Gamechangers

BEHIND THE BRAND

Star Wars Deal Propels Disney To Top Of The ‘Most Powerful Brands’ List Walt Disney has supplanted Lego as the world’s most powerful brand, according to the Brand Finance Global 500 2016. Acquisition activity has played a key role, with Marvel and Lucasfilm properties propelling the Walt Disney brand up the brand strength league table.

Walt Disney has long been in the elite group of AAA+ rated brands on the Brand Finance list, being ranked as the 19th most valuable brand – and 12th most powerful – on last year’s list. However, in much the same way that The Lego Movie propelled Lego to the top of ‘most powerful brand’ list last year, the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens has similarly seen Walt Disney make the (lightspeed?) jump to the top of this year’s list.

While backed up by a rich IP portfolio, drawing on many well-loved films and characters, Walt Disney’s acquisitions have proven real success stores in recent years. First came the 2009 acquisition of Marvel for $4.24 billion, followed by the 2012 $4bn deal for Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise. Both have clearly paid off. In 2015 alone, Marvel universe film releases combined for a global box office of almost $2bn (at the time of writing, Avengers: Age of Ultron has brought in $1.405bn and Ant Man $519.3m). The cinematic juggernaut of 2015, though, was Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which (at the time of writing) has a global box office of $1.871bn. Add in merchandise sales (Star Wars merchandise alone was predicted to contribute $3bn in sales in 2015) and it is easy to see why the ‘house of the mouse’ has moved up the list, the ‘most powerful’ brand table being based on a Brand Strength Index which analyses marketing investment, brand equity (the goodwill accumulated with customers, staff and other stakeholders) and the impact of those on business performance.

The ten most powerful brands (brand value in $m in brackets) were:

Walt Disney ($31,674m) Lego ($4,520m) L’Oréal ($14,990m) PWC ($18,569m) McKinsey ($4,881m) Nike ($28,041m) Johnson’s ($15,115m) Coca-Cola ($34,180m) NBC ($16,103m) Google ($94,184m) While Walt Disney may have the power, Apple has the value, the latter once again identified as the world’s most valuable brand. The company’s brand value rose 14%, attributed to the success of the iPhone 6 and recently released iPhone 6s. While sales are predicted to slow in the current quarter, revenue for Q4 of the fiscal year 2015 was a record-breaking $51.5bn (with profits at $11.1bn) bringing overall revenues for the year to $233.7bn.

Elsewhere, it’s been a good year for companies in the online services world. Google has been held down in 3rd place by Samsung since 2012, but this year the two have switched positions. New parent company Alphabet announced revenue growth of 13% this year (due to increasing mobile search revenue) and, alongside a 3 point improvement in brand strength, this has resulted in a leap in brand value of 27% (to $94.2bn). Meanwhile, Amazon has leapfrogged Microsoft, Verizon and AT&T to take fourth place (factors such as the success of its ‘Prime’ next-day delivery services and the popularity of original streaming programming contributing to the company beating financial analyst expectations in three of the last four quarters). For its part, Facebook jumped 12 places to become the 18th most valuable brand (at $34bn) making it one of the fastest rising brands over the last three years. This year’s jump was partly attributable to its monetisation efforts – in Q3 2015 revenues was up 41% on the previous year, driven almost entirely by mobile advertising growth.

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By contrast, Volkswagen had a difficult year due to the emission scandal it was engulfed in. Illustrating how impactful to both reputation and value that such an incident can be, the companies brand value plummeted by nearly 40% (down $12bn to $18.9bn, leading to a fall in rank from 17th to 56th.).

The ten most valuable brands (with last year’s rank in brackets) were:

Rank 1 (1) 2 (3) 3 (2) 4 (8) 5 (4) 6 (5) 7 (6) 8 (7) 9 (11) 10 (15)

Brand Apple Google Samsung Amazon Microsoft Verizon AT&T Walmart China Mobile Wells Fargo

Brand value 2016 ($m) 145,918 94,184 83,185 69,642 67,258 63,116 53,657 53,657 49,810 44,170

Brand value % change 13.7% 22.8% 1.8% 24.1% 0.3% 5.5% 1.8% -5.4% 4% 26.5%

For many, brand values remain abstract, and in some instances it is hard to evidence the financial payback. An interesting dimension of this year’s report, then, is its look at the correlation between share price and brand value.

In December, Brand Finance took a retrospective look at the share price of the brands they have valued and their subsequent stock market performance. This research found that an investment strategy based on the most highly branded companies (those where brand value makes up a high proportion of overall enterprise value) would have led to a return almost double that of the average for the S&P 500 as a whole.

Between 2007 and 2015, the average return across the S&P 500 was 49%. However, Brand Finance contends that, had investors looked solely towards companies with a brand value to enterprise value (BV/EV) ratio of greater than 30% (brands such as Allstat, Audi, Burberry, Dove, Fujitsu, Gucci, Ikea, Ralph Lauren and Shinhan), they would have generated returns of 94%. Investing exclusively in the 10 companies with the highest BV/EV ratios would have nudged this up to a 96% return.

There was a similar effect for brands rated as AAA or AAA+. A strategy based on investment in all AAA and AAA+ rated brands would have led to a return of 54% over the eight years from 2007. However, according to the analysis, if only top-rated US brands were targeted, the return would have been 87%.

For those struggling to obtain budget for corporate brand valuation activities, evidence that positively links brand value with economic performance can only be a help. For trademark counsel tasked with protecting key brands, it also shows how their efforts can directly contribute to company performance.

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MOVE_UK: Consortium Of Automotive Companies Wins £5.5M Fund To Trial Driverless Cars On Uk Roads

As announced today by the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, a consortium led by Bosch, will help position the UK as a world leader in automated and self-driving cars. Bosch takes a commanding role in the MOVE_UK project, which benefits from a £5.5 million grant awarded by InnovateUK and will see driverless technology trialled in real world conditions on roads in Greenwich, London.

The UK project partners include Bosch, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), Jaguar Land Rover, Direct Line Group, The Floow and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Together, the partners will see MOVE_UK accelerate the entry of automated, driverless car technologies to the

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UK market. The project will increase the rate of development and testing of these technologies at a lower cost to vehicle manufacturers.

This data will enable the development of new and faster ways of improving and demonstrating the safety of automated driving systems.

Automated technology in cars will help to prevent accidents, reduce congestion and emissions in cities, offering a more pleasant experience for motorists. However, automated driving is highly complex and requires a large amount of data, which needs extensive validation to ensure that systems respond to a wide range of real world driving situations.

The information can provide smart cities with new ways to improve services for residents and look after the environment. It will also help the UK automotive industry understand how data from cars can be processed to benefit drivers, providing a real insight into how driverless technologies will change automotive businesses in the future.

During the three-year MOVE_UK project, driverless systems will be tested in the real world, providing large amounts of data that will be used to develop and improve the technology.

Bosch, together with Jaguar Land Rover, will provide vehicles, technology and state-of-the-art design expertise to the project.

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• MOVE_UK consortium will develop automated driving systems in the UK • £5.5m project as part of Government’s wider commitment to establish the UK as world leader in driverless car technology and implementation

• Bosch leads consortium made up of companies from different aspects of the UK automotive industry

Arun Srinivasan, Head of UK Automotive Division with Bosch Original Equipment, commented: “We are excited to be the lead-partner of such a ground-breaking project. Bosch strives for excellence in all that it does and in leading the MOVE_UK consortium, Bosch will help to establish the UK as world leader in automated technology.

The use of Bosch technology will help to speed up the launch of automated driving technologies, making the vision of injury and accident free driving a reality for everyone.”

“To successfully introduce autonomous cars, we actually need to focus more on the driver than ever before.

Understanding how drivers react to a range of very dynamic and random situations in the real world is essential if we want drivers to embrace autonomous cars in the future.”

Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover

Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “To successfully introduce autonomous cars, we actually need to focus more on the driver than ever before. Understanding how drivers react to a range of very dynamic and random situations in the real world is essential if we want drivers to embrace autonomous cars in the future.”

TRL will house and process the data captured, providing essential insight for future tests and informing any regulatory changes that will need to be made.

Rob Wallis, CEO of TRL, said: “TRL is building a strong, reputable portfolio of UK based projects in vehicle automation, and this is another great example of a ground-breaking project in this area.

By creating a unique evidence base for automated driving systems, we will not only help to develop and speed up validation of these systems in the UK, but also guide future thinking around the development of virtual and physical testing approaches for years to come Direct Line Group’s contribution to the project will help to bridge the gap between the automotive and insurance industries by providing crucial dialogue and reassessing the risk landscape for automated cars.

Paul Geddes, CEO at Direct Line Group, said: “As Britain’s leading personal motor insurer, Direct Line Group is delighted to be part of

this unique consortium. We recognise the increasingly important role played by automated and driverless systems in improving road safety.

We also understand that DLG and the wider UK Insurance industry have a key role in enabling the deployment and adoption of these technologies on UK roads.”

The Floow’s telematics will allow the consortium to compare the behaviour of the vehicle to that of a human driver in the same real world environment.

Sam Chapman, Chief Innovation Officer, at the Floow, said: “The Floow is an independent UK SME who supports the leading insurers of the world, serving their actuaries with the industry’s most advanced mobility understanding. It has the largest independent science team in the telematics industry; we push the data frontier, delivering proven predictive analytics and digital end-user services that transform insurance operations.”

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is the host local authority providing a smart city trial environment for the project. The borough is home to the UK’s Smart Mobility Living Lab - an open, real world, test environment for connected and automated vehicles.

Councillor Denise Hyland, Leader of Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: “The Royal Borough of Greenwich is delighted to be part of this ground breaking project and to be working alongside such innovative and prestigious UK companies. The choice of Greenwich to host Move_UK further consolidates Greenwich’s position as a living lab for smart mobility in the heart of the Capital, and a leader in smart city innovation. We look forward to gaining valuable insights into the operations of connected cars in the future, how they can help address the problems modern cities face and also how we can help accelerate their deployment capturing the benefits for the UK, London and Greenwich.”

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A League Of Their Own, Jaguar Land Rover’s Climb To The Top Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC (JLR)

is a company that has brought together two highly prestigious British car brands in recent years. Its focal activity is the design, development, manufacture and sale of both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles - both considered British staples in the automotive industry and have a longstanding history together dating back to the 1940s. 1968 stands as their first “coming-together” as part of the ill-fated British Leyland conglomerate and later existed independent of each other’s subsidiaries of BMW for Land Rover and Ford Motor Company (Ford) for Jaguar; Ford later acquired Land Rover from BMW in 2000 following the dispersal of former Rover Group which was what remained of British Leyland. In 2008 Tata Motors Limited (formerly known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company) (Tata) acquired JLR from Ford, it merged the two marques into a single company and since has been noted that its success has flourished, with memorable vehicles and innovative technologies that credibly add to a long-lasting legacy.

“Jaguar is as dynamic as our name and logo suggest. We’ve always believed that a car is the closest thing you can create to something that is alive. Find out more about our awardwinning approach to designing and building cars and what makes them as alive as you are.”

“Land Rover continues to build the world’s most capable allpurpose vehicles. A blend of refinement, performance and unmatched all-terrain capability make our vehicles so distinctive and unique.” - Jaguar Land Rover In recent years the fall of the world’s economy, fueled by cheap credit and ruthless speculation, led to the demand for motor vehicles had virtually halved in late 2008. Since Tata bought JLR, the Indian automotive business has turned JLR around; the combined business now stands as the biggest UK automotive supplier.

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History The origins of Jaguar can be traced back to a company that began by making motorcycle sidecars in 1922. The ‘Swallow Sidecar Company’ began building automobiles and moved down the road to Coventry, switching its name to Jaguar after the Second World War. It produced premium saloons and sports cars, including the legendary XK120.

Later that decade Rover began developing a new all-terrain vehicle, inspired by the classic American Jeep. Both lightweight and rustproof, the first Land Rover was clad in aluminium alloy – a feature selected due to the post-war steel shortage – and cost £450. It was here that the introduction of 4x4 capabilities to road cars was implemented and later adopted by the military.

Jaguar’s credibility continued to flourish with its motorsport success in the 1950s, winning the world’s oldest active sports racing race ‘Le Mans 24 Hours’ twice with a C-Type in 1951 and again in 1953 – and then with a D-Type in 1955, 1956 and 1957. In 1961, the company launched what became what some consider being the most iconic sports cars of all time, the E-Type, which still today holds a crucial part in 1960s motoring history. In 1968 it merged with the British Motor Corporation (BMC), which later became part of British Leyland and included Rover.

