MELLO2018 INVEST IN GOOD COMPANY Contents 03 Introduction by David Stredder 04-10 Keynote Speakers and Panelists 11 List of Exhibitors 13-26 Company profiles 28-29 Investor Awards 32-33 Notes 34 Map of Derby Conference Centre 2 Welcome to Mello 2018 This is now the fourth large scale investor event under the Mello name and the fifth one is only two months away. The whole investment community appears to value these multi networking events and they bring serious long-term investors and quality growth companies under one roof in the most efficient way possible. MELLO2018 I have been investing for nearly four decades now and the landscape has changed dramatically from newspaper columns INVEST IN GOOD and teletext share prices all the way through to the superb COMPANY resources we have at our disposal today… not least many of the data providers here at Mello 2018. However, I have always maintained that meeting management and ‘looking under the bonnet’ and ‘kicking the tyres’ of each company in which you see potential is vitally important. The City and Institutional holders always appear to have access investors and is actually created and run by investors. We like to to directors whenever they required and certainly received results think we know what you want and Mello 2018 will certainly be presentations whereas to smaller individual investors, vital for the test of that. liquidity in stocks below the FTSE 350, never seemed to get the same privilege. I wanted to change the way of convention so the The Mello team have certainly added a few new sessions and AGMs were not seen as our one and only hour to question the new ideas but essentially, we have just tried to make it a little management of the companies we actually owned. larger, a little bit more easy to access every company and a wider selection of quality presentations not to mention Keynote In 2006, I decided that with a strong group of individual investors Speakers who are always the best in the sectors they operate in. it might be easier to show that a meeting with an organised This year we have the best fund managers over one year, three gathering of investors was a more efficient use of directors and year and five year periods. We cannot deliver better then that! managers time. It developed further into regular monthly Mello Monday investor dinners and company presentations. They As ever all my hardworking team at Mello (Georgina, Richard, are still held every month in Beckenham where they started Anne, George, Mark, Reuben and Scott) really hope that this will and attract up to 80 regular dinner guest investors on the third be a successful and enjoyable two days for everyone involved. Monday every month except August. Your comments and appreciation will help us to decide how we improve further and we certainly look forward to seeing you all Over the past 20 years I have also attended one day investor again, hopefully on a long day of summer sunshine in Hever on shows and they are usually run by events and promotion Thursday 14th June 2018. companies who, as commercial organisations, are attracted to the speculative story stocks usually searching for minerals Enjoy it all, but most importantly, ‘Invest in Good Company’. and resources in far flung territories! My investor contacts all preferred less speculation and more security, often in dividend paying companies, so we were not served well by these events. Best wishes So Mello 2014 was the forerunner for the UKs Premier event for David Stredder 3 MELLO2018 Keynote Speakers and Panelists Gervais Williams Judith MacKenzie Peter Pereira Gray Gervais Williams joined Miton Group Judith is a Partner of Downing LLP, an Managing Partner and Chief Executive plc in 2011. He manages a number investor in UK Smaller Companies. Officer of the Investment Division of of funds and trusts that aggregate Judith has been investing and involved the Wellcome Trust, the London based to over £1.5bn. He is also Senior in Small Cap for over 20 years, global charitable foundation. Executive Director at Miton Group plc. having been a Co-Fund Manager of the Peter joined the Wellcome Trust in His fund management career extends Aberdeen Asset Growth Capital January 2001 and overseas a small team over 30 years including 17 years at Venture Capital Trusts and Partner at managing Wellcome’s £23 billion multi- Gartmore Group Ltd, where he was Acuity Capital, the buy-out of asset, global investment portfolio. head of UK Small Companies investing Small Company Funds from Electra Wellcome’s long term investment track in UK smaller companies and Irish Partners. Judith is Head of Public record, at almost 14% per annum is equities. Gervais is a member of the Equities, and is Manager of the flagship the envy of most institutional investors. AIM