Weekly Wrap Up: The Angel of the North is Burning Bright

We often hear rumours that there is more going on up North than Gail Platt simply taking a new love interest on ‘Coronation Street’; this week has been a case in point.

There have been multiple indications that the economic potential of the North is booming. These indications have inspired us to ask ourselves: should we be making a better job of tapping into the North so as to maintain our position as a dominant force in the global economy?

Numis Securities, one of the City’s most successful independent stockbrokers, have opened up a Northern office, to be headed up by Graeme Summers. This makes complete sense, as one of their main rivals, Zeus Capital, is currently one of the only brokers operating in both the City and the North. Zeus has successfully raised £900 million for its clients over the past 15 months, and has been the book runner on 40% of all of the AIM flotations in that period. Clearly Numis have caught a whiff of Zeus’ sweet Northern success, and are wisely following suit. This move indicates that if the advisers are heading North, there must be attractive and economically proficient Companies growing businesses in the UK’s Northern cities.

And where did one of the only IPOs to successfully get away in the last few months come from? C4X Discovery is a Manchester-based University spin-out which successfully raised £11 million on its AIM debut. This raise is not bad in the current economic climate, with just the week before seeing the stalled IPOs of Virgin Money, Aldermore and BCA Marketplace due to volatility in global equity markets.

So why is it that we still consider the Northern cities as secondary to London? The Government is making efforts to change this, as they realise that the UK is more attractive if considered by our international brethren as having not just one city with potential, but rather a constellation of burgeoning centres of business. Nick Clegg’s launch of TechNorth, the tech cluster designed to rival London’s Tech City shows a desire to encourage innovation throughout the UK.

But it’s not just about taking advantage of this potential, we must also do a better job of communicating it. The Guardian published an interesting article this week stating that it’s the public perception, branding and positioning of the North that needs to change. Several valid points are made; constantly referring to multiple cities as ‘The North’ positions the likes of Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Liverpool as one and the same. They are very different environments, with different histories and different strengths. Perhaps if we were to identify and acknowledge this then perceptions would change. Referring to ‘The North’ also invokes the feeling that these cities are on the peripheries, slightly removed from the action. This lack of connectivity can only harm common perceptions.

Angel of the North
Image courtesy of James Creegan, Flickr CC

I’m not sure that rebranding the collection of Cities as ‘ManPool’ or even ‘ManSheffLeedsPool’ would help, as Jim O’Neill suggested in the City Growth Commission report this week. But surely it would be easier to communicate the economic potential both domestically and internationally if we readdress how we position and brand them. The UK will not be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with international competitors, powered by multiple megacities, if we are left clinging on to the attributes of our singular ‘hub’. Surely a constellation of these ‘hubs’ is more attractive to investors and we would be better off nurturing the perception of a hive of activity.



This week Abchurch met the Kerman & Co team and exchanged our credentials in the various sectors that we both operate in, particularly in the mining space. We were warmed by the team’s hospitality and were delighted to be hosted in their very own Temple Bar.

Abchurch also hosted a China- themed market lunch and enjoyed a heated debate amongst City Advisors on the strategies of London-listed Chinese Companies going forward. Despite recent nuances, it is exciting to see that advisors are generally confident on the outlook of the Chinese Companies' equities market.



Jonathan Richards has been appointed equity research analyst in Cantor Fitzgerald Europe’s Financial Institutions team. Richards joins from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and has previously worked at UBS and Lehman Brothers.

Marc Tendler and Bas Hoekstra join Grant Thornton’s adviser specialist leasing, asset and consumer financing division. Tendler, an accountant, has worked in senior roles at Invigors, UK Vendor and Captive Asset Finance, and ING Lease UK. Hoekstra was also previously at ING Lease Holding, where he held a leadership role.

Investec Wealth & Investment has announced two appointments to its Bournemouth office. Darren Elmes and Steve Hart both join as senior investment directors from Barclays Wealth, where they were directors. Elmes has also held roles at Lloyds Private Banking and Capel Cure Sharp.



'ManSheffLeedsPool’ – The suggestion of Jim O’Neill, Former Goldman Sachs economist and Chair of the City Growth Commission, for the rebranding of our Northern treasures



Do you miss the Dandy; do you yearn for Dr Strange? This weekend sees ExCel London at the Royal Victoria Dock being turned into a comic lover’s feast with the arrival of MCM London Comic Con. This two day event is predicted to attract 100,000 comic fans from across the world to celebrate all that is great about this artistic medium. Visitors can expect memorabilia, photos with the starts and special guests.

Looking for a slightly more gentile experience? The London BluesFest is due to open this Sunday 26th at the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore. This festival will run for six days, and will include performances from all of the best starts in blues, soul, jazz, R&B and beyond. Whilst the venue may send out vibes of expense, tickets for this festival can be purchased from as little as £17.25.

Halloween is on the horizon, and it is not just the ghouls and goblins that we should be afraid of. This Sunday 26th, hundreds of devilishly dressed dogs will take to the streets of Hampstead in the Devilish Dog Walk, a fund-raising event hosted by All Dogs Matter and Spaniards Inn. This walk will kick off at 10:30am and those brave enough to see their pups in Halloween attire can enter the walk at £5 a go.

