Douglas Lawson

#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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Maven Equity Finance leads £2m investment round in Bristol's Q5D Technologies 🪙👀 Investment company Maven Capital Partners has invested £500,000 in Q5D Technologies, which is pioneering robotic additive manufacturing, through the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund. This funding is part of a larger £2 million investment round, which aims to support Q5D's mission to revolutionise wire laying processes across multiple sectors, including automotive, aerospace, and consumer electronics. The investment will enhance Q5D’s capacity to scale its innovative 5-axis platform, which automates the complex process of adding wiring and electronics to 3D surfaces. This technology offers a faster, more efficient, and cost-effective alternative to traditional manual processes. Continue reading... https://lnkd.in/eFg_qzdK Kelpi, Blu Wireless, Covestus Healthcare Limited #finance #investing #funding #technology #innovation #millions #manufacturing #engineering #businessnews #businessintelligence

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PE, VC Funds can't believe their luck - we're staying... Capital gains tax rates on carried interest will be increased to 32% from April 2025. From April 2026, carry will be taxed within the income tax framework but, critically, with “bespoke rules to reflect its unique characteristics” This is a lobbying triumph for the British Venture Capital Association, which was warning darkly that funds would skip off to the EU if the manifesto pledge was implemented. The chancellor has instead settled for a rate that, on the OBR’s numbers, is similar to that in France and the Netherlands. The threat of a mass exodus may indeed have been real, rather than standard posturing, it should be said. It’s not too much harder to run a private equity fund from Paris rather than London. The effect on tax receipts will be considerably lower than projected but, in the end, finding the right balance was more important.

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Interesting thoughts from Houlihan on Direct PE (and the maturation of the market around independent sponsors) - "global volume (will) rise from $6 billion in 2019 to an estimated $50 billion this year, with annual deal numbers tripling over that period. We’ll see over 780 transactions this year... Directs have the promise to account for half of all annual capital raised for private equity in 10–15 years." #privateequity #independentsponsors

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Prominent investment adviser Gary Black has raised serious concerns about the valuation of MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR), arguing that the stock of the company may in fact be significantly overpriced. In a recent post on X, Black, managing partner at The Future Fund LLC, expressed confusion after pointing out that the Bitcoin (BTC) holdings of MicroStrategy were valued at $31.2 billion at the time, with a net debt of $4.2 billion, resulting in an equity value of around $27 billion. Yet, its market cap stood at an eye-popping $106 billion. Read the full story on the CryptoWeekly website using our link below. #cryptocurrency #crypto #microstrategy #investment #stock

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💼 Top 10 UK Venture Capital Firms by Deal Count - Plus the Power of NEDs 💼 The UK's venture capital firms are leading the charge in backing high-growth companies, but think abut this..... if each deal also added a non-executive director (and they invariably do) to bring experienced governance and strategy into play, let’s look at the numbers: Let's start with the top 10 most active VCs in the UK in 2024, and the potential impact: 1. SFC Capital - 99 deals   2. Access EIS - 65 deals   3. Octopus Ventures - 54 deals   4. BGF Growth Capital - 47 deals   5. Ascension - 34 deals   6. Fuel Ventures 🚀 Ventures - 31 deals   7. Seedcamp - 28 deals   8. LocalGlobe - 26 deals   9. Par Equity - 25 deals   10. Amadeus Capital Partners - 24 deals If each deal added a NED, and each fund paid an average recruitment fee of £25,000 per hire, the total cost across these deals would be: 😳 SFC Capital: £2.475m   😳 Access EIS: £1.625m   😳 Octopus Ventures: £1.35m   😳 BGF Growth Capital: £1.175m   😳 Ascension: £850k   😳 Fuel Ventures: £775k   😳 Seedcamp: £700k   😳 LocalGlobe: £650k   😳 Par Equity: £625k   😳 Amadeus Capital Partners: £600k  👉 Total cost: £10.825 million 💸 Ps. Many recruitment fees are in excess of double the "average" fee of £25k. At Virtualnonexecs.com, we work with VCs to flatten the cost of recruitment across their portfolios. The VNXD Operator Network is available on a flat annual subscription - for less than the cost of a single hire. You get access to 22,000 non-executive directors, supported by internal headhunters and there's no "per hire" fee. This means ongoing access to the best talent with no extra costs for every deal. If you are interested in accessing this level of support, let’s discuss. You can book a demo with me here: https://lnkd.in/d3na7CEC or simply drop me a DM. 👉 #VentureCapital #Startups #NEDs #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #Investment #UKTech

