James Codling

While headline numbers about China’s consumer sector have been bleak, L Catterton has still been investing in the space and our portfolio companies have been able to continue generating robust growth despite challenges in the market. Bloomberg saw that our newest portfolio company in China, Viee, achieved record high earnings last year, on top of others such as Hi!Papa and Trautec also growing manyfold, like we announced previously, and asked how we have been able to do this. It boils down to two things – (i) our research-driven, category-first approach to investing, and (ii) our operating-centric approach to value creation – that we have honed as a consumer-focused firm over the past 35 years. Some further information can be found in the following article: https://lnkd.in/gqDqYD4d

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It's been a slow month for notable and interesting agriculture and food deals, but a few interesting things to note: 1) Private equity is all over the food and beverage space, including some notable deals with Encore Consumer Capital acquiring Chalet Desserts and L2 Capital acquiring a rub and sauce business called Kosmos Q 2) Lots of discussion and focus right now on the vertical farming, indoor farming, farmland and agtech space. Many companies big and small are popping up and making an impact. 3) Capital in the sector is still tight. Check out our monthly roundup of multiples and deals in the agrifood sector.

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Taavet Hinrikus and I made the Financial Times Due Diligence email. https://lnkd.in/ez2AuGQx One 'unintended consequence' is that if there is a 45% tax on carry and CGT (raising £40m per year, remember) it for all intents and purposes closes the door on new VCs in the UK. Especially started by teams from non-traditional backgrounds. To meet the GP commit, you need to be already part of the 'wealthy' as you cannot rely on the value you create - nearly half of it will disappear - to fund it. We have both had extremely successful startups which are few and far between. The smaller number of new VCs will therefore more likely increasingly be for people who have inherited the capital or can draw it from their already rich family. Probably not want they have in mind with this policy.

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In this latest video produced by AJ Bell, James Thom, Co-manager of abrdn New India Investment Trust, provides an overview of the trust’s investment objectives, the investment process and why India is an attractive region for investors. Capital at risk. Watch now: https://ow.ly/q3i250ST67F #India #Investment #ANII

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In this latest video produced by AJ Bell, James Thom, Co-manager of abrdn New India Investment Trust PLC, provides an overview of the trust’s investment objectives, the investment process and why India is an attractive region for investors. Capital at risk. Watch now: https://ow.ly/q3i250ST67F #India #Investment #ANII

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🔮 The quality of emerging managers will INCREASE in the next two vintages Being a GP at a large VC is frustrating. Deals sourced no longer have significant impact at mega-funds, leaving limited control over upside Carry gets blended across the partnership. The best pickers will move on The best three VC vintages in the last 25 years came in the three years after the GFC - 80% of those returns came from emerging managers. 2024 to 2026 can be a repeat 🐠 LP money is gravitating towards established funds right now, the exact opposite direction it should be heading. Those who swim against the current will be the real winners. #VC #venturecapital

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We are delighted that Simon King has been recommended in the 2024 Spear's 500 (Spear's Magazine) UHNW adviser category: Spear’s Review Since joining Vermeer Partners in 2018 as chief investment officer, Simon King tells Spear’s, he has designed and implemented the firm’s investment processes from scratch.  ‘I was attracted by the opportunity of starting with a clean sheet of paper,’ he says. ‘We have empowered our investment teams to be both stock pickers and asset allocators, whilst still talking directly to clients. This means they can speak to clients with real knowledge and responsibility for investment decisions.’ King says that the firm’s small size allows it to identify unique opportunities. ‘We look to exploit the fact that we are a small, nimble and professional organisation to identify high-quality and more imaginative investments.’ https://lnkd.in/eWmBQejB #vermeerpartners #theartofinvestment #investmentmanagement #wealthmanagement #privateclients #HNWI #UHNW

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Not quite sure what to make of my appearance with Chris on stage yesterday at SuperVenture being described as the 'Morecambe and Wise of ESG'... Hopefully we weren't too slapstick, but it was great to represent ESG_VC and the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA), sharing the key findings from our latest research. It was also great to be joined on stage by Giulia and Grace to reflect on these findings and discuss how and where ESG is now being embedded throughout the venture ecosystem, particularly within portfolio companies. A few key takeaways for us all: 1️⃣ Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress... One that applied to both VCs and portfolio companies - quick and efficient solutions will be more impactful than long and detailed processes. Identify your objectives and move quickly to find a good solution, as you can always refine and improve over time. 2️⃣ Think about your 'ESG mindset'... Giulia shared an insight into Sofina's screening process for GPs, which includes an analysis of the firm's ESG mindset - how seriously are you embedding an ESG strategy and translating policies and processes into long-term progress? 3️⃣ The commercial case for ESG is strong, and growing... Grace highlighted the importance of stressing to portfolio companies - particularly those selling into large corporates - that regulation and reporting requirements are making ESG data and carbon accounting critical to winning contracts and customers. Ps: photo credit to Tony Greenham!

