Adam Lewis

Great webinar with FT Live on the Global M&A Outlook in the EMEA Region. There is a feel of the optimism in EMEA’s M&A landscape, with private equity leading the charge and valuations on the rise. Geopolitical certaintly, growth agenda, and interest rates certainly will provide confidence in the market, therefore, the future is looking really good. #wheredealsaremade #privateequity #mergers

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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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#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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This is exactly what we hear from the VCs that we back. In the UK, there is no shortage of capital for world-class founders. There is a shortage of world-class founders. We need to create the conditions where the very best founders choose the UK as the place to build their companies. If we do this, then the capital will follow. Strong-arming UK pension funds to invest in UK VC funds or, even worse, directly into UK companies, is not the answer. For a more detailed view on this, please see the white paper we published last year on the Mansion House initiative. https://lnkd.in/e86HSxrY

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Another wild day. 🙃😉🙃😉 4 new opportunities brought to our Operator Network cohort of PE, VC and Family Office clients. One is particularly interesting on a number of levels but largely because it’s a carve out of a £1bn+ Family Office portfolio…. £1.5m revenue D2C with 60% GMargin. Exceptional client list of MRR subscribers. Another opportunity involved an eco/retrofit business who have just done £1.8m revenue yr1 and growing to £8m yr2 with some cashflow finance required. There’s a £20m rev, £3m EBITDA specialist travel company raising £3m… Our vast community of Chairs and Non-Executives are plugged in to the SME deal-flow eco system. And guess what - these are largely completely “off-market”. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/eha-9Zxq #DealDirect #Virtualnonexecs

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

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

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The British Business Bank produced a great report last week on the performance of UK VC funds (link in comments) over the last 20+ years. As with all reports like this, it's really important to dig into the detail and not just rely on the headlines. In particular, I was keen to compare the performance of the best UK funds to those in the US. While accepting the limitations of the data (all performance data on VC is based on a very low sample size), it's still interesting to see how the UK funds in the BBB report compare to the Cambridge Associates US VC benchmarks. As you can see from the chart below, the top quartile benchmark for UK funds exceeded the US funds for the period 2002-2007. But the sample size for UK funds in this period is particularly low (eg just five funds for the 2004/05 period). Since 2008, the top quartile UK funds have underperformed the US benchmark, and since 2010 are much closer to the US median return than the upper quartile. There are some outstanding founders and companies in the UK and some strong-performing VC funds. But the reality of VC is that performance is driven by a small number of outlier investments. Without these, it's almost impossible to deliver 3x net returns to LPs. For the UK to really become competitive with the US, we need to see more UK-based companies able to scale and exit at valuations in excess of $5bn. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions to achieving this. We consistently hear from our VC managers that there is no shortage of capital for the best UK companies. Where there is a shortage is in the number of world-class founders looking to build in the UK. Get this right and the capital (and returns) will follow.

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There has been lots written about the impact of the budget, and some names are dominating the headlines. At the smaller end of the market where YFM Equity Partners invests we can already see Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders adapting to the new normal, and most positively where there will be opportunities to grow faster. One of the things we did not expect to see so quickly is a surge in Entrepreneurs looking to do some sort of ownership change transaction, The Business Magazine - South West & West Midlands / The Business Magazine - South East covers the 300% increase in enquiries below. These enquiries are Management Teams looking to buy the businesses they run from their owners, or owners looking to de-risk themselves with some cash out now and support from a Private Equity investor.

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2024 at MD Capital… Firstly I would like to give a special thanks to all of our clients and partners that have supported us throughout the year, despite such a problematic start. For MD CAPITAL UK & UAE this year has been full of opportunities to solidify our position for the upcoming year and the rest of the decade, as for myself - even better: Q1 (JAN-MAR): - First project of the year while most of my businesses were on pause was “G-Code”, an e-learning platform providing free courses and resources teaching all aspects of coding from programming languages to UX Design. Q2 (APR - JUN): - Started the quarter with a small exit on a microsaas in the hospitality niche we invested into in Q4 2023. - Invested in @STS CREATIVE - Web App Development agency specialising in consumer oriented Ai web apps for businesses, local & international (now inactive due to Din Capital). - MD Performance UK & UAE & E-COM CARTEL are now authorised to continue operations and are free of any restrictions previously imposed. Q3 (JUL - SEP): - Turned 20 (getting old ik) - Launched DIN CAPITAL - First step into the Islamic business/finance industry (VERY bullish on this). - Improved fleet for MD Performance (new additions to the fleet for both UAE & PK). - Acquired multiple islamic niche consumer fitness brands to merge them and invest into the halal supplement/fitness space. - Acquired multiple fashion brands to merge and expand into the modest fashion industry. Q4 (OCT - DEC): - Flew my family to Umrah, spent 3 months in Jeddah & Mecca where I began development of “Project Mecca” (more on this VERY soon). - Secured funding for a project in the Natural Resources industry in Pakistan with a strong focus to significantly drive the country’s economy forward and welcome new opportunities for its future generations. - Investing into halal fintech with “Rizq” app - Islamic banking & investing solution. - Diversifying our portfolio with property, land & other tangible investments across the gulf & southeast asia. - Acquiring multiple construction, development & contractor firms to integrate with MD Capital’s (property) operations in PK (still pending). - MD Performance expands into PK with 2 vehicles currently boosting the fleet. - MD Performance has all cars FULLY BOOKED for 2 consecutive weeks, and again for new years This year, we focused on pivoting into emerging markets that we are highly optimistic about for the coming decade. Including: Islamic business development, Halal supplements and fitness, Modest fashion, Consumer e-com in GCC & SE Asia, investments in emerging economies in SE Asia, demographic expansion across GCC (a prime opportunity for hospitality & travel-focused businesses), and ventures in cyberwarfare & cybersecurity. Would also like to say that some projects above haven't been shared due to inconsistent updates. however, in 2025, I aim to document my journey & come up, and grow my personal brand. Happy New Year 🙌🏽