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Tech Roundtable with Alistair Crane

Abchaps recently hosted 10 tech-loving City high fliers at our office. Everyone, without exception, around the table had first-hand experience of an Exit of some kind. We were fortunate enough to have Alistair Crane, Executive Vice President of Monitise Create, to co-host the event, following his starring role on Abchat just before Christmas. Alistair is widely considered as one of London’s top young entrepreneurs. He took his own start-up, Grapple Mobile, through a successful exit when sold to Monitise in September 2013. Alistair was the perfect candidate to chair the roundtable as we gained insights into the trends, opportunities and anxieties of those in the tech start-up space.

All guests agreed that there was a lack of funding from the banks available to early stage start-ups. The papers are littered with stories of how the Government plans to boost SME funding, but what about financial help for those who just have a really great idea? Those ideas need financial support to become the next big thing, and whilst there is undoubtedly a lot of over zealous non-starters out there, we must remember that one or two of those will be the next Twitter or maybe the next Grapple.

3D printing Source: www.engadget.com

There was a feeling that beyond the banks, there is also a lack of options for those embarking on small capital raises. Tech start-ups can bump into the right people, operating in the right place at the right time and pick up the first £500,000 - £1m required to commercialise or expand. But if they don’t come across the people in the know, how are they supposed to gain access to capital?

It was proposed that the answer lies in the little black books of a few well-connected individuals in the City. A guest rightfully asked who now actually owns those leather-bound, pocket-sized and extremely coveted collections of paper? The consensus was that it was only through building relationships, getting out there and meeting both the more experienced players and indeed their successors, can anyone succeed.

Alistair focused on the importance of having a solid ‘Team’ in the aforementioned blogpost. It became clear from the lunch though, that particularly for a young CEO, ‘The Team’ is not just defined as those directly working under the payroll of the Company. It also includes advisers and intermediaries working alongside the young entrepreneur.

An article published by Niklas Zennström in the Financial Times recently questioned whether, given the ease of collaboration now facilitated by the Internet, the HQ of a start-up needs to be in a buzzing tech hub? Alistair, for one chose not to base his Company in Tech City, instead preferring to work from Soho, the media hub of the UK. This was however, only because he wanted to be close to his clients. It seems that wherever you choose to work from, you need to be amongst at least one of the most important stakeholders of your business, whether it be that clients, investors, advisers or the best talent pool.

Wearable Technology Source: broadband4europe.com

Conversations went onto examine future trends: Are disruptive technologies the future or are the strongest players in the field those who focus on developing a pre-existing technology? Where will tech newbies such as Twitter be in five years time in relation to the firmly established giants found in other sectors? The unique business life cycle of a tech company is definitely something that investors are still becoming accustomed to. Alistair believes (he admits perhaps due to a recent visit to the ever-optimistic United States), the likes of Twitter have a definite staying power and have gained traction in a sceptical but porous market.

There is no doubt that it’s an exciting space to be in; the lunch was an excellent opportunity to hear from those who are on the ground, enjoying the highs of a fledgling sector but also coming face to face with the daily hurdles of a growth industry. One thing is for sure, talking to the tech community is invaluable, and conversation is key. No tech start-up, nor adviser, is an island. Or, as the school lunch hall suggested, a slightly awkward geek. It is an exciting, prosperous and energetic community who are already succeeding, as shown by Alistair Crane. With the right teams and support networks, the industry will, undoubtedly, continue to go from strength to strength in the coming years.

Stephanie Watson

Follow us on Twitter @AbchurchComms

Alistair Crane: Maximising Value of your Tech Start-up

THE MAN

Alistair Crane left school with nothing more than a few GCSEs. At the age of 21 he had started work for NAVTEQ, a digital mapping subsidiary of Nokia. By 23 he had co-founded the mobile app developer, Grapple. Grapple designed and created the mobile applications for global brands from McDonalds to Pfizer. It was subsequently sold in 2013 to AIM-listed company Monitise, world leading mobile payments company, for a tidy sum close to £40m. And Alistair’s take on both his personal and company’s journey is .... "It’s only just the beginning".

Alistair was kind enough to share with Abchurch some of his top tips to enhance a technology company’s journey from start-up to a mature and established industry profile.

START RIGHT

First off for start-ups? Start right. Alistair admits that the early days can be more than a little bit daunting but if you prioritise your short term goals, a plan of action can become much clearer, surprisingly easily.

THE TEAM

This starts with choosing the right people for your team. Alistair personally recruited the vast majority of his staff so that he can always guarantee that he is surrounded by trustworthy people who are passionate about the company and product. He believes there is freedom for everyone to be on their own journey, whilst contributing to the Company’s goals. Consistent belief in the product will ensure that at crucial yet turbulent moments in a business’s life-cycle, the CEO won’t need to have all the answers, as the insight and passion will come from within. In terms of leadership, there just needs to be a gesture towards how things may play out and people will be on board. There can be no grey areas in the team’s enthusiasm for the journey – you’re all in it together.

THE EXIT

Whilst Alistair is a firm believer that it is not always necessary for the CEO to hold all the answers, he believes you have a firm focus of what you ultimately want to achieve with the business; profitability, expansion or even an exit. Be that through a trade sale or an eventual IPO, you need to have an eye on the future so that you can optimise the present. More often than not this can involve positioning yourself in a certain light in-front of target audiences. When Grapple turned down all VC funding, they knew their financial position would come under scrutiny, so they had to be clever with the way they communicated their business growth.