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📢 Equity Funders Survey Results 📢 We surveyed investors from 20 of the UK's top equity funding firms. Through this survey, we identified the major challenges that equity investors faced over the last 12 months, what key strategies they are employing this year and what criteria they highly value in potential investment opportunities. Additionally, we also gained some insight into the challenges and opportunities these investors believe are facing their portfolio companies. https://lnkd.in/eXqhJmST

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

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From a Cash Flow Returns On Investments point of view, the UK looks undervalued. These are the largest UK companies excluding Financials and Real Estate. Please feel free to contact me if you want a full breakdown of companies on the list. We also have a list for the UK small, over 1,100 of the largest US companies, and 500 of the largest companies in Europe. #investing #finance #assetmanagement #investmentmanagement

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We interviewed Charles Grant, founder and managing director of Fund HQ, who explains how his firm is seeking to provide an outsourced CFO service to PE firms, replicating its success with hedge funds. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eKMz-v9Z #assetmanagement #outsourcing #CFO #COO #privateequity #venturecapital #fundoperations

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The outsourced CFO is an idea that is being talked about more frequently in European private markets, and in his recent interview with The Drawdown, Charles Grant shares his insights into how Fund HQ is focusing on helping managers in the PE and VC space.    As Charles explains, “We want to help smaller managers to get to market without being priced out”, and with a full suite of services — from operations and finance to compliance and legal — Fund HQ helps emerging managers launch and scale quickly without the high costs of internal teams.   Read the full article to find out more about Fund HQ’s journey to date, and how it continues to support emerging managers within the asset management space.

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FD I didn’t know that… Our Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) group have written the first article of a two-part series exploring the key areas of which investors, and those active in M&A, need to be aware. In this first article, we consider topics relevant to the initial considerations when assessing the need to make FDI filings. Click here to read: https://bit.ly/47nkOJc #ForeignDirectInvestment #MergersAndAcquisitions #JointVentures

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📣 CALL FOR INVESTORS 📣 DEADLINE: 20 NOVEMBER 📣 £1.2bn in private investment unlocked / 150+ curated investor partners📣 The Innovate UK Investor Partnerships programme is open again for investor selection. The programme is specifically seeking funds that align with the mission to channel private capital into innovative UK companies, particularly in regions outside of London. There is a focus on sectors that will shape the future economy: healthy living & agriculture, net zero, digital technologies, and ED&I. The opportunity is open to foreign investors, and there is a particular interest in late-state investors (Series B+). I am especially interested in finding investors who are interested in joining this pool who have an interest in spatial computing, which falls under the digital technologies remit. FOV Ventures has already joined and made a successful investment through the programme. Further details can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gP2TySkc The recording from the investor briefing event can be found here: https://lnkd.in/g8R77zrF If you would like to discuss your suitability for the programme, please reach out. #investors #funding #investment #VC #venturecapital #angelinvestors #investornetworks #angelnetworks #grantfunding #businessgrowth #innovation #researchanddevelopment #seedfunding #preseedfunding #seriesA #seriesB #InnovateUK #spatialcomputing #digitaltechnologies

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Anyone working in the PE/VC space last year probably felt the effects of what felt like a slow year for investment activity... But what does the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) annual Investment Activity report for last year actually show? Well, pretty much what we had all felt on the ground... but, while activity fell year on year, the UK held up remarkably well in terms of investment raised against it's European counterparts and also continued to invest globally. Read the excellent report from the BVCA in full 🔗 👇 https://lnkd.in/gfQgH4aW