With a growing demand for recreational offroaders, the Range Rover launched in 1970, making its debut in the world of SUVs. The success of the Range Rover resulted in British Leyland making Land Rover a standalone company 1978. Minimal amendments were made to the Range over the years - 1981 saw the introduction of the four-door modification, followed by the arrival of a diesel model in 1986. Over the years the Range Rover became seen more and more up-market, leading on to the Land Rover Discovery which was launched in 1988 as a third model in the range.

After separating from British Leyland, Jaguar became independent again in the 1980s, before being acquired by Ford in 1989. Meanwhile Land Rover was purchased by BMW in 1994, where the range later expanded with the introduction of the Freelander. Rover and Jaguar united when Ford bought Rover in 2000, the two companies were closely linked, sharing engineering knowledge and facilities in West Midlands, England.

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In 2008, one of the largest acquisitions for both companies took place – Tata bought the two.

They officially joined together as one company in 2013 and since, sales and profits have positively risen year after year. Could it even be questioned whether the timing was right with these figures?

Tata is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and a subsidiary of the USD $108.78 billion, Tata group, founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868. Manufacturing passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses, construction equipment and military vehicles, it is the 17th-largest motor vehicle manufacturing company in the world, 4th largest truck manufacturer, and 2nd-largest bus manufacturer by volume. It has auto-manufacturing and assembly plants, as well as research and development (R&D) centre’s across India in Jamshedpur, Pantnagar, Lucknow, Sanand, Dharwad and Pune, as well as in Argentina, South Africa, Thailand, and now the UK. Listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, it constituents of the BSE SENSEX index, the National Stock Exchange of India, and the New York Stock Exchange. It is ranked 287th in the 2014 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world’s biggest corporations and so far holds 254th position for 2015, sandwiched between engineering and construction company ‘Power China’ and food production company CHS. They pride themselves in sustainability and the spirit of ‘giving back to society’ as a core philosophy, with good corporate citizenship strongly embedded into their DNA. The Tata acquisition of JLR is a useful and educational example to include for anyone who considers themselves an M&A enthusiast and generally for any M&A activities. At the time in early 2008, Tata’s investment in JLR was criticised to for its poor timing and amongst those critics were individuals who questioned the strategic logic of the move as well as its timing. Soon after the acquisition, the financial crisis in the UK amongst other countries caused the demand in the global market for luxury cars to collapse.

In spite of this, Tata reclaimed any doubt ever made – to date, the takeover appears to be a undeniable example of a successful acquisition which is generating substantial shareholder value for Tata as well as continued support from JLR’s many stakeholder groups in the UK. We don’t predict a checkered flag is on the horizon for Tata, still remaining always one lap ahead.

When the United Kingdom faced some of their worst financial difficulties this decade, what we know as the “credit crunch”, there was a significant slump in new car sales as a result.

UK government considered a financial aid package, indicating the strategic importance of JLR and their potential with Tata to the UK economy. In February 2010 Tata secured a £340 million loan from the European Investment Bank to support JLR through the recession. In May 2011 Tata announced a £5 billion five year investment programme in JLR - focused on new product development & new equipment at their then-three UK sites, along with investment in a planned factory in China and a closer link with Tata Steel to provide new lightweight steel alloys for new car models. Later that year JLR announced 1,000 new jobs as the result of a Land Rover’s Solihull site boosted by rising demand for SUVs in China, Russia, India and Brazil.

Little did Tata know that when it first acquired JLR for £1.15 billion 2008, it would eventually help the India automotive industries become one of the world’s hottest performing autostocks – what we’d consider the most impressive stocks, period.

On February 18th, 2010, two years after Tata’s successful take-over, Dr. Ralf Speth was appointed Chief Executive Officer of JLR. Since then he has overseen a remarkable turnaround of the business, with increased sales, over 8,000 jobs created and high profile launches including the new XJ and marque-defining F-Type. A self-confessed car lover, much of the success JLR has seen since 2010 is down to Dr. Speth’s insistence on a design focus in every aspect of the company’s approach – not just in the cars themselves, but in the way the whole organisation works.

“I’m talking about how we design all our processes, how we design the research and manufacturing, how we design the training, the recruitment plans, the personal skills. And how we design our relationships with suppliers and ultimately with our customers… we are becoming more international, developing more products, investing in lots of different technologies in lots of different areas.” - Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover

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Dr. Speth sees this as the key to not only his own personal achievements, but also the success of JLR – creating value and innovation to generate the right economic return to justify further investment in innovation – the perfect virtuous circle. Following a degree in Economics Engineering from Rosenheim University, Germany, he earned a Doctorate of Engineering.

He is also an Industrial Professor at the University of Warwick in the UK. Dr Speth’s career began working as a business consultant for a number of years before joining BMW in 1980. In the early 2000s, he moved to Ford’s Premier Automotive Group as Director of Production, Quality and Product Planning. His previous job at BMW was Vice President of Land Rover when BMW owned the brand – he became director of production, quality and planning for Ford when BMW sold Land Rover to Ford in 2000. He was Head of Global Operations at the German international industrial gases and engineering company Linde Group, before moving to JLR. In a recent interview in April 2015, Dr. Speth discussed how such a successful turnaround had been achieved at JLR since he was appointed, commenting: “By a clear focus on product, by improving quality, by listening to our customers globally, by great new vehicles like the very successful Range Rover Evoque...

It’s powerful British design combined with creative engineering. Our innovation includes lightweight technology [JLR is an acknowledged leader in lightweight aluminium platforms]. We must continue to innovate to win.”

Both global sales and the workforce have doubled in the past five years since Dr Speth’s takeover, with turnover tripling. How will Dr. Speth continue to boost JLR’s promising future?

Only time will tell.

Aims JLR views operating responsibly as key to their success, as a sustainable business. They possess impressive plans for the future with eversucceeding targets being met week after week.

“We have ambitious plans for the future. We also recognise that we operate in a resourceconstrained world. So we are evolving our business to adapt to these challenges, nurturing the resources and communities on which we depend.”

“Not only does this reflect our commitment to

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being a good global citizen; this is modern, intelligent business. A way of thinking that is fundamental to sustainable business growth.”

“Our 360 degree approach examines our products and operations; as well as our work with suppliers, customers, employees and wider stakeholders - creating new partnerships and business practices.” - A representative of Jaguar Land Rover JLR outline how they aim to demonstrate leadership in sustainable business practices in all activities across the world, whilst creating products that meet their future customers’ needs with less environmental impact and inspire future generations with the potential of technology; advancing knowledge and developing a more sustainable way of living.

They are keen to lead the way in sustainable social development that improves lives, in their local and global communities, engaging their people, customers and partners in their Responsible Business vision.

Further commenting “We have set ourselves some stretching targets for 2020 to help us achieve these goals; measuring and monitoring progress right across our business. We’ve made great strides over the last five years, winning recognition both within and outside our industry. But there’s still more to do. Our exciting agenda will ensure that strong commercial performance is coupled with long-lasting benefits to our social and natural environments.” - A representative of Jaguar Land Rover

Sales In 2008 the UK automotive manufacturing sector had a turnover of £52.5 billion, has generated £26.6 billion of exports and produced around 1.45 million passenger vehicles and 203,000 commercial vehicles. It was also recorded that in 2008 180,000 people were directly employed in automotive manufacturing in the United Kingdom, with a further 640,000 people employed in automotive supply, retail and servicing. Within 5 years JLR were producing a third of that with 425,000 cars sold worldwide. This was up almost a 5th for the company. The United States, Germany and India were then considered the manufacturer’s fastest growing markets. The figures came amid resurgence in the wider vehicle market as the economy recovers both in the UK and in many key markets overseas. The UNITE

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union’s assistant general secretary Tony Burke said “Jaguar Land Rover is a remarkable manufacturing success story…our members in Unite and the company worked together to turn JLR’s fortunes around. The manufacturer’s fantastic performance is testament to both the direct and indirect workforce.”

The following year, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recorded car sales in Britain were at their highest since 2007 thanks to a recovering economy, cheap financing packages and repayments of miss-sold payment protection insurance. A BBC business correspondent remarked in an article on January 12th that year, that JLR had seen a remarkable turnaround in its fortunes. At the height of the recession, the company’s owners asked for financial support from the British government.

After £11 billion of investment, JLR stood as one of Britain’s most profitable companies in 2014. The sheer scale of the turnaround under Tata’s ownership was clearly illustrated in the company’s financial performance. In 2008 – the year Ford sold JLR to Tata – they made a £41.6 million pre-tax loss on revenues of £2.1 billion.

In 2013, they posted £2.6 billion of pre-tax profit on £21.9 billion of revenue - staffing has doubled to 36,000 and in 2014, the carmaker sold an incredible 462,209 vehicles - standing as the company’s 5th successive year of growth in sales. Earlier this year, Andy Goss, Sales Operations Director at JLR commented: “Jaguar Land Rover has once again outperformed prior year performance, with retails up across all of our key regions. 2015 has seen 12 significant new product actions and the introduction of the new Jaguar XE and the Land Rover Discovery Sport, we anticipate retailing over half a million vehicles for the first time in the company’s history. 2014 was a year of significant achievements for JLR, recognised by more than 100 international awards. 2015 has proved even better, by creating ever more exciting cars that deliver great customer experiences.”

JLR’s global performance for the full year 2014 showed a balanced portfolio with sales up across all key regions: 122,010 in the China Region, up 28%; 96,505 for Overseas, up 1%; 86,310 in Europe, 2014 was considered a historic year for JLR manufacturing, with the business expanding from three plants to five. JLR opened its first ever overseas manufacturing plant, in China, as well as a new Engine Manufacturing Center in the West Midlands. This facility, together with major

recent investment and increased headcount at Castle Bromwich and Solihull, West Midlands; Halewood, Merseyside, underlines Jaguar JLR’s commitment to the UK as well as exciting future ventures expanding internationally.

Earlier this year it was released that JLR was doubling the size of its engineering and design centre base in Coventry, UK as the premium manufacturer develops greener vehicles. The company completed a “multi-million-pound” purchase of 62-acres at its R&D base in Whitley, UK, more than doubling the facility’s size and employment. JLR said the extra land would accommodate product engineers and support the development of future generations of cars that use new power systems such as electric motors to reduce the volume of pollution that increasingly calls for concern.

Dr. Speth, said: “Our expansion at Whitley

will help ensure the sustainable growth of JLR, with the development of ultra-low emission technologies…

Design leadership, technical innovation and engineering excellence lie at the heart of this business and we are committed to investing in the skills needed to continue this success into the future.”

The purchase was the latest element of £3 billion of investment in new facilities and technology so far in 2015 as the company grows under Tata.

Over the course of the past five years the company has tripled the number of staff it employs to 34,000, with all but 1,700 of them in the UK. News of the expansion came when Tata announced its plans to boost its capital levels with an INR ₹75 billion (£800 million) rights issue, which will help fund investment in JLR and Tata themselves.

As of May 2015, JLR had clocked up pre-tax profits of £2.6 billion in the tax year to the end of March, after strong sales continued abroad. They sold 462,209 vehicles in the year continuing on from 2014, 19% were sold to UK customers. A quarter were sent to China, mainland Europe accounted for a 5th of sales, while customers from North America made up 17% of sales. The company reported a 13% rise in revenue to £21.87 billion.

Since the acquisition in 2008, that saw Tata purchase JLR for £1.4 billon, the company has

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driven £10 billion into the business, with plans for a further £3 billion of investment to continue just this year. Since the opening of their enginemanufacturing centre in Wolverhampton, in October 2014, in a £500 million investment – JLR has also opened a new factory in Solihull, West Midlands, early on this year, where the new Jaguar XE is being produced.

Dr. Speth, said: “Jaguar Land Rover has delivered five years of solid financial results, enabling us to invest in our long-term future. This has positioned the company strategically and financially for continued sustainable growth. The past year has been one of significant achievement, with the expansion of our vehicle ranges and our manufacturing footprint,” Britain’s car industry has undergone a revival in recent years and now has an annual turnover of £64 billion, employing 160,000 people directly.

Meanwhile new car sales recently rose to their highest level since the introduction of the biannual registration change. Automotive dealers registered 492,774 new cars in March 2015, an increase of 6% on the same month from 2014 and the highest number since 1999, according to official industry data from SMMT. The UK also has a significant presence in auto racing and the UK motorsport industry currently employs around 38,500 people, encompasses around 4,500 companies and was last reported to have an annual turnover of over £6 billion in 2014.

