Financing Britain's Growth ThinkTank
FOREWARD FROM THE CHAIR - PROF. NIGEL WAITE
On 11 November 2010, Venture Finance hosted a panel of corporate finance experts from banking, private equity and government, as well as the professional services and advisory sectors. Their task was to address how the finance industry can help Britain’s small and medium-sized companies access the funds they need not only to survive and thrive but also to help sustain the UK’s economic recovery. Chairman Nigel Waite explains the importance of the event
Our ThinkTank discussion really could not be more timely, as we face an uncertain future. The restoration of sound public finances is clearly the coalition government’s overriding priority. The price governments pay when they get this wrong was vividly illustrated by the results of the USA’s recent mid-term elections.
As any businessperson knows, there are only three levers you can pull to increase profits: cut costs, put up prices, or sell more. In this context, UK Coalition PLC plans to achieve an unprecedented reduction in costs, as well as a number of price rises such as the forthcoming increase in VAT to 20% and the introduction of the 50% income tax band.
In a sense, these aspects of economic management are relatively straightforward and manageable. Far more of a challenge is the task of increasing sales or, in government terms, achieving growth. With the government forecasting the loss of half a million public sector jobs and other voices of doom predicting the loss of a further half a million jobs in the private sector, the risks to economic growth are very real indeed.
Growth remains an imperative. As The Sunday Times recently commented, “Small companies are vital to the recovery. About 60% of all private sector workers are employed in small and medium-sized firms.” And, as prime minister David Cameron has said, “We’re not just going to back the big businesses of today, we’re going to back the big businesses of tomorrow.” The Sunday Times went on to propose a five-point manifesto for small business, and I quote, “Bank lending is the most immediate problem”!
Our ThinkTank debate addressed this most pressing of business challenges, namely how to secure a dependable, consistent supply of business finance and working capital in order to ensure SMEs are at the forefront of economic recovery and job creation.
Professor Nigel Waite
Financial Services Research Forum
Read Part One: Access to finance
To download the ThinkTank
whitepaper in full click
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To view our suite of accompanying
videos click below:
The Panel
PROFESSOR NIGEL WAITE (Chair)
Nigel is the Director and founder of the Financial Services Research Forum, where business, government, regulators and academics come together to discuss key industry issues.
DAVID BROCKHURST
David is Senior Manager at KPMG’s Mid-Market Debt Advisory Group and provides national ABL coordination to clients borrowing up to £100m.
PETER EWEN
Since becoming Managing Director of Venture Finance in October 2007, Peter has helped build Venture into an award-winning UK Invoice and Asset Based Lender with over 250 staff in 11 regional offices, handling almost £4bn in client invoices every year.
ALLAN LAING
Allan is Chief Executive, Pentagon Chemicals (Holdings) Ltd and has led the company through several mergers, acquisitions and strategic changes, helping establish Pentagon as a successful independent business. Current annual sales are £40m in support of the industrial and life sciences markets.
KATE SHARP
With over 35 years’ experience in the financial services industry, over 20 of which has been in the ABL industry, Kate is Chief Executive of the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA – formerly the Factors and Discounters Association [FDA]) and has helped build both the organisation’s capabilities and reputation.
DAVID SMY
David is Senior Policy Advisor, Business Finance and Tax, at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). He works in the Business Environment and Growth Directorate on access to finance for business, with a particular focus on non-bank finance sources.
OLIVER WOOLLEY
Oliver is part of the Executive Committee for the British Business Angels Association. He is also Founder Director of Envestors Ltd and Envestors Corporate Finance, which acts for companies seeking finance of up to £10m.
JAMIE YOUNG
Jamie is Director of Feist Hedgethorne, which specialises in providing part-time finance director services to a range of businesses across differing sectors.