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With uncertainty fading and market confidence soaring in the UK, investors are seeking opportunities to engage with private equity firms through personalised exclusive channels. Platforms and apps are setting new standards for digital engagement. Investor events benefit from interactive real-time features like live polls, Q&A, session rating and feedback. Together with intelligent match-making, real-time messaging, content sharing, video calls, wayfinding and more, investors are empowered to connect and engage on their terms - transforming traditional events into dynamic, data-driven experiences. Read more in this Finance Derivative article https://bit.ly/4dPZf5D

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The next Quarterly Apollo meeting is on Monday, September 2, from 18.00 to 20.00 in Central Edinburgh. If you would like to pitch your company and fit our criteria, please upload your proposal to our platform. We expect at least one founder/director to be permanently based in Scotland. Our members will vote on which companies they want to see present at our meeting on 23 August. The two companies with the most votes will be selected. Please upload your investment before Wednesday, 23 August. We have a strong preference for two types of investment. - Proposals that are too early for most investors with the potential to build defensible solid IP (ideally with Grant funding that needs to be matched). The aim is to create enough traction to become attractive for a larger investor with an exit in 7-10 years. -Companies that will become cash-positive after our investment and don't necessarily raise again. The founders can generate returns for the investors via Dividends and/or share buybacks. Apollo is a group of over 60 UK-based investors who invest together, helping each other with Due Diligence and growing the investee companies. We usually make 3 to 4 new investments a year. Please message me if you'd like to become an Apollo member. #seis #angelinvesting #startupfunding https://lnkd.in/eAccNAn

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🤝 Meet the Funder 🤝 🔹 Is Debt or Equity the best choice for my business? 🔹 How do I fund growth? 🔹 What is debt funding? If you need answers to these questions, book a slot with one of our investment experts today. We are one of the UK's most active investors, passionate about powering growth, and have 7️⃣ new hosts available and ready to take your booking ⏬ #MeetTheFunder #Investment #Debt #Equity #Scale #QuestionTime

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Interesting thread on the massacre of the Unicorns (its not just a Silicon Valley problem). The article and the comments don't necessarily focus on the crux of the issue. Hundreds of $billions were deployed into a valuation bubble leading up to the 2021 crash. Most of that capital is now trapped in companies that aren't performing. All the common holders and management are trapped behind a huge preference stack. Likely 90% of the companies would benefit from a capital restructure, but none of the VCs want to take the down mark. It's going to take a decade or more to unwind. I've lunch with a different Founder / CEO caught in the trap every few months. The advice is always the same, accept reality for what it is, then if you decide to stay figure out how to get the business operating as a profitable going concern. The fundamental benefit of VC vs PE is that there isn't a debt servicing component. Getting to operating breakeven buys a lot of time. I'd a call with a (former) unicorn CFO yesterday. He was brought in to help turnaround a dying unicorn, with great success it has to be said. The business is now profitable and growing after three years of focus including a couple of inspired acquisitions. Great product now selling like hot cakes. It is still sitting on $800m pref stack though. The call really emphasised two things. First, with skill, vision, will and perseverance it is possible to move forwards. Second, getting out of the trap is a five year project.

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Join us at the #ScaleUp Britain Roadshow in the North West on Tuesday, 10 September 2024.   Home to two of the UK’s biggest and most culturally influential cities - Manchester and Liverpool - the wider North West region accounts for over 10% of the UK’s GDP (UK government 2022 data).   Boasting a rich heritage in textiles, shipping and sport, the North West continues to be a natural home for innovation and some of the United Kingdom’s fastest growing scaleups.   From Liverpool’s port, which remains a pivotal international maritime hub, to the region’s globally renowned football clubs, innovation and business continues to thrive - pumping millions into the local economy every year. The region’s history with textiles has also fuelled some of the fastest growing scaleups - propelling apparel companies like Pretty Little Thing, Flannels and boohoo.com into household names in a few years.   Supported by globally leading universities, devolution settlements and Levelling Up initiatives, the North West really is a brilliant place to grow and scale your business. And here at the London Stock Exchange we are here to support you.   Register today to discuss more with our team Bod Buckby, Marcus Stuttard, Florence K. and Luke Robert Black: https://lseg.group/4ea8AG7   #ScaleUpBritain #ScaleUp #StartUp #RaisingPrivateCapital #PrivateMarkets #ScaleUpInstitute

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