QUBIS Ltd and The Chief Executives Club at Queen s

Transcription

1 QUBIS Ltd and The Chief Executives Club at Queen s Why settle for Bronze when the Gold is out there? Exploring funding options essential for your company s growth A morning of presentations and discussion Wednesday 7 November 2012, 9am 1pm The Great Hall Queen s University Belfast University Road Belfast BT7 1NN

2 Why settle for Bronze when the Gold is out there? Exploring funding options essential for your company s growth In demonstrably changing times, where many companies talk about coping with challenges, and in the face of new priorities by lending banks and Government, it has never been more important for the businesses in Northern Ireland to be well positioned and primed for growth. The reality is that it will only be the commercial sector of the economy that will generate the necessary wealth, and nurture the talent of the local community, for the foreseeable future. One of the key requirements for such a vibrant commercial sector is appropriate and sufficient financial capital. However, with many banks focusing on rebuilding their respective balance sheets, and Government funding more likely to fall than rise, finding such funds becomes an even greater imperative. The good news is that capital is out there and it is available in a number of forms such as listed equity, private equity and venture capital. While we recognise that the Northern Ireland business community is well travelled and very capable, to help support your business development, Queen s University Belfast and QUBIS Ltd - the University s company spin-out vehicle - has brought together a distinctive pool of talented speakers who are highly experienced participants in these capital pools. This morning s presenters with specialist knowledge are drawn from CBI-Tughans, Deloitte, the London Stock Exchange and Shore Capital Stockbrokers. Representing the demand side are two experienced business leaders from Aepona and Cirdan Imaging. As a panel they will highlight the opportunities and pitfalls for quoted shares, private equity and venture capital. Representatives from established businesses across Northern Ireland join us in the Great Hall at Queen s this morning to listen to and exchange views on financing, that we hope will lead to the further development of financing capability at a broader and enduring level. Our approach is overtly commercial in its focus, seeking commercial solutions to support the growth potential of the business community.

3 A welcome from Professor Sir Peter Gregson, President and Vice-Chancellor, Queen s University Belfast Welcome to Queen s University Belfast and to this morning s event, which is an opportunity to discuss and explore funding options available to support business growth across Northern Ireland. This event has been organised jointly by QUBIS Ltd and the Chief Executives Club at Queen s. In order to strengthen and grow Northern Ireland s economy, it is essential that our local SMEs are able to access the funding they need to develop and expand. In recent years however, the banks, their traditional first port of call, have not always been able to provide the financial solutions businesses require. Today s event allows business leaders to come together to learn from specialists, and each other, of the range of alternative funding options that exist to underpin a business growth strategy. Queen s too makes an important contribution to Northern Ireland s economy. For example, through the work of QUBIS Ltd, established in 1984, we strive to commercialise the University s research and development activities through the formation of spin-out businesses. I am proud to report that Queen s remains one of the top universities in the UK for the level of revenue generated by spin-out companies. To date 59 new companies have been created, with a combined turnover of 146m, generating 1,163 highly skilled new jobs. QUBIS has leveraged 68.5 million from external investors, and one of its newest companies, MOF Technologies Ltd, recently took the top prize at the NISP Connect 25K Awards. Other ways in which Queen s supports local businesses include an investment of 15 million to redevelop our Riddel Hall campus, which has been transformed into a 21 st century portal for the economic development of businesses across the island of Ireland. Our new Leadership Institute and Executive Education Centre, as well as the Queen s School of Management, are all located at Riddel Hall. The Chief Executives Club at Queen s, established to strengthen links between the business community and higher education, provides a valuable networking forum, as well as opportunities for its members and guests to hear new ideas from invited international speakers that may help promote enterprise and innovation. The speakers at today s event will address the issue of business funding from a variety of perspectives. I trust that through their presentations and the panel question and answer session to follow, you will leave Queen s University today with fresh ideas on how to access the necessary funding to realise your ambitions for your business.

4 A welcome from Frank Bryan, Chief Executive, QUBIS Ltd There are some great companies across Northern Ireland held back from reaching their potential due to the lack of readily available finance. Perhaps your company is one of them? One of the dangers is that we settle for second best and resign ourselves to remaining static, blaming the economic fallout and general recession on the banks. However, the truth is that there are various options out there, beyond the conventional banking solution, to secure the finance necessary to take your company to the next level. We are now working in unconventional times, and as such there is no better time to introduce more creativity and sharing of knowledge to identify new solutions to new problems. Today s event is not intended to be an extended lecture. This mix of presentations from those on the front line is designed to spark a lively debate, with plenty of time for engagement not only through a Q&A Panel session, but also over a mid-morning coffee break and sandwiches provided over lunchtime. I would encourage you to share your own experience with others, challenge our speakers, and leave with fresh ideas to tackle a real problem around access to finance. Northern Ireland businesses should aim for Gold, why settle for second best? Programme 9.00 Registration 9.30 Welcome by Vice Chancellor and President, Queen s University Belfast, Professor Sir Peter Gregson 9.45 The morning s agenda, outlined by Chair, Frank Bryan, QUBIS Ltd 9.50 The Future Funding Landscape Ian Coulter, CBI Northern Ireland / Tughans Alternative Sources of Capital including Private Equity and Venture Capital Gavin Hood, Deloitte LLP "Aepona - Venture Capital Lessons from the Front Line" Michael Black, Aepona Ltd Coffee Break (networking) Capital for Growth Gerard Lane, Shore Capital Stockbrokers Ltd The Opportunities through Flotation Mark Fahy, London Stock Exchange Raising Finance: A Personal Perspective and Experience Dr Hugh Cormican, Cirdan Imaging Ltd Panel Q&A, chaired by Frank Bryan, QUBIS Ltd Lunch (networking)