THE BRAND

Development of both personal and corporate brands ensures that what the company does and how they do things is clearly communicated. The personal brand that Alistair has developed is undoubtedly a key factor in the growth and development of his start-up. In his own words, if he was a brand, he would be Ronseal…doing exactly what he says he will do. Such steely determination is likely a shared attribute amongst many start-up CEOs – although not all may choose the right words to describe what they do. Alistair’s choice? .... "I’ll just keep smashing through walls for as long as I can!”

Alistair is adamant that there must always be positivity surrounding the brand. Whether it’s current or ex-employees, clients, future clients or investors, they always need to think you are good people with something of value to say and do. His own experiences have taught him to be conscious of past, present and future relationships at all times and sometimes this can be down to something as simple as just offering some help.

THE HELP

It’s not all smashing through walls though, and Alistair explains that his experiences have taught him that value is subjective - an art not a science. He feels that start-ups must come to appreciate this if they want to make the transition to a more established industry presence. The stakeholders and influencers that can affect the financial credentials of the company may have a different perception of value to the CEO and team. Ultimately, their view can directly affect the long term trajectory of the company. He suggests that CEOs need to have partnerships with people who can both understand the value proposition and advise about how to position it. Sometimes you need a little help along the journey.

Here’s where PRs come in – they are on a journey too, and want to be good people and help. Companies like Abchurch can advise start-ups on what their content should include and how to communicate it. This includes positioning firms in front of the right investors, analysts and media, so that key audiences gain a clear insight into your company’s model and the future value you hold.

In the words of the American novelist, Don Williams jr. ...

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”

Stephanie Watson

Follow Alistair Crane on Twitter @AdFundAl

Market Scuttlebut at our Northern Clay Day




Ripley Castle

08:00, 7 September: Ripley Castle, Harrogate, North Yorkshire (for anyone who lives south of the Watford Gap), Abchaps start to congregate for our annual Northern region clay shoot with a selection of our Northern advisers and other intermediaries. It’s a crisp but clear morning; not a hint of smog, which throws me off guard – the London air reminds me I’m in a big city but this is the great outdoors and we are going to be shooting lots of guns to show just how country we can get.

As the teams start to take shape, guests from all walks of city life are represented: lawyers, accountants, brokers gather for breakfast in the foyer of the castle and general market scuttlebutt ensues. Tales of a mixed summer of market activity, the Olympics and ones own shootings skills seem to be high on most agendas. There is also a lot of talk of taking inspiration from Peter Wilson, the team GB double trap shooting gold medal winner. When Lord Coe talked about inspiring a generation, I’m not quite sure this was the generation he had in mind.



The teams are assembled with each of the five Abchurch members captaining a side and, following a brief safety word from Barrie the games-keeper, battle lines are drawn: we reach for our guns. There are five traps on offer, pheasant, teal, grouse, partridge and the devilishly difficult rabbit. The competition is simple: the team with the most targets hit by the end of the day takes home the glory, bragging rights for a year, and a rather large bottle of champagne. There would also be a prize for the day’s Top Gun so plenty to play for and it showed. Gun shots ring out as clay disks are turned into puffs of smoke with increasing accuracy as the morning unfolds.

By lunchtime and with the sun shinning bright it is time to retire to the castle for lunch, shoulders are already starting to get bruised but the chatter is still rife. The North of England plays an important part of the Abchurch business mix and it shows; with plenty of talk of upcoming deals and recent market activity it’s easy to see why this area still contributes a sizable amount of the Country’s economic drive out of recession.

Clay pigeon shooting at Ripley Castle

The afternoon’s shooting becomes more and more tense as scores are slowly added up and team positions are roughly worked out with only a few traps left to shoot – every shot becomes vital. The teams finish the day shooting a flurry of clays together before retiring once more to the castle for drinks and to await the results from Barrie.

It’s a tense finish with only a couple of shoots separating the top teams, but it is Topper’s team that take the victory from mine by a single shot (not sure who did the maths?!) and Sean Wyndham-Quin from Spark Advisory Partners was crowned Top Gun.  There are smiles all round as prizes are handed out and the teams mingle on the balcony of the castle overlooking the lake on what was a highly successful day of both shooting and networking. 

Quincy

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It’s time to turnaround: a discussion of turnaround investing

Event: Building Business in the 21^st Century
Date: Wednesday 4^th July
Location: K&L Gates, One New Change, City of London

The world of turnaround investment is not a sector for the easily offended, a sector where a sizeable return on investment is sought above everything else. If a change, however large or disruptive it may be, makes financial sense then it is almost certain to happen. When International Law Firm K&L Gates LLP and Clearwater Corporate Finance hosted a breakfast seminar on Wednesday 4^th July titled Building Business in the 21^st Century, I learnt that a three letter acronym drives the sector. ROI is almost solely all that counts.

The event began with a presentation from Simon Peckham, CEO of Melrose plc, a listed company that looks to acquire businesses, improve them and realise the value created as a result. In simple terms their investment strategy is to buy, improve and sell businesses. Simon discussed Melrose, what it does and how it looks at prospective acquisitions. What became obvious from Simon’s presentation is that the turnaround sector is very much high risk, high reward, as demonstrated by the exceptional growth that Melrose has achieved.