Most recently, JLR reported their best ever October retail sales of 41,553 vehicles in 2015, up 24% on October 2014. The company sold 390,965 vehicles in the first ten months of 2015, 2% up on the same period in the prior year. Retail sales for the month of October were 40% up year-on-year in the United Kingdom, 74% up in North America, 24% up in Europe and 9% up in China. Other overseas markets were down 5% for the month, reflecting the challenging macro-economic environment in countries such as Russia and Brazil. Jaguar

delivered 7,467 vehicles in the month, up 39% on October 2014. Calendar year-to-date sales were 67,612, down 1% year-on-year. Europe and the UK recorded outstanding year-on-year growth of 150% and 64%, respectively, for the month of October and retails in the ‘Overseas’ region were 27% up year-on-year. Sales of the new Jaguar XE were 3,515 for the month, with a total of 15,716 retailed since sales began in the summer. This new mid-sized sports saloon has recently joined the line-up in China and will go on sale in the USA in spring 2016. Marking its best October to date yet, Land Rover retailed 34,086 vehicles in the month, up 21% yearon-year. Calendar year-to-date sales reached 323,353 vehicles, 2% up on the prior year. Bestsellers for the month included the Range Rover Sport, 40% up year-on-year, the Land Rover Discovery, 41% up, and the Range Rover, which was 21% up on the previous year. The new Discovery Sport continues to grow in popularity, with retails of 7,182.

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Manufacturing Both Jaguar and Land Rover icons of British motoring history! The automotive industry in the United Kingdom is best known for their premium sports car marques, standing at the forefront are Jaguar and Land Rover, amongst others including Aston Martin, Bentley, McLaren, Mini, Morgan and Rolls-Royce – commercial vehicle manufacturers active in the UK including Ford, Leyland Trucks and London Taxis International. The UK is an old but also still a major centre for engine manufacturing with such a vast range of successful and key suppliers. In 2008 SMMT reported that 3.16 million engines were produced in UK alone.

In October 2015 it was reported that engine production saw a rise of 4% compared with the same month the year previous and exports continue to rise, with manufacturing demand for overseas markets up 13.2% month-onmonth.

In 2014 there were major investments into UK engine manufacturing, which has enabled for the likes of JLR to keep suppliers and future sourcing within the UK alone without further expansion abroad.

“Last year was one of underlying positivity for UK engine manufacturing with full year output down on 2013, due to retooling for new products at a number of plants,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “Investment exceeding £1 billion over the last few years from manufacturers, including BMW, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover, is expected to add £2.5 billion to the sector’s turnover in the coming years.

This is beginning to manifest itself in monthly output growth.”

With JLR experiencing global sales growth, it is increasingly important for them to expand their global presence. Manufacturing their vehicles internationally allows the company to reach markets and customers, creating a stronger, more sustainable and increasingly agile business.

They continue to evaluate opportunities to increase its manufacturing footprint in the future, primarily in markets with strong growth potential and customer demand.

The company has made significant progress in building their international manufacturing footprint – a new business process that focuses on developing the right configuration of manufacturing plants around the globe,

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where to locate them, what their roles should be and how they interactions should progress.

In 2014 JLR opened its joint venture in China and commenced construction of the local manufacturing plant in Brazil, launching it’s first overseas manufacturing facility.

The 50:50 partnership between JLR & Chery Automobile Company Ltd. is also the first British-Chinese automotive joint venture.

Located in Changshu (north of Shanghai), the 98-acre facility represents a total investment of RMB 10.9 billion (approximately £1 billion) demonstrating their commitment to the Chinese market, holding a production capacity of 130,000 units. The Range Rover Evoque & Land Rover Discovery Sport are both produced in Changshu for customers in China, with further models to come in 2016. The award-winning Range Rover Evoque was the first model to be built under the first Chinese-British automotive joint venture. The plant inauguration of Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company follows the two-year construction of a factory, which is almost 400,000 square-metres. At the plant inauguration, Dr Dr. Speth, said: “The opening of this world-class facility is an important milestone for Jaguar Land Rover. Since its launch, one in five Range Rover Evoques have been sold in China.

Our decision to manufacture the Range Rover Evoque in Changshu is a result of our commitment to bringing more Chinese vehicles to Chinese customers.”

Mr Yin Tongyao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chery Automobile Company added:

“Chery Jaguar Land Rover remains committed to delivering excellence in its quest to lead the Chinese premium automotive industry through its historic British lineage, world-class quality and unique shared value approach.”

JLR has had a local assembly presence in India since 2011 and currently manufactures the Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar XF and XJ and most recently the Discovery Sport; most recently reporting in November 2015 that the company has plans to increase production in India, further expanding its foothold in the country by increasing the number of locally manufactured

models in 2016.

JLR first established a presence in China just over a decade ago and has a long-term commitment to its Chinese customers.

JLR is the first British automotive manufacturer to build a new local manufacturing facility in Brazil; the company’s first wholly-owned overseas local manufacturing facility. The 14acre site is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro and represents an investment of R$750 million (approximately £240 million), with the first vehicles expected off the production line next year in 2016. In the programme’s commencing phase, the new 60,000m² manufacturing facility in Itatiaia planned to employ 400 people and will have an annual capacity of around 24,000 vehicles. As part of its on-going commitment to the Brazilian automotive industry, JLR has been sourcing a range of components from local suppliers as well as importing selected parts from its global supply chain – an aim consistent within JLR’s activities. In addition, JLR is investing in its technical assistance services to help suppliers support increased levels of localisation in the future for Brazil. The new Discovery Sport has been confirmed as one of the vehicles that JLR plans to build, with the first customer cars expected to drive off the production line in 2016. Since its reveal at the Sao Paulo Motor Show in 2015, the Discovery Sport has received a very positive reaction from Brazilian customers.

In 2012, JLR welcomed the UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron to its Solihull site where they had recently invested £370 million in its site’s facility. The Prime Minster saw the results of this investment first hand when he visited the company’s brand new state-of-the-art aluminium body-shop – the largest of its kind in the world.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Jaguar Land Rover’s continued success, and rising exports, demonstrates the strength of the automotive sector in the UK, and the crucial role this industry plays in growing and rebalancing the economy. Their success, particularly in fast growing markets like China and India, shows that UK manufacturing can compete and thrive on the global stage, and is testament to the excellent and highly skilled work force they have here in Solihull. This Government is backing business; dealing with the deficit, cutting taxes and investing in exports, enterprise and growth, to ensure the UK is equipped to get on and win in this global race.”

BEHIND THE BRAND

The following year in 2013, JLR announced an investment approaching £1.5 billion, later introducing an all-new technically advanced aluminium vehicle architecture. To support this strengthening of the Jaguar product profile, thousands of new jobs were created in the UK at their Solihull site. The following year Chief Secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander visited the Solihull site to see one of the largest manufacturing growth stories in a generation.

In the previous two years there had been significant investment and growth at the site with 3,000 new jobs been created and currently investing £1.5 billion in new manufacturing.

Following a record-breaking year for overall sales in 2013, the site had ambitious plans for growth to meet increasing customer demand and they were well on their way to meet their 1,700 employment target made in the previous year.

In August 2015, JLR signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of the Slovak Republic for the expansion of a new manufacturing plant in the city of Nitra, western Slovakia – proposed to commence in 2018. The feasibility study explores plans for a factory with an installed capacity reaching up to 300,000 vehicles over the next decade. Earlier in the year, JLR agreed a manufacturing partnership with Magna Steyr, an operating unit of Magna International Inc, to build some future vehicles in Graz, Austria.

In October 2014, the company opened a new manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, the same month as manufacturing began overseas for the first time in Changshu, China and later the construction of another in Brazil. The company has recently been looking at expanding its production with an engine production facility in the UK and another manufacturing plant in China to address the emerging Chinese market. JLR is world leader in the area of aluminum body construction

for vehicles. For those unaware, the use of aluminum in an automotive application brings many benefits in terms of mass reduction, high strength with superior malleability, improved fuel efficiency, lower emissions, proven increased crash safety and even better vehicle dynamics with easy machining for whatever use be it mill, drill, cut, punch, bend, weld, bond, tape.

Around 8% of the Earth’s crust consists of aluminium in the form of different minerals.

The use of aluminum across their range of cars is increasingly growing – from the most recent Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, to the new Jaguar F-Type sports car and Jaguar XJ saloon. With the introduction of aluminum body structures to the Jaguar line initially, the car’s mass was reduced by around 40%, using aluminum stamped panels, castings and extrusions. The same principles are now being applied to new Range Rover models – with weight savings some in excess of 400kg. As well as lowering emissions, there are other major environmental benefits in the lifecycle of the cars. For example, the aluminium used to form the body panels are made of recycled material – aluminium can be reused for the same purposes over and over again, unlike many other materials; aluminium does not lose its unique properties.

“We aim to increase this to 75% of the entire vehicle when feasible.

The reduction in weight even has an impact on the environmental footprint of the cars when it comes to their shipping: less fuel is needed to transport them to the showroom and on to new customers.”

In 2015 Jaguar released that it is developing an all-new advanced aluminium monocoque vehicle architecture, on which a new range

of prospectus Jaguars will be built – stating

“High-strength, lightweight and extremely stiff, the modular and scalable architecture will enable flexible high-volume production without compromising the unique character, dynamics, performance and luxury that Jaguar is famous for. This will enable Jaguar to grow its product portfolio, targeting high-growth areas of the premium market.”

Mike Wright, Executive Director at JLR said:

“We need to continue to invest in world-class manufacturing technology and source the best people to produce our award winning vehicles.

The plans are further evidence of our commitment to advancing the capability of the UK automotive industry which benefits the wider supply chain and overall UK economy.”

JLR employ around 29,000 people globally and support around 190,000 more through our dealerships, suppliers and local businesses. All of our vehicles are engineered and designed in Britain and while we have ambitious plans for global growth, the heart of the business remains in the UK. We have invested billions of pounds in our state-of-the-art production, research and development facilities. In fact, Jaguar Land Rover is the biggest UK investor in R&D in the manufacturing sector and is in the global top 100 for R&D spend. This investment, along with our ongoing support of local communities and encouragement to get young people to seek jobs in engineering, has led to Jaguar Land Rover winning the Responsible Business of the Year Award 2013. Last year Jaguar Land

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BEHIND THE BRAND

Rover sold 425,000 vehicles in more than 170 countries – up 19% from the previous year.

These figures make Jaguar Land Rover one of the largest exporters by value in the UK, with 80% of our vehicles produced in the UK being sold abroad.

Whilst remaining one of the headline-grabbing success stories of the manufacturing industry in Britain today – with employee numbers doubling over the last four years, it is also the country’s most dynamic automotive business.

Jaguar Land Rover’s UK operations take place at five locations, with three vehicle manufacturing plants – two in the West Midlands at Castle Bromwich and Solihull, one near Liverpool in Halewood – and two advanced design and engineering centres at Gaydonand Whitley in the Midlands. It is from these five sites that Jaguar Land Rover currently produces the range of vehicles that sell in over 170 countries. The company is greatly expanding its UK facilities with a new £500m Engine Manufacturing Centre near Wolverhampton, while large-scale global growth and investment will see the construction of further manufacturing plants in China and Brazil in 2014and beyond. Jaguar Land Rover is also regularly investing in its existing UK facilities. The continued expansion at our sites has resulted in a substantial increase in jobs in recent years.

With more than 80% of the vehicles produced being sold abroad, JLR are one of the largest exporters by value in the UK. Their operations are currently split across five sites with three motor-manufacturing plants – two in the West Midlands (United Kingdom) at the home of the Land Rover, Solihull, and Castle Bromwich, and another near Liverpool in Halewood – there are also two advanced design and engineering centres at Gaydon and Whitley in the Midlands (United Kingdom). It is across these five sites that JLR produces the vehicles that sell into 178 countries around the world, meeting the demands of the company’s dealers across each continent. JLR is continually investing in these sites to ensure the demand and appeal is constant. They are the largest investor in automotive R&D and engineering in the UK, with continued expansion at their sites having resulted in a steady increase in jobs. Each of the company’s five sites is thriving as demand continues to rise for new JLR vehicles.

Suppliers Earlier this year, JLR launched the company’s first inaugural Supplier Excellence Awards.

