Rainmakers Conference 2024

I attended the #RainmakersConference24 on Wednesday, organised by TheBusinessDesk.com and held at The Point.

The sell out event was a definite hit and a welcome addition to the dealmaking scene in Manchester.

Michael Taylor and Anna Cooper from The Business Desk were joined on stage by many well-known faces from the region’s private equity, corporate finance and business community.

The highlight of the day for me was hearing Steve Byrne from Travel Counsellors talk about the importance of staying true to your values and not letting a crisis force you to behave differently than you normally would.? Always treat people well – employees, customers, everyone - especially when times are tough, as goodwill can make all the difference between success and failure.

He emphasised the importance of knowing why your business exists and asking yourself whether it would matter to your customers if it disappeared. Great question.

To be honest, I had never heard of Travel Counsellors before and was staggered to hear that the company has a ￡1 billion turnover, with ￡40m of EBITDA. Clearly, my head has been under a stone in recent years!

The equally impressive Sophie Lawler from Total Fitness was in agreement with Steve’s approach and explained how the gym group had survived the pandemic by staying uber focussed on what it could do during lock down, rather than what it couldn’t do.?

Sophie talked about the importance of having trust within an organisation and how this ensures people aren’t afraid to speak up as this leads to discussion which ultimately leads to improvement.

On a personal note, I have been a member of Total Fitness for many years and was mightily impressed with the way the company communicated and treated its members during lockdown.

There were so many valuable insights to be gleaned from the entire day.? In no particular order, here are some of the things I learned and observed:

-????????? In 2022, members of the BVCA, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, were responsible for investing ￡27.5 billion

-????????? Manchester has the second highest number of private equity firms in Europe (no surprises that London is first)

-????????? Our wonderful city also has the fastest growing economy of any region in the UK – to quote Joe Manning from MIDAS Manchester's Inward Investment Agency , “Manchester is having its moment!”

-????????? The continued poor performance of public markets will encourage more investors to flock to private equity

-????????? Merging two cultures after an acquisition is undoubtedly one of the toughest challenges faced by investors and management teams BUT culture is everything so it’s really important to get this right and can be achieved by engaging with management throughout the process

-????????? It’s important for founders to recognise when it’s time to bring in investment and support

-????????? Management teams value having a clear goal and roadmap for achieving it above all else

-????????? Horror stories about private equity are, for the most part, grossly unfair – that said, as pointed out by Garry Wilson Wilson from the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) , the sector still needs to work on its public image

-????????? Having advisors who’ve worked both sell and buy side can be very advantageous as they have a 360 perspective and know which levers to pull, depending on which side they’re representing

-????????? The perception that tech, media and finance deals are only done in London needs to be addressed as it simply isn’t the case – a change of mindset is needed

-????????? ESG is good for business, although demonstrating the impact of good practice on financial performance can be a challenge

-????????? There is too much emphasis on the E in ESG and not enough focus on, for instance, staff engagement (an engaged workforce is more productive, which ultimately impacts returns)

-????????? There is a growing anti-ESG movement in the USA (no comment)

-????????? When engaging with management teams, investors need to establish whether individuals are guided by their head or heart, and adapt their approach accordingly (loved this)

-????????? Going from privately owned to PE backed is a deeply personal journey so relationships and trust are key … less presentations and more dinners are needed

-????????? Young businesses are woefully under-served by the corporate finance market in the north of England, receiving only 3% of investment, but Manchester investors are far nurturing when they do invest

-????????? That said, many young teams that receive investment don’t know how to use it wisely!

-????????? Investors have a tendency to knock the enthusiasm, positivity and passion out of early stage businesses … leaving founders with shattered hopes and dreams (don’t shoot the messenger!)

-????????? Flexible working is valuable but is starting to have a negative impact on companies, especially when it comes to nurturing and training young talent which needs to learn by being ‘in the room’

-????????? Deloitte withdrawing from the regions will benefit other regional firms as they’ll receive an influx of talent

-????????? According to Yael Selfin , chief economist at KPMG , there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about the economic outlook – inflation is likely to undershoot the Bank of England’s 2% target by the end of the year, while interest rates seem to have peaked – although everyone needs to get used to 3% being the new norm

-????????? The construction and manufacturing sectors are struggling but the services sector is pretty buoyant (music to my ears!)

-????????? Back to deals … the process to completion has slowed down because investors and management teams are taking more time to choose their respective partners

-????????? Gym membership is viewed as a non-discretionary spend among under 45’s

-????????? Ties are definitely out of fashion (I only saw one in a room of 400+ people)

The biggest surprise of the day was learning that Manchester’s very own San Carlo restaurant is just one of 25 in the UK, that there are already several San Carlos across the world and plans afoot for openings in Vietnam, Miami, Istanbul and Egypt. Am I alone in being blown away by this revelation?

So, that’s my personal take on the conference – hope you’ve found at least some of it interesting! It will be interesting to see what next year’s event reveals.

#privateequity #corporatefinance #financialcommunications