Next up was Jon Moulton, Chairman and Founder of Better Capital. Jon is extremely well known in the City and has over 30 years experience of turnarounds. Better Capital recently hit the headlines with the acquisition of Jaeger, the high-end fashion brand and retailer. Jon certainly didn’t mince his words about the sorts of problems they come across within companies when assessing them. After summing up what Better Capital does Jon discussed the cut throat nature of turnarounds, his experiences and why many companies need to be reinvigorated. His insights into how his team goes about the process were incredibly interesting and his notion that they look for bad management challenged the preconception that private equity looks for strong management teams. In turnaround situations, Jon explained, this is one of the most straightforward things to improve and change.

After both of the speakers had finished the floor was opened to questions from the audience and Chris Smith, Partner at Clearwater and Jeremy Davis, Partner at K&L Gates joined the panel. A number of questions were posed ranging from how big a role does the existing IT infrastructure play on their initial investment decision and what the speakers’ thoughts were on service industries.

One of the most interesting points that arose was the pace at which change is implemented. If a company is taken over, the changes (management alterations, asset disposal etc.) required to reverse the company’s fortunes are implemented immediately, and both speakers emphasised that decisive action had to be taken within the initial weeks. Another interesting point was how far ahead turnaround specialists plan when looking at a prospective purchase. When initially looking to acquire a company, Jon claimed Better Capital would already have an idea of how or when it would look to sell the Company.

The turnaround sector is in an interesting position at the moment. While the economy experiences ongoing challenges, there are many companies that could be depressed in value and therefore perfectly poised for a takeover and turnaround, however the lack of finance available means caution is at an all time high and any acquisition is riskier than usual. Turnarounds are a fascinating period in the life cycle of a company and the rewards are there to be taken for those who have the skill, capital and nerve to act quickly. 

Thank you to K&L Gates for hosting a really enjoyable and thoroughly interesting insight in to a fast-moving sector.

The turnaround investing presentations given at the event can be found at this link: http://www.klgates.com/files/Publication/7ac6ac5c-c38c-4a5b-bd72-2ea1293dc19c/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/66b5fbfd-5ff1-48bf-bcae-2ffc4cffe6bd/FINAL%20Building%20Businesses%20slides.pdf

Oli H

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Abchurch Life Sciences Party 2012

Date:

12th June 2012

Location:

The Abchurch Offices; 125 Old Broad Street

Attended by:
A selection of Abchurch’s Life Sciences clients, key journalists, influencers, investors and analysts in the sector

The Event:

With the Life Sciences sector buzzing with activity and the Abchurch team continuously growing, we enthusiastically flung open our doors for the second annual Life Science themed party. It presented an opportunity to bring the industry sector professionals together to mix, mingle and network with like-minded individuals.

With kick-off at 6pm, guests were greeted by the Abchurch team with a glass of sparkling (alcoholic or otherwise!) by a waiter donning Abchurch-branded purple scrubs. Guests migrated into the amazing open office space where the entertainment commenced. Once all had arrived and enjoyed an initial tipple, and a catch-up with the life science fraternity, attention moved to our two guest speakers.  

First on the agenda was Dr Gabrielle Silver; Global Head of Strategic Marketing, Neurology/ General Medicine at GE Healthcare. She gave a very insightful overview of the global burden of neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, Gaby noted current attitudes towards dementia – which she believes are often driven by fear, especially with patients – as there is currently no known treatment. Fear and denial lead to poor knowledge levels, and specifically that late diagnosis of disease is, at this time, too late to prevent damage and progression. As such, Gaby concluded her talk by looking to the technology horizon, and highlighted the essential requirement for better diagnostics that can pick up the signs of disease as early as possible. Indeed, diagnostics of the future will detect patients vulnerable to dementia before symptoms have even been seen. Such diagnostics will give patients the greatest chance of protection, either through a change in life-style or the new therapeutics coming to fruition.  Indeed, Gaby noted that the next 6-12 months will be very exciting as results from several Phase III studies on drugs for Alzheimer’s will be published – the first drugs to treat the disease, rather than the symptoms.

Second to take to the mic was John Hodgson; Managing Editor of ScripIntelligence. John posed the question: “What lessons could Life Sciences learn from Facebook?” Regardless of Facebook’s valuation at IPO, and lacklustre performance in the aftermarket, John’s point was that there is clearly immense value held in data on people – so what would be the value of patient data and medical records?

He described the current status quo where medical records are held as highly confidential, and only very few physicians may gain access to them. In the Facebook model, it is the owner of the profile that can divulge as much, or as little, as they choose about themselves, to post on the social media site. In healthcare however, patients do not have access to their own data, and are therefore not empowered to disseminate it as they see fit.

What is required, according to John, is a major change in mindset – not easy, he hastened to add. However, if patients owned their medical records, they could choose to make it available for anyone to use, to specific groups only, or completely secret; whatever works for them. But, like Facebook, you can be sure that significant volumes of data would move into the public domain. John noted that the value of this data is impossible to calculate, but it wouldn’t be used to steer advertising campaigns, but drive the development of the multi-billion dollar drug industry.   