British actress, Joanna Lumley, at a ceremony

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held in the West Midlands, presented companies from across the globe with trophies.

Explaining the rationale for the new award programme, Ian Harnett, Director of Human Resources and Purchasing at JLR said: “These

awards recognise the role that our supply chain plays in meeting our business objectives and celebrate the achievements of companies that have excelled on quality, delivery, cost and absolute certainty of supply. We are also saying a special thank you to those supplier facilities that have shown “Above and Beyond” flexibility, or have worked quickly to meet production or design challenges.”

With a total of ten trophies were presented for performance in 2014: two gold, four silver and four bronze, awarding for individual plants or facilities, rewarding on-time delivery, continuous quality, accreditation to international and Jaguar Land Rover standards and flexibility to meet the company’s developing needs – it was the perfect opportunity for everyone to gain an insight into the supplier chain for JLR. With a bright future ahead for JLR, the company’s innovation will continue, with 50 major new and model-year upgrade product launches planned for the next five years, offering increased opportunity for its supply base.

Ian Harnett continued: “Jaguar Land Rover is gearing up for the future and we need our suppliers to do the same, enabling us to deliver class-leading vehicles to our customer base across the globe.

The ten facilities recognised through our first annual Excellence Awards are the leading examples of how our strong supply base is stepping up to the mark.”

According to a representative at JLR, they

“chose to award individual supplier locations, rather than overall groups, in recognition of the importance of a close working relationship with each facility, founded on principles of integrity, honesty and trust”.

In response to its acknowledging approach to supplier relations, only a few weeks ago in November, JLR was named most trustworthy OEM in a recent study conducted by global

information and analytics provider, IHS Inc Automotive, an international automotive information and analysis company.

Annually JLR also produce a supplier report titled ‘Supplying Jaguar Land Rover’ – identifying future expansion, purchasing function and discussing company’s relationship with its suppliers. In July this year, their most recent report covers an in-depth interview with Dave Allen, Purchasing Director, and Michael Mychajluk, Supply Chain & External Engagement Manager for JLR. Alongside this JLR hold supplier days, breaking down Jaguar Land Rover team by team – an incredible opportunity for suppliers of JLR to take the pedestal JLR’s vision for the future set, enabling suppliers to work their magic for the cars of our future.

Technology Advanced design, engineering and technology developments have all played a crucial part in JLR’s success over the years, especially in most recent years since Tata’s takeover. The company invests more in R&D than any other manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, which has allowed thousands of world-class engineers to develop world-class innovations and the products that we know today. It is these breakthroughs that JLR can rely on to manufacture better-performing vehicles, lower their environmental impact and stand as an inspiration to both their consumers and the public.

First-rate designers, engineers and production specialists who ensure that every Jaguar and Land Rover vehicle designed and manufactured is as innovative as it is desirable, lead their technological development. Credit goes to the vast investments made across all of JLR’s facilities across the globe in the last decade and since Tata’s takeover, they now have the most advanced tools at their disposal to manufacture vehicles with cutting-edge technologies.

The initial discovery and constant advancements in 3D design rooms and printers are key to JLR’s virtual engineering, cutting down both the time and expense involved in the manufacturing of new vehicles. The smart use of aluminium has also led to the development of lighter, more ecofriendly cars, while test facilities, such as those provided by the Product Compliance Centre at their Solihull site, ensure that the range meets and exceeds the required legislative standards for production from around the world.

“Technology is also enhancing the appeal to buyers and not simply by making the cars more desirable. Now, with our dealership’s

BEHIND THE BRAND

Virtual Customer Experience, it is possible to spec a vehicle and have it projected onto a screen at full size, then view it from every angle and interact with it, almost as if it had been delivered to the showroom.” Jaguar Land Rover JLR continues to invest in new technologies, new architectures and new products in order to drive future growth. While there have been many breakthrough technologies from JLR over the decades, including their most recent £11 million autonomous car project (vehicles that can map their environment, communicate securely with other vehicles, and understand and interact with their drivers); their extensive investment in R&D means there are plenty more to come. As the UK’s biggest investor in manufacturing R&D, JLR is leading the way in developing innovative new solutions in several key areas. Major advances are currently being made in ‘powertrain’ development and the use of hybrids, electronics and entertainment, and advancing even further into the future and the potential in autonomous cars, technologies that will enable for driverless vehicles.

One of JLR’s key aims is to improve existing technology, to evolve interiors and exteriors, discover new energy storage and transmissions concepts, and to enhance mass distribution and vehicle performance. These developments are formed by the company’s overall strategy of looking to continually reduce its CO2 emissions. In order to create an environment that will result in such progressive ideas and overall successes, JLR has partnered with a number of leading companies, such as Williams Advanced Engineering known for their worldclass technical innovations for F1 vehicles; who offer their own expertise. This is accompanied by plans to educate and develop engineers in the UK and abroad, partnering with schools, colleges and universities, forming a union with the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at Warwick University, whilst also nurturing resources in India and China. With such a huge focus on development, the company cements its status as a world leader in innovation and technologies of the future.

Strengthening its engagement with the globe’s leading technology businesses and academic bodies by being some of the first to conduct a significant number of research projects investigating a range of technologies from new materials to future ‘powertrain’ solutions.

A representative at JLR commented: “We are involved in a consortium with MIT AgeLab, DENSO and Touchstone Evaluations that aims to reduce the potential for driver distraction in future vehicles’ human machine interface (HMI)

systems by developing methods for measuring the demands made on drivers by the latest HMI technologies. Jaguar Land Rover and Intel have already begun work on multiple levels across engineering, research and marketing as Jaguar Land Rover progresses its ambitions to deliver the best in-car infotainment experience. A new Open Software Technology Centre in Portland, Oregon, USA, opened in 2014, complemented the established JLR infotainment team based at the company’s product creation facility in Gaydon, UK. The Portland technology centre fosters long-term research projects – including

electrification, smart and connected cars and HMI – that undertake by the Jaguar Land Rover R&D team at the new National Automotive Innovation Campus (NAIC) at the University of Warwick for when it opens in 2016. The NAIC is designed to create a large-scale collaborative research environment, bringing academics from the UK’s leading universities together with researchers and engineers from Jaguar Land Rover and the company’s supply chain, in a single, multi-purpose, state-of-the-art research facility.”

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Environment Automotive manufacturing has been a global industry since day one – acting as a major employer and, over the last 100 years, it has provided safer, environmentally friendlier and more accessible transport for increasing number of consumers, including in more recent industrialised countries. In spite of this, carrelated pollution and congestion still remain a call for concern in many major cities.

Environmental responsibility is a priority of JLR’s.

Carbon emissions, water, waste, materials, they’re all factors that influence the decisions made. Using all their research and expertise to challenge both their products and operations.

Through innovation, JLR state that they aspire to increasingly develop business, whilst continuing to drive down their environmental impact in the future, demonstrating an exciting new synergy between sustainability and performance.

“Vehicles that meet the needs of our customers now and long into the future.”

Luxury performance cars and advancements in SUVs are some of the grounds for JLR success globally. Their future ability to deliver such levels of performance, capability and luxury, in a responsible way, is what will truly set them apart as creators of world-leading manufacturing and driving experiences.

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JLR recognises that with their success comes greater responsibility to minimise the environmental impacts of their manufacturing and general operations. According to the company, they are “modifying

everything from factory processes to logistics; investing billions [GBP] in new products, facilities and R&D; monitoring supplier performance against sustainability criteria, and building partnerships to deliver our CO2 reduction strategy.”

For JLR, using more sustainable materials is a major long-term goal as a responsible business – with the planet’s resources are dwindling, choosing and using materials conscientiously will not only benefit the environment, it will also help tackle their future price fluctuations as demand for these precious resources increasingly rises.

“The amount of recycled aluminium we use in our vehicles continues to rise. We work in partnership with the REAL CAR initiative that develop ways to employ recycled aluminium in our products. Together we have identified a method of re-melting scrap aluminium generated in our own presses with those of our principle

suppliers into a high-grade sheet metal alloy. Both the latest Jaguar XJ and the All New Range Rover feature recycled aluminium sheets.”

“We also now have a closed loop waste recovery and recycling system at our Castle Bromwich Jaguar production centre, as well as a trial process at Solihull, where Land Rover’s new all-aluminium models (The Range Rover and Range Rover Sport) are manufactured. Switching to Organic Materials - Beyond the main car body, there are even wider opportunities to make responsible choices. We are reducing our use of synthetics and plastics by looking at more organic materials such as leather and natural rubber (a key feature of the new Range Rover – whose leather interiors were sourced from Bridge of Weir in Scotland). Wood too, can be sourced responsibly from a sustainably managed forest to make stylish, premium interiors for our vehicles. These are just some of the ways we are working to define a more sustainable form of luxury and performance.”

BEHIND THE BRAND

In 2013 Jaguar Land Rove released their third Sustainability Report for 2012/13 that outlined their progress to date in sustainability in relations to both products and operations, along with their strategy and new objectives that they intend to form the next evolution of sustainability strategy in the coming years. In 2014, Mike Wright, confirmed in the release of the Corporate Sustainability Report that the majority of objectives set in previous years were not only actively in progress but the majority already being achieved, well on their way to their 2020 sustainability targets.

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BEHIND THE BRAND Awards Jaguar Land Rover won around 200 international awards in 2013.

In November 2015, JLR received a 2015 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, for reducing the environmental impact of its products and its operations. This is the 14th Queen’s Award that Jaguar and Land Rover have received since 1967 - the second year of the scheme. It follows a 2014 award for International Trade, in recognition of JLR’s outstanding overseas sales growth.

“Jaguar Land Rover is honoured to receive this 2015 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development,” said Dr. Speth. “We are focused on growing a long-term, sustainable business, as leaders in environmental innovation and making a positive impact on society.”

The award was announced during Responsible Business Week, only days after JLR was named Responsible Business of the Year 2013/14 by the leading Corporate Responsibility Index, Business in the Community (BiTC). The prestigious award recognises JLR’s significant investment in all areas of the business, in particular their jobs and facilities within the UK. The company’s outstanding environmental performance, and commitment to education skills, training for young people and current employees were also

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identified as key areas for recognition. BiTC’s Chief Executive, Stephen Howard praised the company’s approach, stating JLR “perfectly

embodies the mutuality of responsible business – an understanding that by transforming business you can transform communities.”

The award takes into account a number of specific achievements by JLR over the last 12 months, including being the UK’s principal investor in automotive R&D, as well as engineering - providing £2.75 billion worth of support over 2013/14. In 2015, the business is spending £10 billion with over 2,500 suppliers, with 60% of the money being spent on materials going to other UK companies.

The 2013 award is a milestone in JLR’s history, resulting from a culmination of effort stretching across all areas of the business. The group has praised progress as a responsible business over the last five years with JLR’s receiving a Platinum Corporate Social Responsibility rating in 2012.

In response to receiving the award, Dr. Speth said the award “recognises the achievements of our employees, suppliers, stakeholders and academic partnerships to deliver sustainability improvements across our business.”

Jaguar later announced: “We’re pleased to say that we’ve marked some significant achievements over the last

few years. We’re proud to have been awarded Responsible Business of the Year 2013 by the UK’s Business in the Community (BITC). An accolade that recognises all the progress we’ve made in recent years – letting us know that we’re heading in the right direction.”

JLR has made significant improvements in a number of areas, reducing their environmental impacts compared to 2007 levels and as of March 2013: • Tailpipe CO2 down by 21% oOperational carbon emissions per vehicle down by 21% • Waste to landfill per vehicle down by 75% • Water use per vehicle down by 17% • Carbon emissions from logistics down by 18% per vehicle The ‘Jaguar Land Rover CO2’ offset programme has also replaced more than 6.5 million tonnes of CO2 over the last six years by funding no less than 60 sustainable development projects - positively impacting the lives of over 1 million people.

Jaguar reported in 2015 to have acknowledged the positive benefits they have been able to bring to their communities. In the area of education, JLR are proud to have won the national Business in the Community ‘Education

BEHIND THE BRAND Award’ 2013 which recognises businesses that are building sustainable partnerships with schools to raise aspirations of young people and enable them to build successful working lives. In addition, JLR is the only vehicle manufacturer in the United Kingdom to have achieved the highly regarded Community Mark. Awarded by Business in the Community, the Community Mark is widely recognised as the national standard of excellence for community investment and was awarded in acknowledgment of their significant investment in community programmes, including their Education Business Partnership Centres and national educational initiatives.