5 Biographies of our Speakers Ian Coulter CBI Northern Ireland Chairman & Tughans Managing Partner Ian Coulter is Managing Partner of Tughans Solicitors having joined from a City of London firm in Ian has been a Partner in Tughans since 2001 and became Managing Partner in Ian is a corporate finance lawyer who specializes in mergers and acquisitions, often with an international or cross-border element. He also has considerable experience in institutional / private equity leveraged deals and in setting up and structuring venture capital funds. Outside of law, Ian is Chairman of the CBI in Northern Ireland, a role he took up in January He is also a member of the Commercial Committee for Ulster Rugby and a member of the Riddell Hall Founders Club. Gavin Hood Partner, Corporate Finance, Deloitte LLP Gavin joined the Corporate Finance practice of Deloitte in 2002 as part of the Andersen transaction. He was promoted to Director in 2004 and was appointed a Partner in June Gavin is a Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Partner based in the Edinburgh office, within Deloitte s Scotland and Northern Ireland practice. Born in Belfast, Gavin graduated with a 1 st Class Honours degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1992 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen in Gavin transferred to the Corporate Finance team of Andersen s Sydney office in 1996, returning to the UK at the end of 1997 where he has been focused on mid-market M&A and private equity transactions. Gavin has a wide range of experience across fundraisings, acquisitions, disposals, management buyouts, re-financings, valuations, strategy and exit reviews. Michael Black Chief Financial Officer, Aepona Holdings Ltd Michael Black, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland as well as a Chartered Director (IoD), having qualified with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Currently Chief Financial Officer of Aepona Holdings Limited, the Belfast headquartered telecoms software company, which is venture capital backed. Michael is also Chairman of venture capital backed Consilium Technologies Ltd and Bluechip Technologies Ltd. Since 2009, he is also chairman of Local Enterprise Agency, Craigavon Industrial Development Organisation, and was former Chairman of The Ulster Society of Chartered Accountants ( ).

6 Gerard Lane Investment Strategist, Shore Capital Stockbrokers Ltd Gerard Lane is Shore Capital s Investment Strategist. With buyside experience as a strategist and fund manager, the poacher turned game keeper approach, he analyses top-down economic data, and bottom-up company data, to assess market outlook, across regions and sectors tailored for use by fund managers, with minimalistic ivory-tower research. In addition, Gerard provides screening of the UK equity market to identify themes that offer the potential to outperform. This involves using proprietary methodology to highlight growth companies, as well as more generic valuation dependent screening. Together with the wider Shore Capital team, Gerard has assisted companies raise over 100m in the past year, and with bond and equity fund management experience, he ably provides insights into the needs of investors to assist management seeking to raise finance from the capital markets. Mark Fahy Head of UK Small & Mid-Cap Companies, London Stock Exchange Mark is Head of the UK Small & Mid-Cap team at the London Stock Exchange, managing a team of business development managers covering UK Equity Primary Markets. He is also specifically responsible as the Regional Director for the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland and as part of that role manages the Exchange s relationship with over 350 companies listed on both the Main Market and AIM. Mark is also responsible for the relationships with private companies considering flotation and the Advisory community across the same regions. Previously he was an Institutional Fund Manager running a UK Pension Fund and is also an Associate of the Society of Investment Professionals. Dr Hugh Cormican Chief Executive Officer, Cirdan Imaging Ltd Dr Hugh Cormican, CPhys FInstP, was a founder and Director of Andor Technology plc, a research imaging company. Hugh originally studied Physics at Queen s University Belfast and is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. During his PhD studies he became involved in the start-up of Andor Technology. Hugh acted as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Andor Technology from its inception in 1989 and guided Andor through its successful stock market listing in December Hugh stood down as CEO in August 2006 before resigning from the Board of Andor in September Hugh then spent two years based in Tucson, Arizona working for medical imaging company Bioptics Inc. In May 2010 Hugh returned to Northern Ireland and became one of the founders of Cirdan Imaging Ltd, a medical imaging company.

7 Contact Details Aepona Holdings Ltd Website: Telephone: CBI Northern Ireland Website: Telephone: Cirdan Imaging Ltd Website: Telephone: Deloitte LLP Website: Telephone: London Stock Exchange Website: Telephone: QUBIS Ltd Website: Telephone: Shore Capital Stockbrokers Ltd Website: Telephone: The Chief Executives Club at Queen s Queen s University Belfast brenda.carabine@qub.ac.uk Website: Telephone: Tughans Solicitors ian.coulter@tughans.com Website: Telephone:

8 Notes