Throughout this exclusive evening, the guest’s taste buds were tickled by a selection of, what I would class as, Michelin star quality canapés. For the main course we were treated to seared chilli beef and nasu dengaku served in kidney dishes; duck, watermelon & cashew salad, tiger prawns with mango in a rice paper roll arranged around forceps, salmon tartar (my personal favourite) served around syringes, and betal leaf with pomelo & pomegranate for the veggies, scattered amongst Abchurch purple stethoscopes. Then, if this wasn’t enough to satisfy cravings or fill the stomach void, we had an equally impressive spread of delicious deserts. Keeping of course to the Life Science theme, the chocolate mousse with roasted hazelnuts and lychee jelly with mango DNA-style pearls served in petri dishes. To which I must add, the lychee jelly did look uncannily like an agar gel harbouring bacteria…but this realistic interpretation still failed to put me off eating more than my fair share! More mingling and medical deserts of a strawberry & coconut ‘syrup’ served on silver ‘dosing’ spoons, white chocolate ‘tablets’, and vanilla & strawberry ‘dentures’ scattered amongst dental tools, and the party started to draw to a close.

Once again Abchurch’s organisational and hosting skills could not be faulted. The evening was a sterling success; with guests remaining extremely animated as they discussed the ins, outs and issues of the sector. Thank you to all who attended and contributed to the event and hopefully see you for the same again next year!

Harriet

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Five Minute Abchat - Cameron Blair

Cameron Blair, Director of Social Media and Digital at Wilkinson PR in Australia, and Regional Director Asia Pacific for IPREX takes some time to answer the Abchat questions from down under.

Questions:

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A politician, but don’t tell anyone.

How did you get into PR and more specifically social media?
After travelling around the world and working as a press photographer in Asia, I moved back to Australia and started developing and designing websites. Not long after, social media for business became very popular, so I started including that in my services.

A year or so later, the recession hit and it wasn’t very kind. Shortly after I met Peter and Claire from Wilkinson Group and they hired me to work on IPREX.

The agency began to grow and we were retained to do more social/ digital media work, so that became a full-time role. So, I suppose, like many of us, I fell into this craft by accident.

Cameron Blair

Describe your role in ten words or less (if that’s possible!)
Oversee social media strategy and assist companies with everything digital.

If I wasn’t talking to you now, what would you be doing?
Sitting in a pub, thinking about why I never become a politician?

What is the most interesting thing about your work?
Being paid to use Facebook and Twitter all day? Well, that might be one cool aspect.

I think the most exciting thing about working in PR is the satisfying feeling of helping people overcome communication problems, developing strategies, convincing marketing directors that your ideas will benefit them, having your ideas shot to pieces, going to bed, waking up and doing it all again in the morning.

Is there a common misconception about PR?
Let’s put it this way. Success has many fathers, but failure only has PR consultants. That would be the biggest misconception.

What developments do you expect to see in the next twelve months?
I think we’ll see more Chinese businesses moving into overseas markets, which will create opportunities for PR agencies.


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Chelsea FC - Season Review

-Viva Didier-

As yet another insane football season is over Abchurch reflects on what was an extremely exciting season for Roman Abramovich’s side. Abchaps were out in force come rain or shine (mostly rain) entertaining some of our lucky clients, journalists and intermediaries with our four season tickets at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s season began with so much promise, with Jose Mourinho incarnate, Andre Villas Boas (“AVB”) occupying the Blue’s dugout. AVB’s success at former club Porto meant much was promised upon his appointment, and the Abchurch team was looking forward to seeing a ‘new look’ youthful Chelsea take on the best football league in the world. The season began well with Chelsea quietly going about their business; which was illustrated by their 2-1 victory very early on in the campaign against West Brom which Jamie and Quincy attended. Chelsea were in good form and if it was not for the form of the Manchester clubs and Tottenham Hotspur’s breathtaking performances at the start of the campaign the media would have certainly made more of Chelsea’s calm but consistent start.

As with any club with high expectations and ambition, Chelsea’s campaign was not solely focussed on the English Premier League (“EPL”) but also the European Champions League (“CL”) - the only major club honour which eluded Roman Abramovich; yet the one he yearned for the most. This campaign, like the EPL, started off extremely well for Chelsea. The competition saw many debutants, such as the young Daniel Sturridge who was seemingly carrying AVB’s team at the time, but the most notable was Julian Bosdet (“Bozzy”), Abchurch CEO who would experience his fair share of nail biting evenings.

October saw the first change in AVB and The Blue’s fortunes. A three match losing run including defeats to bitter local rivals, QPR and a 5-3 home defeat to Arsenal, attended by Mark, Jamie, a personal finance reporter for the Daily Telegraph and an Abchurch client provided the press ammunition to question AVB’s credentials as Chelsea manager. Club captain John Terry being accused of racism capped off a miserable month for AVB. November and December were equally unkind to Chelsea who lost back to back home games to rivals Liverpool including a 2-1 home defeat; attended by Abchurch’s resident Scouser, Mark who was entertaining guests from houses SVS Securities and Westhouse Securities.

By the turn of the year it was safe to say that AVB was on borrowed time, as the ambitious but naïve manager had alienated the more senior players of his squad who can always come in handy for a team fighting in all fronts. A public outburst from Frank Lampard in January confirmed what everyone already ‘knew’ – that AVB was losing his grip on Chelsea football club. Whilst it was all doom and gloom at Stamford Bridge, the Abchaps continued to entertain guests. A stand out match fell right at the beginning of February where AVB’s men squandered a 3-0 lead at home to defending champions Manchester United. Abchurch’s Olly B was in attendance for this memorable United comeback with guests from Liberum Capital, Cobbetts and Grant Thornton.