In response, Jaguar released: “We’re proud

of what we’ve achieved but with the global landscape changing we must climb higher. The JLR Sustainability Reports lay out the progress we’ve made towards our vision, as well as the ambitious targets we’re now working towards.”

And with an impressive array of environmental, charitable and educational collaborations under their belt (see all listed below) including the Carbon Disclosure Project (enter description), ClimateCare, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Royal Academy of Engineering and Engineering UK. Is it a wonder JLR are so highly acclaimed?

Globalisation

Little over a century ago the car as it was known then was still a very new mode of transport that only those of aristocracy or the financially flushed could even consider. It is true to say that the automotive industry has been globalised from its early days. There has been consistent competition between countries to invent better cars and obtain finance to support or allow for manufacture. Over time, it has become increasingly automated and workers far more skilled than ever before.

In 2010, the world’s population of vehicles reached one billion. High growth rates of ownership in Thailand, Indonesia, China, India and Brazil reflect economic development and catch-up demand in those countries. The rapidly rising middle class in China is engaging with the world through the internet, television and mobile phones, and purchasing luxury items at a vast rate, including increasing percentages for both Jaguars and Land Rovers. Private car ownership in China is increasing rapidly. The total number of motor vehicles has grown from 37 per 1,000 people in 2008 to 47 per 1,000 in 2009 and 58 per 1,000 in 2010. Data from World Bank Globalisation has increased wealth and demand for vehicles in newly emerging economies.

Expanding markets mean continued growth for car manufacturers and related employment.

Congestion, pollution, fuel and steel availability challenge future expansion, but research continues to improve safety and efficiency.

According to a representative for JLR, substantial investment in the UK should see the rising demand for the products being met and does not appear to be a concern of the companies.

For JLR, Tata’s Motors’ acquisition has accelerated India’s progress. Capital investments and R&D expenditures are two of the main incentives for the industry’s sustainability. Europe is still in a sturdy position with regards to R&D, vehicle design and for the United Kingdom, engine manufacturing. Jaguar and Land Rover spend almost £1 billion annually on R&D in the UK, accounting for a large percentage of the entire annual sector expenditures.

Dr. Speth says the company will remain British and that the future looks bright for JLR with regards to manufacturing and technological advancements. The German CEO confirmed,

“JLR is, at its heart, a British company built around two iconic British brands. We have reaffirmed our position as the UK’s largest premium automotive manufacturer this year through significant investment and job creation.”

JLR is one of the success stories of British manufacturing and with plenty more exciting chapters in the history of JLR still to be written, we look forward to seeing what’s next in line for JLR.

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“Gamechanger: A visionary strategist bringing fresh and unique ideas to the table, an individual or business that stands out from the crowd with ideas that inventively change the way a situation develops.�

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“Gamechanger, what we define as an individual or business that aims to create a new model that leaves the older model obsolete.

Gamechangers impact how the game is played from one objective and ruling model to a completely new vision – changing the face of how we know something.�

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Redefining Traditional Views And Definitions.

According to Dave Rebbettes, a founding director of BCMS, no two businesses are ever the same. This is why BCMS tailors a proven, tried-and-tested approach for each and every client they represent.

GameChangers Magazine talks exclusively to the a founding director of BCMS, the world’s no 1 advisor to privately owned business by deals completed for 2015*

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ARISE

BCMS is a specialist lead advisor to shareholders of private companies. The company is a market leader in its chosen area of expertise, having completed over 500 deals in the last decade. BCMS is the world’s leading advisor to privately owned companies by deal volume, according to data disclosed to Bureau van Dijk’s Zephyr database.

The company has grown substantially since it was first established in 1989. Much of its international expansion has taken place in the last five years. BCMS has established offices across five continents and the company now employs 260+ staff.

Headquartered in Kingsclere, near Newbury, Berkshire, BCMS has unrivalled contact with the market of acquirers globally. Its staff speak with more than 74,000 potential acquirers each year.

BCMS is a past winner of the ‘Coutts Bank Family Business of the Year’ (sub £25m-turnover category). * Source: BvD/Zephyr. BCMS tops the ranking search that includes completed deals in all value ranges by volume in the period 1 January to 31 December 2015, and specifies completed acquisitions, Management Buy-Outs (MBOs), and Management Buy Ins (MBIs) for private (non-publicly listed) companies. Search date: Jan 7 2016.

Key statements • We advise clients from every conceivable industry – from manufacturing to technology, media, healthcare and food – across the world • We believe we offer levels of service and results unmatched by any other advisor in our market, and that our track record speaks for itself • We are a family business, professionally run – BCMS was founded in 1989 by Brian, Dave and Steve Rebbettes, who still own the company today • We believe a business can only be valued on its future potential, not its past performance. We work hard to achieve the maximum value and best outcomes for our clients, their company, and their staff

27 years that feel like 5 years. I started with a full head of brown hair, I blinked and discovered I had no hair and a gray beard. As a family we ran the business for 20 years but recognized the time had come for better management. For the last 5 years or so we have had a great team to run the business.

Q. Please tell us more about what you do and the impact your work has on your industry.

What do you bring to the table?

Always think client first. Always remember that cash really is king.

Q. What’s the best advice you would give to the teenage you?

Believe that you are capable of more than you think you are.

Traditional valuation looks at past performance.

We now sell more private companies than any other company in the world and we have proven that it really is about future opportunity.

Integrity and nous. Nous is a characteristic that seems to be slipping away. Common sense is really not so common.

Q. What qualities do you look for when you hire?

Q. What is your greatest weakness?

Q. What does it take to hold your role in today’s face paced world?

Boredom. I fidget in meetings.

A good night’s sleep.

Q. What does the future hold for your industry?

Q. What changes have you seen over the past few years?

We see good growth and plenty of new geographies for our unusual message

Good to see companies in the UK and worldwide back in good growth. Business optimism is critical to an economy and we see this returning strongly right now.

About BCMS

Q. Can you let us in on what’s to come in the year ahead?

BCMS are looking to continue its international growth this year with launches in to Brazil and Spain.

Good entrepreneur, bad manager.

Good sailor, bad golfer.

Family first, money last.

Q. What is your goal in life?

Q. How did you find yourself in your industry?

To do what is right. Try to do my best as a husband, dad and friend. Hope that doesn’t sound too sickly.

Through the sale of a previously owned family firm. The professionals did such a bad job we just knew there had to be a better way.

Q. Who has made the biggest impression in your life, what was so inspiring about them?

Q. What motivates you?

My Dad. His enthusiasm, integrity and faith are a lesson to us all.

Q. Can you tell us about your experience with your company?

Q. What are the qualities a person must possess to be successful in business?

At BCMS we have totally re-defined how you sell a company and what really drives value. We inhabit a world of financial wizards but believe that selling a company is not a financial issue, it is a marketing issue.

Q. How would you describe yourself and what is your story?

Redefining traditional views and definitions.

Thinks different to the crowd and can communicate effectively.

Q. In your opinion, what are the key attributes to fit the “Gamechanger” title?

• BCMS is a specialist advisor to shareholders and owner-managers looking to sell all or part of their company • We advise clients from every conceivable industry – from manufacturing to technology, media, healthcare and food – across the world • A former winner of the Coutts Family Business Of The Year, we understand that selling a business is an emotional, not just commercial decision • We believe we offer levels of service and results unmatched by any other advisor in our market, and that our track record speaks for itself • We are a family business, professionally run – BCMS was founded in 1989 by Brian, Dave and Steve Rebbettes, who still own the company today • We now employ 260 people in offices across five continents, all staffed by professionals with on-theground, expert local knowledge • We believe a business can only be valued on its future potential, not its past performance. We work hard to achieve the maximum value and best outcomes for your company, and your staff

Someone who re-defines their environment.

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ARISE

Path Solutions Is A Leading Information Technology Solutions Provider Offering A Broad, Deep Spectrum Of Sharia-Compliant Integrated Solutions And Services To The Islamic Financial Marketplace.

Designed to meet the needs of modern Islamic banking, Path Solutions’ turnkey solutions are based on an open, flexible architecture and an established deployment methodology. They have been tested and implemented at some of the world’s most sophisticated Islamic banks, Islamic banking windows as well as conventional banks converting into Islamic banking operations.

The company’s flagship product - iMAL, provides a complete suite of Islamic banking applications with a rich sweep of functionality and features, addressing Sharia compliance, local and regulatory requirements. The system is built on the JEE platform and is SOA compliant. iMAL runs as a web application and can be deployed in a multi-tier setup environment.

Gamechangers Magazine talks exclusively to Mohammed Kateeb, Group Chairman and CEO, Path Solutions Q. How would you describe yourself?

An experienced executive in the field of Information Technology, Telecommunication and Media. An innovative leader who motivates people to realize their full potential.

Q. How did you end up in this field?

By education. I have a Computer Engineering Degree and Master in Business Administration.

Throughout my life, I have had tremendous passion for building solutions for the digital economy. I have thirty years of experience in this field.

Q. What do you bring to the table?

Tremendous deep technical knowledge, down to the bits and bytes, complimented with a broad horizontal business knowledge in many business verticals, but more specifically in the Financial and Telecommunication segments.

Powering Islamic Financial Markets

Gamechangers 92

Q. How was your experience with Microsoft and now with Path Solutions?

Microsoft was an amazing company that ignited the entrepreneurship inside me. I worked with the smartest people in the industry, in the most innovative years of the company. I started as an engineer with the most technical products that the company had at that time (SQL Server), and I ended my service as an executive running a large

geography that spanned 22 countries.

At Path Solutions, I took everything I learned, and applied it to build a world-class software company that focuses on developing state-ofthe-art banking technologies servicing a niche growing segment.

Q. What unique ideas and solutions can your role have on the company’s business?

I am the Chairman and CEO of the company. I am responsible for the corporate level strategy as well as the operational level. With my indepth technical skills, I enjoy getting involved in brainstorming sessions of finding the right technology and design the right software to empower our clients with the best solutions available. I am also involved in setting the business development strategy and execution at Path Solutions. I enjoy meeting our clients and find out how we can do a better job.

Q. What does it take to hold your role in today’s fast paced world?

High energy level, in-depth technical knowledge, and breadth of business skills. Of course, all that without high IQ and EQ will not get us anywhere.

Q. What are the qualities a leader must

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possess to remain successful?

I believe leaders of software companies have to have the technical skills in addition to their business skills. A leader has to have hands-on experience. Looking at all successful technology firms around the world, you will find most of the CEOs coming from technical backgrounds.

Q. What does the future hold for your industry?

On the broader sense, our industry is changing tremendously and the drivers for this change is technology. As you know, every aspect of traditional banking is being challenged. In the next ten years, banks will change completely and the banks that are most successful would be those who can do the successful transition and adapt to change.

More specifically, in the segment that we address, it will continue to grow faster than the traditional segment, and more standardization will be introduced. It will compete successfully with the conventional banking segment.

As to our software industry, I believe softwareas-a-service (SaaS) is coming with a full force, and traditional application selling will start to decline till it becomes irrelevant. In our segment, the move to SaaS will be slower than other industries, because of the governing central banks’ regulations, but it will eventually happen.

Q. How do you motivate your teams?

By pushing them to innovate and be excited to make a difference. Also by open communication and complete transparency.

Q. Where do you see Path Solutions in 2020?

We will be the undisputed leader in providing solutions for the Islamic financial sector, and one of the top three providers of IT solutions for the financial sector as a whole.

Q. Who outside of your field of interest inspires you?

Jack Welch.

Q. What was so inspiring about him?

He is an amazing leader who set the standards in how to run a successful large company. His management style impresses me and I borrow a lot from him in the way I lead.

Q. Who has made the biggest impression in your life?

Bill Gates. Another amazing leader! I believe after all is said and done, he will be recognized as one of the greatest people who shaped both the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Q. What animal do you take the most inspiration or lesson from?

The cheetah. I admire its agility.

Q. Most common thought when you first wake up?

What do I need to do to keep this company going and successful?

Q. The last thought before you sleep?

What could I have done better today? Where did I screw up?

Q. What’s the best advice you would give to younger generations?

Take a mentor, listen to his advices. Always learn, keep arrogance and ego under control.

Q. What qualities do you look for when you first hire?

High IQ. A smart person can do anything.

Q. What is your most used phrase in both work and home?

The only thing constant in life is change.