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The recent drop in UK gilts tells us that foreign investors who buy most of our government debt think that UK Plc is too risky, unproductive, unattractive facing structural challenges that our government was incapable of addressing. Labour had 14 years in opposition to work out a new plan for socially progressive economic plan with a hard headed approach to public policy reform. Instead, Rachel Reeves gave us a growth-free budget, which left her just £9.9 billion of headroom against her fiscal rules despite raising £40 billion in new taxes. Worse, with an interest bill of £100 billion-plus a year to service, rising gilt yields have wiped out the headroom. So, her promise to never raise taxes again turns out now to be highly spurious. Expect, therefore, “emergency taxes” to address “unprecedented” market pressures that cause inflation to rise and borrowing costs increase. We need wide spread public sector reform, a smaller state, less generous benefits and a more benign approach to needs of SMEs in all sectors.

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A deal process need not be daunting one. In our latest vodcast, the panel talks about how having a clear equity story backed by data, and with plenty of preparation led to a successful and even fun exit for one business. Watch the latest instalment of A Word in Private, now! Chris Stott, Claire Elcock and Matthew Linehan talk to Naveen Sharma #kpmgdealadvisory #privateequity #exitreadiness #valuecreation #deals #data

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A masterclass in private markets. A guest who has seen it all joined the latest Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. We welcomed HgT Chairman of the Board Jim Strang to the show and school was in session. Jim is a deeply experienced private equity professional who has been part of the industry as a GP, LP, investor, consultant, and now a teacher, board member, and advisor to a number of firms, including most recently as MD & Chairman EMEA Hamilton Lane and now as an advisor to CVC Capital Partners, Bain & Company, Pictet Group Alternative Advisors. Jim and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of private markets and what the future holds for large and small funds alike, as well as LPs. We discussed: * The step function changes that take private markets from $15T to $30T of AUM. * Why traditional asset managers may struggle to replicate the capabilities of alternative asset managers in private markets. * The importance of partnerships having a clear ambition and alignment if they want to build a scaled platform. * The challenges that managers in the middle face as large platforms and specialist managers are the differentiated firms in the eyes of LPs. * Why GPs need to find innovative solutions to address the needs of different types of investors. * Why building a strong brand is crucial to success in the wealth channel. Thanks Jim for sharing your wisdom and experience on private markets. We also welcome our new sponsor to Alt Goes Mainstream. We are thrilled to announce Ultimus Fund Solutions as podcast sponsor. This episode is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. https://lnkd.in/eJ_enGzQ

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If anyone would like hear my thoughts on stressed and distressed acquisitions please book your place on the link below or give Lizzy Tindall a shout

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The next instalment of “A Word in Private” is out. Watch our latest vodcast to hear from our panel on exit readiness: - Identify and evidence your equity story - Collection of data should prove the equity story beyond the last 12 months - Start early. Preparation is key to a successful exit. Use KPMG’s proprietary Exit Readiness tool 18-24 months pre-exit to make sure you’re ready. - Maintain business as usual. Create an effective process that gives management enough bandwidth to run the business and deliver on the deal by getting advisors involved early. Watch the latest instalment of A Word in Private, now! Chris Stott, Claire Elcock Matthew Linehan Naveen Sharma #KPMGdealadvisory; #privateequity; #exitreadiness #valuecreation #deals #data

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Excellent role modelling

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This post (image below) highlights the positive track record of UK managed VC funds in delivering good returns to investors. According to the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Performance Measurement Survey, in collaboration with PwC, UK managed VC funds have collectively achieved an impressive internal rate of return (IRR) of 11.2% per annum. This data underscores the potential for solid returns for investors engaging in these funds. Thank you to my ex-colleagues at the BVCA for compiling these amazing statistics - the full report can be seen here: https://lnkd.in/eF2RRKrP 👏 👏 👏

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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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