AVB’s Chelsea tenure did not last for much longer and after a 3-1 humiliation at the hands of Napoli in the Champions League. He was duly sacked. Chelsea legend Roberto di Matteo (“RDM”) was swiftly appointed interim manager. RDM’s tenure began fantastically and he (with the help of John Terry on the touchline) masterminded a dramatic comeback against Napoli in the second leg of the Champions League knock out; witnessed by Bozzy and guests from finnCap.
RDM quickly installed faith back into The Old Guard of Stamford Bridge, and messrs Lampard, Cole and Drogba were back doing what they did so well for previous managers Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. Bozzy, with a new penchant for Champions League evenings at the Bridge, entertained old friends from Cenkos, Dorsey & Whitney and Baker Tilly for the 2-1 home leg victory against Benfica.

In the knowledge that Chelsea simply faced too much competition from a resurgent Arsenal, a stuttering Tottenham and a rampant Newcastle to finish in the coveted top four, RDM focused Chelsea’s attentions on the remaining cup competitions. This change in policy would prove to be the best decision ever made in Chelsea’s history.

Playing Chelsea’s Old Guard means installing their traditional philosophy of playing cautious counter attacking football and relying on the ever dominant presence of Didier Drogba in attack. This tactic was demonstrated by their 1-0 home defeat of Barcelona, also attended by Bozzy with a Sunday Times journalist and an Abchurch client, and again Didier Drogba the Chelsea scorer in big games. Subsequently, aided by the utterly unthinkable, the world’s greatest player Lionel Messi missed a penalty, leading Chelsea to defeat Barcelona on aggregate at the Nou Camp – the Blues were in the Champions League and FA Cup finals.

Abchurch’s attendance continued to the bitter end, with Quincy returning to Wembley where only a couple of weeks before saw his beloved Tottenham Hotspur comprehensively beaten 5-1 in the semi final owing to a horrific referring decision and yet another Didier Drogba master-class. Quincy and Ashleigh saw the 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Wembley with guests from Canaccord Genuity. Chelsea were FA Cup winners, RDM had delivered silverware, and Abchurch was there to see it.
Oli, accompanied by an Independent journalist and an Abchurch client, saw one of the goals of the season scored by Papis Cisse for Newcastle during Chelsea’s penultimate game. A game which finished as 2-0 defeat, and showed the world that RDM had one thing and one thing only on his mind, and that was the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in Munich!

What would happen to the team who finished sixth in the Premier League and had always come so close yet so far to winning Europe’s elite club competition? Would the old guard finally win the one trophy that had so far so brutally eluded them? Would RDM play the same tactics that had proved so fruitful in the other knock-out rounds? Would Ashley Cole make goal line clearance after goal line clearance? Would Didier Drogba bully yet another European defence on the largest stage of them all? Would Chelsea qualify for next year’s competition?

The answers to the above questions are all yes, as Didier Drogba slotted the winning penalty to make Chelsea European Champions with a 4-3 victory on penalties.

In a season which started out so haphazardly, Chelsea who until mid way through did not have a prayer from anywhere, anyone or anything, boasted arguably their finest campaign yet.

As we enter another close season, with RDM not even sure if he has a job with Chelsea at the end of the summer, Abchurch must thank the Chelsea team for providing one of the most dramatic and exciting campaigns in football history. For our and our guest’s sake, please keep the drama and excitement up.



Jamie Hooper


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King Pin 2012

Following on from the success of last year’s event, Abchurch was delighted to again receive an invite from Dorsey & Whitney LLP, to attend the 2012 King Pin Tournament. The Abchurch team, consisting of Adam, Mark, Quincy, Jo, Olly B and Oli H, were one of eight companies competing for this year’s trophy.

Considering the Abchurch team had enjoyed a sneaky practice session a couple of days before the event (where Mark had manage to produce a ‘Turkey’ for those in the know with the bowling lingo), the Abchurch team’s collective performance was somewhat of a disappointment. Having headed into the evening in buoyant spirit, the phrase ‘gutter ball’ was repeatedly heckled behind the Abchurch team’s lane and was fair testament to the bowling on show.

BDO LLP came away eventual winners having fielded what can only be fairly described as five potential hopefuls for the Great Britain 2012 bowling team. Aside from the action on the lanes, Roger Gregory and his colleagues again hosted a fantastic evening’s entertainment, allowing everyone to catch up with friendly faces and some new contacts.

Special thanks must again go to the Dorsey & Whitney team for inviting us to attend. We look forward to returning the favour at our Future Faces event on April 19th!


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Future Faces – Bring on the summer

Future Faces on a Friday – now that is a great way to celebrate the end of another productive week in the City. The sun even poked its head out around midday, making the spectacular views from the office even more dazzling and setting the mood for the afternoon.

After the success of our last Future Faces party, The Robbie Boyd Band was back, entertaining guests with their Funky Folk sound and setting a really relaxed and informal tone to the afternoon. The party saw a mixture of the City’s up and coming analysts, brokers, and fund managers, mingling over canapés, while sipping Corona and chilled wine. For the more sensible and restrained of us there was a choice of summery, organic sparkling juices.