Q. In your opinion, what are the key attributes to fit the “Gamechanger” title?

Someone who succeeded in making a positive change. A leader who led his company to do things differently and the results were spectacular. Of course the output has to matter!

93 Gamechangers

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A Perfect Year To Reach For The Skies David Mandeno, Investment Manager, C&C Alpha Group Following a tumultuous period marred by high oil prices, global financial crisis and increasing market competition, investor confidence in the commercial aviation industry has, in recent months, begun to rebound.

Since the summer of 2008, the health of the industry has at times looked bleak: during this period, crude oil reached just shy of $150 a barrel, airlines faced the beginning of a global lending squeeze and increasing competition hit profits. Aircraft production was also down, with the delivery of many new aircraft being deferred, while passenger growth numbers did not meet expectation.

Nearly eight years later, and those market headwinds are finally abating. The rise of the middle classes in developing countries, coupled with wider global economic expansion, is driving renewed demand for commercial aviation. The increased market competition of the noughties has ultimately forced airlines to optimize and become more efficient. What’s more, monetary easing is stimulating lending, and banks not only have more capital to lend, but are lending to larger, more secure organisations - including airlines.

Meanwhile crude oil - which typically accounts for 35-50% of an airline’s costs - is languishing at around $30 a barrel. With the majority of the industry yet to pass these reductions onto consumers, the airlines are generating higher profits and set for a golden period of booming growth.

As we are seeing this year, this growth is already translating into ambitious new fleet acquisition projects. In just the past few weeks, Iran has signed a $25b deal to purchase 118 aircraft from Airbus, while Flynas, Vietjet and United Airlines have all also proposed or placed orders for new fleets of aircraft. At the 2016 edition of the annual Bahrain Airshow, orders reached $9b - triple the 2014 figure. Investors forecasting aviation industry developments in 2016-17 are therefore understandably bullish.

But barriers to industry growth remain – most notably a shortage of qualified commercial pilots. No longer are the greatest hurdles facing the commercial aviation sector global economic insecurity, oil prices or terrorism; rather, it is lack of aviators, with Boeing assessing that by 2034 558,000 additional commercial pilots will be required worldwide to service expanding fleets.

Whilst these alarming figures have awoken the industry to the scale of the problem, current pilot training infrastructure is unable to match this demand. This is why, in this current climate, private pilot training academies offer high-potential investment and acquisition opportunities for the coming decade and beyond.

Gamechangers 94

The nature of the pilot training industry means that the strongest investment and acquisition opportunities will be most prevalent with the established training providers. The training organisations with a clear brand, proven track record and strong relationships with airlines offer the most security. Start-ups on the other hand have a challenging time penetrating the market, and the risk/ return ratio is unlikely to offer an attractive investment opportunity – especially as national aviation regulators are increasingly enforcing more stringent training and safety standards on pilot training academies.

Investors should also do their due diligence into the different types of training academy, and what opportunities they may hold. Those academies that offer fully incorporated, end-to-end pilot training solutions (as opposed to solely flight training) arguably offer the most attractive investment opportunity, as airlines can outsource their entire pilot training requirements to these facilities. Those pilot training facilities that offer a range of flexible and bespoke training solutions, such as the Multi-Crew Pilots License, will also hold an advantage as they can address different airline and regulatory requirements.

Geographically, the strongest growth within the industry will be seen across the Asia-Pacific region, where almost half of the world’s growth in air traffic will be located. By 2030 three billion people will have entered the middle classes – much of that across the Asia-Pacific region – with budget carriers servicing the new budget-wary middle class. Pilot training academies supplying the budget Asian carriers with their pilots may therefore offer some of the best returns on investment.

Aircraft and simulator manufacturers, including Airbus and Boeing, as well as other industry players, are also expanding into the pilot training market. A recent example of this was the purchase of CTC Aviation by space communications system L3 for $220m.

It will be the established training providers, with their experience and flexibility, who will capitalise upon these new growth opportunities within the market. In the next 3-5 years there will be significant growth both in the number of training academies and the expansion of existing academies.

Despite oil prices being predicted to stay low for a number of years and challenging economic conditions relenting, the commercial aviation sector still faces the risk of stunted growth and unfulfilled potential. Investment in the pilot training academy market during this period will not only help ensure the aviation industry is furnished with the pilots it needs, but offers the prospect of strong growth and returns on your investment too.

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95 Gamechangers

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New Search Engine Helps Save Lives With The Click Of A Button A brand new search engine allows internet users to make a real difference to the lives of people in desperate need of safe drinking water, by simply searching the web.

Powered by Yahoo!, Elliot for Water is unlike any other search engine. While most others make money from businesses who advertise through Pay Per Click (PPC), 60% of the profits made by Elliot for Water will go towards sanitation projects in developing countries.

The search engine works on the ground with local charity partners, maximising the benefit of the project and cutting out the administration costs associated with larger charities.

The local partners implementing the projects will not take a fee from Elliot for Water, but instead will benefit from the latest water purification technology from Solwa Srl - an organisation that provides innovative solar powered equipment. Solwa are supporting Elliot for Water in their unique mission.

Elliot for Water comes at a time when over 600 million people do not have access to clean water, and around 2.5 billion are without adequate sanitation . As a result, millions die each year from water-related diseases.

It is because of this water crisis that Elliot for Water was formed. The name derives from Helios, the God of Sun in ancient Greece.

Its founder, Andrea Demichelis, 22 explains the concept: “I setup Elliot for Water because I wanted to show people that they can make a tangible and positive impact on the world by doing something that they do every day. With Elliot for Water, helping others has never been easier. As the search engine is powered by Yahoo! you can still enjoy the internet as you normally would, but knowing that your simple searches may be saving lives.”

“People can also be confident that we are working with small, local charities, so the revenue from their clicks won’t get lost in larger charities which have bigger overheads, so the people that need it most are getting the maximum benefit.”

Andrea and his team are planning to visit some of their partners in the New Year, to scope out projects. To provide further reassurance to internet users, Elliot for Water will post the company’s financial results on the search engine blog.

Though newly launched, Elliot for Water hopes to become the default search engine for many.

Andrea concludes: “I would urge people to use Elliot for Water, as they can make an impact straight away. After all, if you have the opportunity to save lives by simply searching the web, wouldn’t you take it?”

To start browsing Elliot for Water, visit: http://www.elliotforwater.com/.

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97 Gamechangers

REPORT

99. Bircham Dyson Bell

British Entrepreneurs Remain Optimistic And Resilient At The Year End ‘Over 70% would feel confident starting a new business in the current climate’

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114. DOW JONES

VENTURESOURCE QUARTERLY REPORT FOR EUROPE, 4Q’15

115. ALTIUS HIGHLIGHTS

EIGHT KEY CHALLENGES FACING PRIVATE MARKETS IN 2016

116. DEAL REVIEW AND

LEAGUE TABLES 2015 UK AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND – M&A AND ECM TRANSACTIONS

117. MORGAN

LEWIS ANNUAL GLOBAL CARTEL ENFORCEMENT REPORT

118. BLP - PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENT INTO MINING DOUBLES IN 2015

Gamechangers 98

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British Entrepreneurs Remain Optimistic And Resilient At The Year End ‘Over 70% would feel confident starting a new business in the current climate’

Leading London based law firm Bircham Dyson Bell reveals the findings of its latest quarterly Entrepreneurs Optimism Index (The Index), with 89% of entrepreneurs believing that they will be profitable over the next three months. The Index tracks the views and opinions of entrepreneurs in the UK and underlines that high levels of confidence amongst British businesses continues. Indeed, almost three quarters of the entrepreneurs polled claim they would be confident in starting a new business in the current climate.

The Index, supported by Rockstar Mentoring Group, was conducted in October 2015 and businesses across the UK were questioned on a range of issues, including recruitment, customer demand, funding and the economy. To mark the first National Mentoring Day on 27 October, this Index also asked the entrepreneurs about their use of a mentor. The key findings of The Index are: • 89% of entrepreneurs believe they will be profitable in the next three months.

• 78% of businesses believe consumer demand will increase in the current political and economic climate.

• 73% of entrepreneurs would feel confident starting a new business in the coming months.

• 64% of businesses have employed new staff in the past three months up from 34% in the previous quarter.

• 63% of businesses reported an increase in customer levels with the majority remaining ‘very’ confident that their business will remain profitable over the final quarter of 2015.

• 50% of UK businesses have seen an increase in revenue in the past three months.

• Almost half (48%) of entrepreneurs have used a mentor to help their business, with the majority seeking the advice of a mentor when setting up (33%).

Commenting on the findings, Hollie Gallagher, Head of the Entrepreneurs Team at Bircham Dyson Bell said: “Our latest Entrepreneurs Optimism Index shows that, despite some recent economic uncertainty, optimism amongst British businesses is unwavering. Buoyant entrepreneurs are sharing their expertise, recruiting more and – in turn – are continuing to play a crucial role in creating jobs and wealth for the country.”

Commenting on the attitudes of entrepreneurs in the current political climate, Stuart Thomson, Head of Public Affairs at Bircham Dyson Bell said: “Chancellor George Osborne has delivered his Autumn Statement to a background of enduring confidence amongst British businesses. The current drive to establish the Northern Powerhouse and implement real devolution is what local businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups need, to further flourish and benefit the country as a whole.”

Tracking any changing trends and attitudes amongst entrepreneurs, in addition to their continuing confidence, The Index has shown that an increasing number of new business opportunities now come through online portals – 32% – making it level with the more traditional source of new business referrals.

Jonathan Pfahl, Managing Director at Rockstar Mentoring Group comments: “It is fantastic to see that so many entrepreneurs have benefitted from having a mentor. We are seeing a large number of entrepreneurs passing on their skills to new-comers, playing a greater role in advising and preparing the next generation of British entrepreneurs.”

99 Gamechangers

ENTREPRENEURS OPTIMISM INDEX A quarterly review of the highs and lows from the UK’s leading entrepreneurs Edition 2 | October - December 2015

This publication is not meant as a substitute for advice on particular issues and action should not be taken on the basis of the information in this document alone.

This firm is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA). However, we are included on the register maintained by the FCA (www.fca.gov.uk/register) so that we can offer a limited range of investment services (including insurance mediation activities) because we are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (the SRA). We can provide these services if they are an incidental part of the professional services we have been engaged to provide. Mechanisms for complaints and redress if something goes wrong are provided through the SRA and the Legal Ombudsman.

Bircham Dyson Bell LLP processes your personal data in connection with the operation and marketing of a legal practice and will occasionally send you information relating to the firm. If you would prefer not to receive this information or would like us to amend your contact details and/or mailing preferences, please notify us by email: databasecoordinator@bdb-law.co.uk.

Bircham Dyson Bell LLP is a member of Lexwork International, an association of independent law firms. www.lexwork.net.

Printed on sustainable paper.

ENTREPRENEURS REMAIN ASSURED IN BUOYANT BRITISH BUSINESS HIGH LEVELS OF CONFIDENCE CONTINUE Almost three quarters of our polled entrepreneurs claim that they would be confident in founding a new business, showing that over a 6 month period there is a consistent high spirit amongst individuals. The latest survey also addressed the question of mentoring and whether existing entrepreneurial skills can be passed on to the next generation. Can ongoing levels of business optimism persist in the current climate?

UNCERTAIN TIMES? This unwavering optimism amongst British entrepreneurs arguably flies in the face of potentially uncertain times, such as proposed hefty budget cuts which will no doubt impact government support for SMEs. So are our entrepreneurs looking at the economic landscape through rosetinted glasses? We don’t think so. In fact, the Index shows that rather than an overreliance upon state-funded

support, entrepreneurs are learning from each other, teaching new-comers and constantly evolving to come out on top.

RESPECT YOUR ELDERS The Index shows that almost half of the entrepreneurs surveyed had made use of a mentor to help their business.

This form of support is invaluable to young businesses, enabling them to learn from others’ mistakes to keep them on the path to success. It is also suggestive of a collegiate environment in which accomplished businessmen and women are proving keen to share their expertise.

A large proportion of this advice is being sought from inception in relation to starting up (33% of those polled) and marketing (21%).

Relatively fewer sought guidance from mentors in relation to raising finance (11%) and international growth (3%). This indicates a focus on early stage development.

“

Entrepreneurs are learning from each other, teaching new-comers and constantly evolving to come out on top.

Hollie Gallagher, Head of Entrepreneurs’ Team, BDB

”

3

Have you used a mentor to help your business?