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RIT Capital Partners plc - 16 August 2024   31 July 2024 Net Asset Value   "RIT Capital Partners plc announces that its unaudited diluted net asset value ("NAV") as at 31 July 2024 (with debt at fair value) was 2,560p per £1 ordinary share (30 June 2024: 2,508p). Our portfolio outperformed both our global equities and inflation hurdles during the month against a volatile backdrop for global equities with a positive performance of +2.1% for the month, driven by strong gains in our Quoted Equities pillar, while our Private Investments and Uncorrelated Strategies pillars remained largely flat. Our meaningful US dollar position detracted from returns as sterling rallied in the wake of the UK general election." For further information, please click on the link below. Capital at risk. Professional investors only. https://lnkd.in/eppXc2Sz

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Investors in past capital raisings in landholding private companies and private unit trusts as far back as 16 April 2004 could be required to pay more duty. Read our article for recommendations and some key takeaways: https://ow.ly/8X6e50THsVr By: Keshni Maharaj, David Wong and Jessica Chen

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Voodoo didn’t buy BeReal for €500MM. Per reporting, the cash consideration in Voodoo’s acquisition of BeReal is €166MM, with the remainder of the €500MM “valuation” being paid out if performance targets are met in an earn-out. I don’t think that Voodoo’s acquisition of BeReal is motivated by cross promotion. Voodoo states that BeReal features 40MM “active users,” which is vague. I’d estimate BeReal has MAU in the 5-10MM range, with the 40MM number representing a longer timeline. This isn’t enough MAU to justify the price solely on the basis of cross promotion, especially given that BeReal’s MAU is likely stagnant. Further, Voodoo’s own social media app, Wizz, is growing faster than BeReal in the US: it sits at Top Downloaded rank #17 in the Social Networking category vs. 27 for BeReal. The CEO of Wizz, Voodoo’s social media app, will become the CEO of BeReal. My sense is that Voodoo may integrate the functionality of BeReal into Wizz at some point to accommodate BeReal’s core demographic and serve a larger TAM. If cross promotion does factor into the equation, it’s likely from games into the social media properties. Voodoo is a much more valuable company with a scaled social media property than an operator of a hybridcasual gaming portfolio, the titles in which are volatile from a growth perspective (see the chart below). BeReal was something of a gimmick, and it may work better as a feature than a standalone app. If Voodoo can use BeReal’s core mechanic to grow Wizz into a scaled social media property, with strong retention and long-term engagement, it can pair its existing advertising infrastructure with Wizz to service ads not just in its social media footprint but against an audience network across its published titles. But in the meantime, I’d expect traffic to move from Voodoo’s games to Wizz as it scales that property.

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🚀 Sharing the latest webinar recording from Managed Asset Portfolios. This is the perfect opportunity to stay updated on the current market environment and to get acquainted with the positioning strategy of their portfolios. Click below to watch the latest insights from Michael Dzialo, President and CIO, and Karen Culver, Senior Portfolio Manager 👇 #ManagedAssetPortfolios #Webinar #InvestmentInsights #ValueInvesting #MarchRoundtable #InvestmentOutlook #EconomicAnalysis #MarketInsights #Inflation #InterestRates

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As pension funds seek stable, long-term returns, healthcare royalties are emerging as an attractive asset class for UK investors. With their predictable income streams and low correlation to market volatility, could royalties offer a reliable alternative to traditional investments? Aysha Gilmore reports. Sagard, Railpen, Craig Heron, David MacNaughtan #royalties #alternatives #investors #volatility #incomegeneration #income #lgps #pensions https://lnkd.in/eZc-zaCc

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Investors in past capital raisings in landholding private companies and private unit trusts as far back as 16 April 2004 could be required to pay more duty. Read our article for recommendations and some key takeaways: https://ow.ly/89Wz50THsUv By: Keshni Maharaj, David Wong and Jessica Chen

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#Hargreaves_Lansdown Hargreaves Lansdown backed the £5.4 billion bid for the FTSE 100 fund manager today from a private equity consortium, a deal that will end its time as a listed company. The Bristol-based finance firm has been listed in London since 2007. It said today that the final offer valued its shares at 1140p in cash and would include a 30p per share dividend for the financial year which ended on 30 June. Compared to the Hargreaves Lansdown share price before the approach was first made in April, the price is at a premium of over 54%. The consortium is made up of CVC, Nordic Capital and ADIA. Hargreaves Lansdown is named after its founders – Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown – who set it up as an investment tip sheet. It now runs a state-of-the-art trading platform from which clients can run their own portfolios and pensions. https://lnkd.in/dKpizupy

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Recent M&A market performance is showing significant signs of recovery from the lows of H2 2023, with the growth in PE and PE-backed deals leading the charge.

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