Ready for Business: a Year in Review
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Many growing companies say they want a different kind of investor. Someone to help them scale, without taking control. To challenge them, without driving them too hard, too fast. To treat them with the honesty, respect and empathy they deserve. That’s why we exist. READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW 04 Our year in Contents review 20 Our approach 28 Our people and partners 40 Our portfolio 4 5 READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW Our year in review 6 7 READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW Forging Sir Nigel Rudd ahead Chair, BGF These are interesting times to be running with two caveats. The first is that you have in uncertain a business. We’ve experienced widespread to have shareholders who are supportive and uncertainty since the EU referendum, but understand that this is a short-term issue despite the swiftly changing landscape, many and the business is great. And secondly, companies are still going for growth. We’ve you have to have a balance sheet that is not continued to invest in brilliant entrepreneurs this overloaded with debt. year – all with the ambition to forge ahead. times This is where BGF comes in – a supportive Whatever the challenge faced by our shareholder that backs companies it believes portfolio of companies and others like them, in over the long term, and is prepared to put our promise to them remains the same as we more money where and when it is needed. look to the year ahead. We’re ready for business. BGF is not a leveraged fund, so it can take a If there are innovative businesses with strong very long-term view on investment. leadership teams and lots of potential, then we will continue to invest. It is important that Our confidence comes from many things. we do so. We have the capital, the capabilities, network and infrastructure to power growth across When I was running my business it was the country. We have an unwavering belief always key to have access to funds or the in business and a mission to help ambitious ability to borrow when the market was companies to reach their potential. Companies down. Great fortunes are made in downturns, like Click Travel, Fluidic Analytics and Evoke, not when the market is riding high. We want which you’ll read about in this report. to make sure that companies have the reserves they need to make the most of the Our strength also comes from our team. opportunities in front of them. We have a dedicated, experienced and talented group of people pushing BGF and its portfolio I started my first business in 1982, when interest of businesses forward and I’d like to take this rates were sky high, as was inflation, and the opportunity to say thank you to each and exchange rate was terrible. But I managed to every one of them. I’d also like to thank our take on some strategically important assets at shareholders, whose confidence in us has that time. It was the basis for Williams, which enabled us to get to where we are today. went on to become one of the largest industrial holding companies in the UK. We look forward to yet another year, backing Britain and Ireland’s entrepreneurs. They are the In my experience, if you have a decent lifeblood of the economy and we’re proud to business you can get through a downturn support them on their growth journey. 8 9 READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW We’re ready for business, International outlook If there is a positive theme from Brexit, it’s not We have also had a good year in terms of anti-EU but rather pro rest of the world. We’ve realising some of the value in our investments. ready for growth, got to continue to work with and grow with For example, we exited from our minority the EU. But we also want to do more in the rest investment in Good Care Group in April 2019, of the world. We’ve helped to take the BGF when it was acquired by Sodexo following a idea outside of the UK. We started with Ireland significant period of growth. You can read about ready for the future in 2017, where we see the same long-term its impressive growth journey in these pages. prospects as the UK. Further afield, a parallel Canadian Business Growth Fund was set up in But we can’t become complacent and not Stephen Welton, founder and CEO, BGF 2018. We have worked closely with the team every investment will be a success. That’s the there and cemented our relationship with the nature of entrepreneurship. One big question first joint investment in August, £9.3m backing on my mind now is how the UK can provide for full service digital consultancy Appnovation, even more capital to support innovation and Running a business is often about answering happening in the world, but you can focus which has offices in Reading, UK and Vancouver, the growth economy? What we have achieved, a series of important questions. Here at BGF, on what you’re doing in your own business Canada. Looking ahead, we’re actively hoping along with our shareholders, is impressive. we have spent the past twelve months and plan accordingly. to replicate this success in Australia. With But we haven’t finished yet. If we are to truly answering a number of our own. The first globalisation in question, we need to limit the transform the prospects of the UK we need to question was whether there is demand for an As we’ve seen over the past twelve months, impact on growing companies. be even more ambitious and give the innovation investor in growing businesses. We asked this there are many entrepreneurs and business economy what it needs to flourish. back in 2011 when we set up BGF as the world leaders who embrace this attitude. For example, was emerging from a severe financial crash. we had our most active day in June 2019, In 2019, we reached a significant milestone committing £48m in 24 hours. that we believe answers that question once and for all – reaching the £2bn invested mark. Turning uncertainty into opportunity Does that mean the job is done? Not at all. Instead, it gives us a lot of confidence about Now, more than ever, businesses need a the future. We’ve proven demand by creating helping hand and an investment firm like BGF investment capacity across our regional is ideally placed to help companies navigate offices, delivered in a way that is proportionate, through much more uncertain times. It resonates patient and attractive to a wide range of with our own DNA. We were set up to deal ambitious entrepreneurs. We know there is with a similarly unsettled environment and we no substitute for being close to companies delivered. Now we’re getting into uncertain and part of the local community. We’re no times again. longer experimenting. BGF’s approach is working, with over 70% of our investment As we look ahead, there are real storm clouds going to companies outside of London and – trade wars between the US and China, Brexit the South East. and slowing economies across the major industrialised countries. The rapid change We’re ready for business towards a new technological and knowledge- led economy creates a requirement for different Another big question we have answered – skills and a different approach. From a BGF are we ready for business? Our £2bn milestone standpoint, rather than just navel-gazing, we would very much suggest that we are and this are working with individual companies and has been an important message from us to entrepreneurs in growth sectors to help them the market and to entrepreneurs who may be answer some of those questions. We’re also grappling with the same question. How do you doing this by embracing new industries – life get ready for business at a time like this, with sciences and advanced technology are just shifting political sands and economic flux? two areas we’re increasing our footprint in as we How do you bring clarity when there is so look for the next economic growth areas. much uncertainty? The answer is by forging And that’s before we fully explore the whole ahead and continuing to go for growth. green agenda. You can’t always make sense of what’s 10 11 READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW Investment summary Overall activity since 2011 £428m invested between 1st Oct 2018 - 30th Sept 2019 (follow-on and initial) £46m £69m £313m £2.1bn 296 570 Early-stage and Quoted Growth Invested Companies backed Number of investment ventures rounds including initial and follow-on 50 new companies backed between 1st Oct 2018 - 30th Sept 2019 £555m 66 Returns generated Exits 5 16 29 on exits Early-stage Quoted Growth and ventures Further highlights We generated an operating profit of £23m as of Dec 2018 We were named the most active investor in the world for growth and expansion, for the third year in a row* First investment company to win the Queen’s Award for Enterprise – Innovation We experienced our most active day ever for capital investment in June 2019, committing £48m in 24 hours 12 Source: Pitchbook 2019 Global League Tables 13 READY FOR BUSINESS - A YEAR IN REVIEW Backing ambition wherever we find it Portfolio companies BGF regional offices BGF Birmingham team in their new office, the iconic Lewis Building A local approach BGF is a local investor.