10%

didn’t answer

42% no

48% yes

WHERE IS ALL THIS BUSINESS COMING FROM? Where previously referrals had been the main source of business for those surveyed, we have seen a recent increase in online opportunities to match this, with each channel at a level of 32%. It is, of course, likely that the online stream will, continue to rise and we expect that digital media and marketing will in the not too distant future, rank well ahead of other forms of business development.

SOPHISTICATED WORKFORCES Last quarter we noted that a third of respondents had made key recruitments, and encouragingly, there has been a 6% increase in full-time contracts and a 3% increase in part-time contracts during the summer months, showing a real commitment from business-owners to their workforce. These might not be huge increases, but the numbers are going in the right direction.

The 45-54 year olds have grown in proportion to match the size of their younger (25-35 year old) counterparts, with both groups accounting for 23% of the responses. Concurrently, the 55-64 category has almost doubled (to 17%).

“

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement focused not just on the numbers and the impact of the cuts but also on strengthening the economic development of the country through devolution.

”

Stuart Thomson, Head of Public Affairs, BDB

The fact that 63% of respondents once again saw an increase in customer levels over the last 3 months which indicates the ambitious prediction of those surveyed previously (that consumer demand would ‘significantly improve’) has in fact been realised. This, coupled with the fact that the majority remain ‘very’ confident that their business will remain profitable over the final quarter of 2015, draws us to conclude that the findings provide welcome signs that the economy is buoyant, with entrepreneurs continuing to want to play a crucial role in creating jobs and wealth for the country at large.

Index statistics

45% aged 45+

4

55%

aged 25-44

41%

serial entrepreneurs

59% start-ups

How has your mentor helped you?

Going International

Introductions

Marketing

Raising Finance

Sales

Starting Up

Team Management 0%

5%

A POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE George Osborne faced his biggest economic and political challenge on 25 November for the Autumn Statement.

“

Entrepreneurs continued to want to pay a crucial role in creating jobs and wealth for the country.

”

Hollie Gallagher, Head of Entrepreneurs’ Team, BDB

Whilst the Summer Budget (8 July 2015) provided a broad outline of the plans for the newly elected majority Conservative Party government, it was up to the Autumn Statement to fill in the details. Osborne outlined to the country where the cuts, which were less harsh than expected, would be felt and how he was going to balance the budgets. The unprotected central government departments and local government alike were hit hard. But it

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

was his reversal on tax credits that took all the headlines.

The latest Optimism Index indicates that Osborne made his decisions against a background of continuing confidence from entrepreneurs. Given the trouble over changes to tax credits, the Chancellor needed to show that he maintains a firm grip over the nation’s finances and has a plan to clear the debt. To do otherwise would have risked losing current confidence.

The current economic climate, according to the survey, shows support for new businesses, higher consumer demand and, critically, business growth as well. With that growth, comes higher levels of employment. A virtuous circle that Osborne will be keen to maintain despite the spending cuts outlined in the Statement.

The recent Small Business Outlook from the Centre for Cities shows that small, innovative firms are central to

5

THE HIGHLIGHTS Key July - September 2015 October - December 2015

Where do you source your funding?

200

150

100

50

0

Crowdfunding

Shareholders

Government

Private

Where does your business come from?

100

80

60

40

20

0

Mobile

Stores

Face to face

Online

How will the economy look in the next 3 months?

120 100 80 60 40 20 0

6

Decline

Stay the same

Improve

Referrals

successful local economies and that they contribute to overall productivity, jobs’ growth and wages.

The Statement focused on not just the numbers and the impact of the cuts but also on strengthening the economic development of the country through devolution. With the Chancellor leading on initiatives like

the Northern Powerhouse it shows a critical element in building an economy based on local economic needs. If city regions across the country have the powers needed to support the businesses, local entrepreneurs and start-ups, then that can only be good for the country as a whole.

CONFIDENCE CONTINUES TO GROW – DATA SNAPSHOT Past 3 months

33% contract staff and

39% part time

Next 3 months

64%

have employed new staff

50%

63%

believe they will recruit

believe they will be profitable

report an increase in revenue

report an increase in customer levels

89%

57%

21%

increased funding

73% 78% would feel confident starting a new business

believe consumer demand will increase

THE FINDINGS Bircham Dyson Bell’s Optimism Index tracks the highs and lows of opinion from those who have founded and run businesses in the UK. These businesses are the core to the British economy, and their confidence and ability to grow has a subtle, but important, link with overall economic stability.

Supported by Rockstar Group, the index tracks optimism through a consistent set of questions put to a database of UK business owners across a wide variety of sectors and locations. Each quarter, the index will compare these results and trends in market conditions.

During the course of October 2015, 152 respondents completed 15 questions on a range of business issues, from current and predicted performance to employment, business prospects and finances. The results show entrepreneurs’ confidence in the current economic climate staying strong, with growth plans and increased funding set to continue well into the winter.

7

MY LIFE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR A qualified teacher, freelance trainer and previously the Head of Customer Service for a number of high end retailers such as Arcadia Group, Virgin Retail and BHS; Justin Smith-Essex now spends his time doing what he loves. As the co-founder of training company ted learning, Justin talks to BDB about his life as an entrepreneur.

Where did it all start? Whilst working in industry I started doing bits of training here and there, and noticed a real appetite for that kind of work. So, I decided to leave my full time job to setup my own business – however my timing wasn’t great and the recession hit, so I stepped out of running my own business to become a college lecturer spending my time teaching management training for students aged 18-25.

Justin Smith-Essex (Managing Director and Co-founder of ted learning) www.tedlearning.co.uk T +44 (0)7515 352535 E justin@tedlearning.co.uk

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After doing that for 5 years I knew I wanted to go back into training and contacted an old business contact of mine, Clare Samuels. I had previously worked with Clare who was an actor by trade, and we decided to setup our own business, ted learning.

What have been the biggest challenges along the way? Definitely one of the biggest challenges has been how to grow our business. It’s a very competitive market, and there are other (larger) companies who use actors and have different types of

products available. So trying to establish something that was different enough that clients wanted to buy it, but not so different that they were frightened from it was tricky. Many are unsure of how training can work with actors, and we needed to persuade them otherwise. Our point of difference is about sustaining a longer-term relationship with clients after the training is delivered. Winning new business is of course always a challenge! For the first 12 months trading we only had one client, which was a huge risk having all of our eggs in one basket. Luckily for us, that one client was a B2B who started recommending to their clients about their experience with an in-house training provider. Recommendations were a huge area of growth for us.

We were also involved in some direct and digital marketing activity which we learnt a huge amount from going to Rockstar Hub events. We also attended trade shows meeting

potential learning and development buyers, and now all of our clients now are direct through either direct marketing, trade events or from them finding us through our website.

How did you scale up staff after the first year? At the start it was just Clare and I delivering every course the client was asking for. It was challenging to be so involved in the delivery and trying to put time aside to focus on growing the business. As clients began to ask for more varied courses our skill set became less suitable and we took the step to introduce associates we had worked with in the past. They were low risk and were only employed for the work they were there to do, so we had little commitment to them. We utilised that resource, and as we grew we were able to give more work to those associates and have grown our pool from 2-3 in our first year to about 20.

How has your role changed as the business has grown? It’s definitely different. We were both initially called Directors and we didn’t utilise our skill set as well as we could have done.

Following feedback from Rockstar Hub and other mentors we spoke to we now are in very specific roles. I’m the Managing Director and am responsible for the strategy, the financials and the digital marketing side, and Clare is our Client and Creative Director responsible for managing the actors we use, the delivery of our product, and managing several clients. We are both still involved in delivery and one of the challenges we still face is during pitching where the client will feel as though they’re buying the two of us as opposed to brand ted learning. Trying to extend the brand values, energy, enthusiasm and excitement to all of our associates is a key area for us.

Clare and I genuinely love what we do and have lots of fun doing it so we need everyone who comes in after

we’ve won the work to give the same experience.

How did you achieve that and create brand ted learning? One of the things we’re doing now is to observe our associates when they’re delivering training and to measure all of their feedback from those attending. If we’re seeing consistently high feedback then we need to understand why and what they’re doing well, and equally for any average then we need to act on that as well. We’re observing our team’s output much more, so we can see, and feedback on, what they’re doing.

“

...trying to establish something that was different enough that clients wanted to buy it, but not so different that they were frightened from it was tricky...

”

Justin Smith-Essex, Managing Director and Co-founder of ted learning

We are also now introducing a ‘brand day’ this year which will bring together all of our team to talk about what is ted learning, what does our brand stand for and what has made us successful. With Clare and I being involved in the pitches we need to match our style and deliverance with that of what the client expects. We learnt a lot from our second year from feedback we received about inconsistencies, so we’ve become a lot clearer with our own expectations for our teams and what the training should look like so that our clients receive a real ted learning experience.

What would you say the brand is? To clients we are a theatre based learning company that delivers fun and engaging training. We want to be a partnership with them, imbedding ourselves into their organisation and understanding their language, processes and people. We will never do an off the shelf product; spending time with the business to understand them and their challenges to design bespoke, real and relevant training and making sure learners can contact us after the training has finished if they need any further support – this is what makes ted learning different to other providers as we provide free access to our ted learning HUB where we post content constantly and interact with our learners.

9

“

...Internally our values are to be fun, engaging, to provide a win/win solution and to be very creative...

”

Justin Smith-Essex, Managing Director and Co-founder of ted learning

Internally our values are to be fun, engaging, to provide a win/win solution and to be very creative. We have regular conversations with our associates to reinforce ted learning’s values – for example, when delegates arrive at a training session our associates should be able to refer to them by their name to create a subtle and personalised environment.

Do you miss the hands on delivery? I think I’m much happier now having a broader role, watching the business grow and bringing people on board that can support and deliver that. I still deliver and get to interact with people so still do the bits I love.

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What lessons would you give a younger you? When I was first a manager, I had no training about how to actually manage people. I previously had a very autocratic manager and I adopted their style which I quickly realised didn’t work.

So I probably would go back and say stop being so awkward with people and be much more open to feedback and suggestions from colleagues, peers and team members. Also if I didn’t enjoy what I was doing to do

something different. I genuinely now love what I do, and used to always say to my students 'If you’re not enjoying what you do every day then don’t do it, don’t spend time and energy complaining about it just do something different', What’s your goal going forward for the business? To keep growing, to keep focussing on specific industries, to make ted learning a really successful and well-known brand as a training provider in the UK, and to continue to support our existing clients. So again, a challenge for a smaller business when you’re looking to grow is that your focus can be on your new business and not your existing clients. If we could get to £2m turnover a year and perhaps employ a small team of people who work for us so that we’re less reliant on a team of associates that would be very nice too.

No doubt we’ll get to a point where our business needs some different skills and talent in the senior management team, and although I’ve had a senior corporate business career it wasn’t at a Director level. I’ve had to learn some completely new skills whilst being at

“

...I couldn’t recommend it enough to have someone else’s experience, who can talk you through what works, what doesn’t work and even where things have failed for them...

”

Justin Smith-Essex, Managing Director and Co-founder of ted learning

ted learning and I think if we were to take the business to a different level in the next 5-10 years then we’ll need some different skills to come in. So my personal goal would be to accept and understand and to just enjoy what I’m doing, to keep working with exciting clients who are passionate about learning and development and to have a good work-life balance.

What are your thoughts on mentoring? We were involved with Rockstar Mentoring but we didn’t use them for their mentoring service.

Unfortunately we signed up to another before we had heard of them, but we went to a couple of their sessions, which were brilliant! In hindsight, I do wish we had used their service and I think it’s important that when looking for a mentor you do find one that’s the right fit for you and your business.

We had a couple of mentors outside of Rockstar, but they didn’t add as much value as I would have hoped for. I would highly recommend having someone who could take an outside view of what your business is doing, to challenge what you’re doing and to give you ideas and suggestions.

Currently we work with a digital marketing agency and the Chief Executive is a very successful entrepreneur who has become a vital mentor to us. Without him I know we wouldn’t have been as successful as we have been in the last 6-9 months.

I couldn’t recommend it enough to have someone else’s experience, who can talk you through what works, what doesn’t work and even where things have failed for them. What I love about Jonathan Pfahl at Rockstar is his honesty, his passion, his enthusiasm for business and his generosity with sharing his ideas with other small businesses free of charge. I think if anyone wants to be successful then you do need a mentor of some sort.