The turnout was great and the market banter gave all of us reason to think (and hope!) that maybe there are a few more deals out there, a pleasant change from most Julys when things in the City are starting to wind down for the summer. Quincy was MIA for this event, helping his family move house in Nigeria. His loud personality (and even louder voice) was missed but it was exciting to meet a lot of new faces who had not attended one of our events before and in return they got to meet the newest Abchaps, Jamie and myself. All in all it was a fantastic opportunity to get to know lots of new names and companies.

As Abchurch’s most recent graduate recruit, I was thoroughly impressed with the afternoon; as a newcomer to the City – it was a great way to get a better understanding of how things work and where everyone fits, in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

Olly B


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The Life Sciences Party

Date:
29th June 2011

Location:
The Abchurch Offices; 125 Old Broad Street

Attended by:
A selection of the life science City Financiers in London, a selection of the VC community and a contingent of the life science media, together with a number of young and exciting companies.

The Event:
With the Abchurch Life Sciences Team growing from strength to strength it only seemed appropriate to open our doors to the Life Science community for an evening of champagne and canapés, and give the newest member of our team, Jamie Hooper, the opportunity to meet and mingle with others in the industry.

In our series of themed events, this was our first Life Science party and it must go down as another great Abchurch success. We had a fantastic turnout of guests, all with a keen interest in the sector, either as analysts, journalists, corporate financiers or company Board members. We were delighted to have Nigel Brooksby, former Chairman of Sanofi-Aventis and current Chairman of the UK Life Sciences Council, give a short talk to kick start the evening, giving guests plenty of food for thought. One interesting, though controversial, point Nigel raised was that biotech “thinks pharma is slow and bureaucratic”, while Pharma “thinks they already know everything”. Quite how this will be addressed as Pharma and biotech need to work more closely in the future is still to find out. He was certainly opinionated – as an experienced industry specialist should be – and a great champion of UK biotech.

Abchurch’s Creative team rose to the occasion and the inspirational ideas really added that touch of genius to the evening. With waiters wearing purple Abchurch branded scrubs and a menu including gazpacho served in brightly coloured test tubes, seared beef in kidney trays, health and science was most definitely the theme. My personal favourite, the crème de la crème of the evening was a selection of jellies served for desert imaginatively presented in Petri dishes. With raspberry & rose, elderflower & gooseberry and lime & lemongrass flavours, exactly what they were supposed to look like, we won’t mention here – suffice to say they were realistic!

Many commented that it was refreshingly different to other events they had attended and it made for a thoroughly enjoyable and useful networking evening. I am looking forward to what creative surprises we can expect with a Green Gathering on the cards for October. The bar has certainly been raised.

Rebecca

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Future Faces - Easter Bunnies

The first Future Faces of 2011 was also my first introduction to an Abchurch event, which had an impressive turnout of over 100 guests, specifically 100 of the City’s future faces. Many junior analysts, brokers and fund managers joined us, along with a healthy spattering of journalists!

Feedback on the day indicated it was another resounding success, with conversation and laughter flowing well into the afternoon.

What made this particular event unique was the addition of live music, supplied by The Robbie Boyd Band, an eclectic mix of talented musicians with a uniquely “Funky Folk” sound. It set the fun and informal atmosphere in the room as guests were treated to delicious canapés, Champagne, Corona and a range of organic sparkling juices.

Being my first event of this nature it was slightly daunting meeting so many new faces from different industries but you suddenly realise that there are others in the same position, with the biggest turn out to date and lots of new faces everyone was in the same position. Personally I met some really interesting people and had some fascinating conversations and it was particularly inspiring to hear so many compliments about the Abchurch Team and how much people have enjoyed previous events organised by them.

As an intern this is really exciting to hear and I must say the event was really impressive, not only in turnout but in the attention to detail that could be seen throughout. From the colour co-ordination of the bright purple Easter eggs, to the waiters always on hand to top up your glass and a menu that was topped off with sorbet and miniature Lindt Chocolate bunnies, the choice of catering, music and company were a great combination and it certainly exceeded my expectations. Gladly the length of my internship means I will be attending the next one of these awesome quarterly events!…..

Rebecca

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Out and about in March

The end of March has brought with it an exciting diary of events and networking for the Abchurch Team. This week started with Mark heading down for a day at The Cheltenham Gold Cup, as a guest of finnCap. A great day promised with the weather clear and bright although ultimately there were more losers than winners as the group headed back to London that evening. As well as keeping up with a number of contacts in corporate finance and broking, Mark was introduced to the finnCap sales team and their respective clients.

This was followed by the Merchant Securities Spring Party on the evening of 24th March, attended by Julian. It was held at Paternoster Chophouse, located by St Paul’s Cathedral. Paternoster specialises in traditional British cuisine and the menu for the evening was aptly named ‘A taste of Britain.’ The turnout was fantastic and included brokers, analysts and other City advisers. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening filled with good company, fine wine and delicious food, a big Thank you to Merchant Securities for inviting us along.

At the same time as the Merchant Securities Spring Party, four of the Abchaps headed to the Nabarro Corporate Associate Drinks at Beduin Bar in Central London for an informal and relaxed evening with the Nabarro team. It was a chance to meet some new faces and network with a range of financial advisers based in the City over a much deserved glass of wine.


