Simon Keegan speaks to sponsors and guest speakers after the Insider Dealmakers Lunch: Levelling Up Private Equity event, which took place at Manchester Hall on Tuesday 19 November 2024.
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00:00Hi, I'm Rob Cromer and I'm the Managing Director at K3 Advantage.
00:15Hello, I'm Paul Jefferson. I'm a Corporate Partner and Head of Product Equity at K3 Advantage.
00:20Hi, I'm Joan Murray. I'm Head of the Financial Responsibility and Actual Banking.
00:24So, you guys were our sponsors today, so I'll start with you Paul.
00:28Why was it important for you to sponsor this event?
00:32Well, a couple of things really. I suppose for us, we've been very active in the region,
00:36but I think one of the things we've not done as well as we ought,
00:39is get the profile and the brand traction out there that we need to achieve.
00:43We do a lot of activity, we've got a big strong team,
00:46but I'm not sure that the name gained is as well-known as it ought to be.
00:49So, part of today was about, selfishly, was about profiling what we do a bit better,
00:54but also it was to bang the drum on the message that was constant through today,
01:00which was about the strength of this community,
01:02and the fact that I think the whole is greater than some of the parts,
01:06if we work together and make sure that the execution of transactions stays here,
01:10and stays within the community.
01:12And Jen, that's something you spoke about, isn't it?
01:15That working together between the debt community, the private equity community.
01:21So, just elaborate on that a little bit for me.
01:24Absolutely. You know, up to the last two years,
01:27and various challenges that we've all faced, both on the debt and the equity side,
01:32some stresses in the portfolio, quite an uncertain economic environment.
01:37I think, you know, it feels as though things are in a really good place,
01:41to go forward for the next few years.
01:43It's more important than ever, that we're working really closely,
01:46across both debt, equity, and advisory,
01:48to make sure we're actually aiding the right outcomes for our clients and businesses.
01:52We'll be working together throughout the life of the loan, and request it,
01:58and being able to have that kind of big dialogue,
02:02to ensure that we look after our clients account fully.
02:05And Rowan, you talked about the importance of alignment between advisors and companies,
02:10and that was another theme that we saw throughout the morning, wasn't it?
02:14That ability for founders to be able to tell the story of their company,
02:20but also, just to kind of align better between the advisors and the invested companies.
02:27Yeah, I mean, alignment goes back to, well fundamentally, to the relationship.
02:31A large amount of what we chatted about today was relationships within the area,
02:36and within the region, which is very important.
02:38And often, that is almost like, that's the critical switch,
02:42which tips a deal in maybe one direction.
02:46And it's important that, if something goes wrong,
02:49we actually continue to maintain and develop those relationships.
02:53Well, it's been the first ever Dealmakers Lunch,
02:57and it was just great to see so many people coming along, wasn't it?
03:01And I hope this will be the first of many.
03:04It's definitely had a lot of support from the region.
03:08I mean, Paul, at the start, you kind of threw the goal down and said,
03:12what this event is about is, yes, we're a great community,
03:17but are there things where we can do more and we can challenge the narrative?
03:22And I think that's definitely been a theme that's run through the event, hasn't it?
03:26Yeah, I mean, I think for me, what's important is to educate ourselves
03:30and educate the businesses we represent and we fund
03:33as to the strength and depth of relationships, of community,
03:37of executionability here in the Northwest.
03:40So there's been some debate around whether, you know,
03:43whether there's a concern about where the funding comes from.
03:46To me, that's less important than understanding that the relationships
03:50are what should be the engine for productivity and growth
03:53in terms of dealmaking here in the Northwest.
03:55Yes, it's better, I think, that we leverage those relationships
03:59that we've got with funders and with advisors to help businesses grow.
04:02And that's worth some value in the context of the deal structure.
04:07And we all need to work together, as Jen says,
04:10to make sure that we support the businesses through their lifecycle,
04:13in and out of transactions, and through to a successful value exit at the end.