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MY MENTOR AND ME To mark the first National Mentoring Day on 27 October 2015 our Optimism Index research revealed that 48% of businesses have been helped by having a mentor. Founded by award winning mentor Chelsey Baker, and supported

by Rockstar Hubs and The Reef, National Mentoring Day celebrated the incredible work mentors are doing to help businesses grow. The launch event saw leading figures from business – including Will King, founder of King of Shaves, Paul 'Pablo' Ettinger, co-founder of Caffe Nero and Mark Wright, winner of BBC1’s Apprentice show in 2014.

MENTORING IN PRACTICE

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Nicky Tribble was also at the launch and featured in a panel discussion about the importance of mentoring.

Nicky, owner of Photo Buzz, launched her business in 2013 after seeing a photo booth at a friend’s wedding in Texas. She realised that photo booths had not really hit the UK and decided to launch over here. After her first booking, which came through friends and family she started attending wedding fairs and work began to flood in. Nicky realised that there were areas of business that she was struggling with such as organisation, time management as well as getting her brand into the market. She was

delighted when mentor Chelsey Baker agreed to help her grow the business.

Nicky commented, 'My Dad has always said not to take advice from people who were not where I wanted to be so I sought out a brilliant business mentor through the Rockstar Mentoring Group.'

THE CHALLENGES OF BUILDING A GREAT REPUTATION Alongside the challenges of starting a business, Nicky found her dyslexia to be one of the biggest to overcome; finding ways to turn it into an advantage.

When the business started Nicky invested all her savings into purchasing her first photo booth

which left no money to market or advertise the business. Thinking differently, Nicky attended wedding fairs with branded photos instead of spending money on printed literature, and promoted the booth to her family and friends to help spread the word.

As a result Nicky got her first booking.

As the demand for photo booths grew, so did the competition and it was clear to Nicky that she needed to stand out.

She spent time making sure that she created a great customer experience by tailoring every booking to the customer’s requirements.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE FUTURE? Having been an important part of many weddings, Nicky realised that she was becoming a source of inspiration for brides-to-be and Chelsey encouraged Nicky to start her blog ‘The Wedding Insider.’ Nicky now writes about unusual wedding ideas for her blogs and has even started her own video channel. Mentoring has given her the confidence to write, even though she is dyslexic. Sales have increased and demand is so high, that this year Nicky expanded the business further and now owns three photo booths which she expects to get fully booked for most weekends in 2016.

MENTORING SESSIONS Marketing and PR have played a vital part in growing Nicky’s business with bookings that have tripled over three years and the business has confirmed bookings as far ahead as 2017.

Chelsey has been a great inspiration to Nicky, allowing her to develop her natural talents in her own way.

Nicky and Chelsey met once a month, each session giving her more drive and determination to succeed.

Sessions were full of creativity, colourful plans and objectives – drawn up in a way in which Nicky can relate to. They now work together on the wider plan to grow Photo Buzz and

build reputation as ‘The Wedding Insider’ creating another successful brand. Each meeting is structured with a review at the beginning along with praise for goals reached and support for challenges faced. 'At the end of the session I believe that anything is possible and I can’t wait to get started on the next step. Chelsey is always at the end of the phone or by email in between sessions too, which has proved invaluable.'

THE BENEFITS OF A MENTOR For Nicky 'Mentoring has helped me to develop on a personal and a business level and has allowed me to achieve goals I never dreamt of. I am now a published writer with an expanding business, a growing reputation as ‘The Wedding Insider’ and a bright exciting future. Being dyslexic, I have found it hard to write but with Chelsey’s guidance I now have so many ideas I want to share and I can’t wait to write about them! I have learnt that my dyslexia is one of my biggest strengths as I am creative with a good eye for detail which means I am always looking for new ways to stay ahead of the competition.

'

I really hope National Mentoring Day celebrates the amazing work of mentors and spreads the word about mentoring so more people can benefit from the experience of others.

Nicky Tribble, Photo Buzz

'

'I can now be found at a messy desk with coloured pens everywhere. I never use a lined note pad and instead use art folders to express myself, I write my plans and to-do lists as colourful artworks which inspire me.

Chelsey has helped me to realise this is my style rather than follow conventions and I have never been more confident in the way I work.'

Nicky believes everyone should have a mentor regardless of the business size and level of success, believing mentors are an invaluable source of knowledge and inspiration.

'I really hope National Mentoring Day celebrates the amazing work of mentors and spreads the word about mentoring so more people can benefit from the experience of others.'

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MORE INFORMATION / CONTACT DETAILS Hollie Gallagher, Head of Entrepreneurs Team, BDB E holliegallagher@bdb-law.co.uk T +44 (0)20 7783 3520 www.bdb-law.co.uk Stuart Thomson, Head of Public Affairs, BDB E stuartthomson@bdb-law.co.uk T +44 (0)20 7783 3439 www.bdb-law.co.uk Toby Richards-Carpenter, Associate, BDB E tobyrichards-carpenter@bdb-law.co.uk T +44 (0)20 7783 3759 www.bdb-law.co.uk Jonathan Pfahl, Managing Director, Rockstar Mentoring Group E jonathan@rockstargroup.co.uk T +44 (0)8456522905 www.rockstargroup.co.uk

Š Bircham Dyson Bell LLP 2015 50 Broadway London SW1H 0BL T +44 (0)20 7227 7000 www.bdb-law.co.uk

FIND US ON

#jointhereef

www.jointhereef.co.uk

thereef@bdb-law.co.uk

SPECIAL REPORTS

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Dow Jones VentureSource Quarterly Report for Europe, 4Q’15 The following report presents Dow Jones VentureSource’s quarterly findings for European venture capital fundraising, investment, valuation and liquidity.

The included charts and graphs offer a comprehensive view of the trends currently affecting the venture capital market.

Venture Capital Report Europe | 4Q | 2015

VENTURE CAPITAL REPORT

Highlights for 4Q 2015 include: • European venture capital fundraising and fund closings climbed from prior quarter; • Venture capital investment into European companies declined from 3Q 2015, while the number of deals improved; • The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) experienced a decrease from the last quarter, while the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) is on the rise.

To view the full report follow this link: http://goo.gl/nv0oKN

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SPECIAL REPORTS

Altius Highlights Eight Key Challenges Facing Private Markets In 2016 According to Altius Associates, one of the biggest global challenges facing investors in 2016 will be how private equity fund managers deal with the highest level of dry powder ever recorded while still delivering returns commensurate with private equity risk.

This, together with making sense of the unprecedented number and complexity of private equity investment strategies now available, represents the two most significant challenges identified by Altius in its annual review.

Brad Young Co-CEO, Head of Investments at Altius, said: “Recognising that private markets face a constantly evolving set of opportunities and challenges, Altius continues to identify and analyse specific areas of interest for clients and investors. We believe that the private market opportunity will remain robust in 2016 and we look forward to working with investors to build long-term value in their private market portfolios.�

To view the full report follow this link: http://goo.gl/Us7LyV

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Deal Review And League Tables 2015 UK & Republic Of Ireland – M&A & ECM Transactions Experian MarketIQ is the essential business market platform for any organisation or professional involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), or requiring direct access to comprehensive and high quality business and financial data.

Experian produce a range of free resources to assist with corporate research and corporate finance research. This includes Mergers and Acquisitions data, market intelligence and company activity.

Resources are monthly and are also available in regional breakdown.

To view the full report follow this link: http://goo.gl/gNTVni

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Morgan Lewis Annual Global Cartel Enforcement Report Analysis highlights aggressive enforcement, record fines, and increased international cooperation GameChangers Magazine is pleased to present the Morgan Lewis annual Global Cartel Enforcement Report, a comprehensive analysis of global cartel enforcement and civil litigation conducted by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and competition agencies across the globe. The report, produced by Morgan Lewis’s Antitrust group, examines trends in compliance programs and corporate criminal liability.

Issuing $3.8 billion in fines for fiscal year 2015, the DOJ has set a record arising from cartel activity— more than twice the previous high and more than three times greater than fines issued in 2014.

The report offers an in-depth look at cartel activity occurring in specific industry sectors, including financial services, pharmaceuticals, transportation, and electronics, among others.

The report also examines the increased role of compliance programs in countries such as the United Kingdom, China, Brazil, and Canada, as well as an uptick in the coordination of international probes.

An emphasis by the DOJ on individual targets in complex white-collar investigations and renewed efforts of its Antitrust Division to extradite foreign-based targets are among the trends highlighted.

To view the full report follow this link: https://goo.gl/PCLNVs

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Private Equity Investment Into Mining Doubles In 2015 Total Invested Reaches $4.5Bn International law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has released its annual ‘Private Equity in Mining’ report revealing that over $3.15bn of private equity investment was injected into mining projects during 2015 over 119 deals.

The research, published at the start of Investing in African Mining, Indaba 2016 in Cape Town, shows a 238% increase in activity and a 57% increase in the amount mining private equity invested when compared with 2014. This had the effect of reducing the average investment size from $40m in 2014 to $26.5m, not surprising with falling equity and commodity prices.

The wider issues in the industry have also encouraged private equity investors to seek alternative structures to generate returns, with 11% of deals in 2015 having exposure to the underlying commodity, for example by way of a royalty. A further 18% of the equity investments were coupled with some form of debt. Taking into account these alternative structures, the total that was invested in 2015 was $4.53bn, doubling the amount invested when compared with 2014.

Other key findings within the report include: • Gold remains the most favoured commodity for private equity investors, accounting for over a third (36%) of all deals.

• By value, Copper was the most popular commodity invested in, attracting $868m • North America continues to see the largest number of deals, with $758m invested in 40 deals.

• Europe was the only region that had a decrease in the number of deals (six), but has overtaken North America with the total value of those deals hitting $922m.

• The number of African deals has nearly doubled in 2015, although Africa only saw a 22% increase in the amount invested, $367m.

• Nearly 10% of all deals were as part of a wider refinancing or restructuring, often including a formal insolvency processes.

Alexander Keepin, Partner, Corporate Finance and Co-Head of Mining, BLP, said: “Despite 2015 proving to be another difficult year for the mining industry, private equity activity in the mining sector has increased significantly.”

“What’s interesting about this year’s report is the shift towards alternative funding structures by private equity funds as they seek to structure their investment to participate in the project economics in a number of ways – equity, debt, royalties.”

“With the pure equity deals being seen largely as highly dilutive, equity interests combined with debt or exposure to underlying commodities through royalties are likely to continue to be the favoured structures in 2016.”

“The continued depression in commodity prices and equity markets for natural resource companies means that private equity funding is likely to continue to be a primary source of finance in the mining industry in the next 12 months.”

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‘Gold was still the most favoured commodity for private equity in 2015.’

PRIVATE EQUITY IN MINING: Calendar year 2015

February 2016

Private equity supports mining at the bottom of the market 2015 was a busy year for mining private equity with over $3.2bn invested, spread over 119 investments. This was over 57% more money invested than in 2014 and more than double the number of deals in 2014.

Overall in 2015 there were a larger number of investments, with a smaller average ticket size of $26.6m, as opposed to $40m in 2014. This underlines the wider issues in the industry with the backdrop of falling equity and commodity prices. The falling equity prices mean that equity investments can be highly dilutive for existing investors, and may not generate

the returns that private equity investors are looking for. This has led to private equity firms seeking alternative structures to generate their returns.

In 2015 we saw 11% of the equity deals include exposure to the underlying commodity, whether by way of royalty or stream. A further $647m was invested in 2015, alongside the equity investments, for royalties or streams.

There were also 18 equity investments, 15% of the mining private equity deals, which included convertible debt amounting to an additional $738m.

Taking this into account, the total invested in mining by private equity in 2015 was $4.5bn.

Another significant theme which developed in 2015, and which is also indicative of the wider issues in the industry, is refinancing. Ten deals (9% of all deals) involved of a refinancing or restructuring, a number of which were as part of formal insolvency processes.

Many private equity funds are raising further funds, or will look to do so in 2016, and this, combined with the anticipated acceleration of divestment programmes by the Majors, looks like it will drive further mining private equity activity in 2016.

‘Gold, copper, zinc, nickel, uranium and diamond deals were all paired with royalties or streams in 2015.

We expect to see this as one of the key continuing trends ofbn 2016.’ $3.2 + $1.3bn EQUITY INVESTMENT

ALTERNATIVE FUNDING*

2015

To view the full report follow this link: http://goo.gl/bgQke8

119 DEALS

$2bn

119 Gamechangers

EQUITY INVESTMENT

2014

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