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King Pin 2011

The Abchurch Team joined forces last night to take part in King Pin 2011, the 10 Pin Bowling tournament, organised by Roger Gregory of global full-service lawyers Dorsey &Whitney LLP. A total of six teams from a wide range of business backgrounds gathered together to take on the challenge and compete for the title of King Pin 2011.


The Abchurch team comprised of Julian, Mark, Tania, Claire, Oliver, Joanne, Simone, and Adam and a sterling effort was made by all. New Abchap Adam was by far the star of the Abchurch team with smooth moves on the bowling alley but it was most definitely a team effort. Within some fantastic moments of true sporting talent and the bad bowling displays providing classic entertainment for everyone involved.
The highlight of the evening was Team Abchurch finishing in the top three, although perhaps the greatest disappointment was that we lost out on second place (and therefore being entered into the final Champion’s play off) by just a single point!

The King Pin 2011 title was awarded to a team fielded by Evolution Securities who definitely deserved their title!

A huge thank you to Roger Gregory and to Dorsey and Whitney for organising the event and for inviting us along to take part. We’re looking forward to returning the favour and seeing some of the team at our next Future Faces party!

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Rosenblatt’s New Energy Awards 2011

On the 24th February, Abchurch hosted a table at the New Energy Awards 2011 where Acta, an Abchurch client was nominated for the ‘Company of the Year’ award.

These days, the awards are THE place to be seen for the great and the good of the cleantech world with well over 700 people attending. About four years ago, they were held in a hotel with approximately 300 people. The ceremony is now held in the Natural History Museum, with tables based around the iconic skeleton of the Diplodocus.

However, the highlight of the evening was a talk by Henry Worsley who led the Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition to the South Pole last year. The images of the Southern Polar cap and changing landscapes bought home the important role the cleantech sector has in preserving places such as this. Henry showed fascinating pictures of the Shackleton expedition 100 years ago which included taking a car as well as horses along for the ride! The horses did prove useful of course, but the car did not last very long in sub zero degrees.

Unfortunately Acta did not win but there is always next year when I am sure the awards would have grown even larger, reflecting the increasing size and spread of the cleantech sector. The winners also gave a hint as to which technologies to keep an eye on over the coming year and they ranged from wave power to smart meters. The latter is a sure reality for everyone because the Government aims to have every home in the UK equipped with one by 2020.

For more information on the winners, please click on this link:

http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/businessxl-events/rosenblatt-new-energy-awards-2011/2011-shortlist-and-winners/

Ashleigh


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Industrials and Extractive Industries party

Last night Abchurch held the third in a series of sector specific parties.

The evening’s focus on Industrials and Extractive industries followed the success of our Green event and Financial Services gathering earlier this year. The turnout was excellent and our guests ranged from big hitters in media and law to clients, corporate finance, analysts and brokers. The Rt Hon David Mellor gave an excellent keynote speech nodding to Labour’s new leader and how the UK economy is in for a tough ride over the next couple of years, although his turn of phrase and brilliant sense of humour left our guests with a smile. Thanks to all those who came along last night, it provided good networking opportunities and was lots of fun. We’ve already started planning the next one!

Follow us on Twitter @AbchurchComms. If any of our guests are tweeters, we’d love to hear your thoughts on last night’s event. Please tag your tweets #Abchurchparty.

Abchurch leads the environmental charge!

The Abchaps were delighted that our first sector event in our new offices, on the theme of the environmental economy, was a roaring success.

Aided by English bubbles and locally-sourced canapés, the evening saw a sprinkle of invaluable insights, a dose of breaking news, the birth of strategic partnerships and a large measure of general joviality.

Abchurch’s 85 guests, from cleantech companies, media, regulatory, NGO and city advisory backgrounds, arrived from 6pm and immediately began making the most of the high-level networking opportunities available. After supplying the crowd with top-quality British food and drink, Julian Bosdet, the CEO of Abchurch Communications, opened the event with a welcoming message and introduced the high profile speakers to the gathering.

Jock Whittlesey, Environment Counselor to the U.S. Embassy, kicked off the session with his thought-provoking comments on the role of the US in promoting the clean technology cause and the strength and continuing importance of the “special relationship”.

The baton was picked up by Stephen Hammond, the Shadow Transport Minister and Wimbledon MP, who spoke about the Conservative belief in the crucial importance of public transport in helping the UK to lead the environmental revolution. He also highlighted Tory ambitions to facilitate the progression of technology in the UK.

Following on from these influential figures, Claire Dorrian of the London Stock Exchange aptly pointed out that she was in fact returning to her old office! Her invaluable insights both reflected on the impact of the Obama regime and looked forward to what the future may hold in the UK, including the importance of fiscal incentives for companies to reduce their environmental impact.

Tamsin Omond, of Climate Rush, completed the speeches with an impassioned plea for everyone to work together towards finding solutions.After requesting everyone’s business cards, she broke the news to the gathering that she would be running as a Member of Parliament this year. You heard it here first! Tamsin has subsequently revealed the mystery constituency as Hampstead & Kilburn, which she will transform into an “eco-haven”!

Abchurch continues to promote the clean technology revolution by bringing people and business together. The green team at Abchurch would like to thank all who attended and hope that you all gained something from the evening, even if it was a growing appreciation for fine English wines!

Hannah

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