Advisory Council, chairman of and award winning Micro-cap Wellcome recently launched a Century the Quoted Companies Alliance and fund, MI Downing Micro Cap Growth, Bond to further support their mission. a board member of The Investment and the Downing Strategic Micro Cap In addition, Peter is Chair of both the Association. He is also on the EU Investment Trust. The philosophy that farming and land management business, Taskforce reviewing why the number of Judith applies to investment in UK FarmCare Ltd, Premier Marinas Ltd, the smaller IPOs has declined over recent micro cap investments is conviction leading South Coast Marina operator. decades. Gervais Williams published led, bottom up and more akin to a Peter is also a Main Board Director of his first book ‘Slow Finance’ in the private equity investment process than the iQ Group, a joint venture between autumn of 2011, and his second book traditional fund management. Wellcome and Goldman Sachs. With ‘The Future is Small’ was published over 27,000 beds, it is one of the largest in November 2014. His most recent privately held student housing portfolios book ‘The Retreat of Globalisation’ was in the UK. published in December 2016. Gervais In a private capacity Peter is a member was awarded Fund Manager of the of the management team of HRobotics Year 2014 by What Investment. Ltd, the innovative UAV and data management company and is Chair of XPG Estates, a small south London based residential developer. 4 Victoria Stevens, CFA Graham Neary Lord John Lee Victoria Stevens, CFA, joined Liontrust Graham Neary is a full-time investor John Lee was born in 1942 and in June 2015 as a partner and fund and independent analyst. He spent educated at William Hulme’s Grammar manager. She is a member of the seven years in the financial markets School in Manchester. He entered the Economic Advantage investment team in London both as an analyst and House of Lords in 2006 and sits on the alongside Anthony Cross, Julian Fosh as equity portfolio manager for Liberal Democrat benches. He is Chair and Matthew Tonge, co-managing an international financial services of the All-Party Parliamentary Tourism the Liontrust UK Smaller Companies organisation. Afterwards, he spent a Group. Lord Lee is a company director, Fund and Liontrust UK Micro Cap year studying Mandarin in Northeast investor and financial journalist. He is Fund. Victoria previously worked at the China before returning and joining the the Chairman of Wellington Market growth company specialist broking team with Paul Scott at Stockopedia. Plc and a non-executive Director of and advisory firm finnCap Ltd, latterly He is a CFA charterholder, also Emerson Developments (Holdings). as deputy head of corporate broking. holding the Investment Management Prior to that, she worked as a senior Certificate and the STA Diploma in reporter and diary editor at the financial Technical Analysis. He graduated in newspaper City AM, having studied mathematics from Trinity College, Modern Languages at the University of Dublin. Oxford. 5 MELLO2018 Keynote Speakers and Panelists Ken Wotton Leon Boros Paul Scott Ken Wotton joined Livingbridge in Leon Boros is a Chartered After training as an accountant, Paul 2007 as a quoted fund manager. He Accountant who trained with Ernst & ran the finances of a retail chain for 8 is the Lead Fund Manager for the Young and is a founding director of years, leaving in 2002 to become a quoted company investment activity. Equity Strategies, a deal origination professional small caps investor. Ken joined from Evolution Securities corporate finance firm. He is an Paul writes (with Graham Neary) the where he spent two years in equity active private investor and is an ISA “Small Cap Value Report” on research specialising in small cap multi millionaire. He has achieved an Stockopedia.com, which is popular telecoms and technology stocks and annualised return on his investments with both private investors and city AIM market fundraisings. Prior to of 18.5% p.a. over 25 years. His professionals. that, he spent five years in the equity investing style has a particular research department of Commerzbank emphasis on companies generating Securities where he focused on the high profit margins, strong cashflow pan-European telecoms sector. Ken and high returns on tangible assets. qualified as an ACA with KPMG in London. 6 Lucy Tarleton Phil Oakley Edward Page Croft, CFA Lucy leads the IPO Origination and Phil Oakley was a professional share Edward Page Croft, CFA, is the CEO business development of capital analyst for 13 years working for leading & founder of Stockopedia.com - the markets opportunities for PwC in the City institutions. He left the City to award-winning stock selection & UK, supporting companies as they educate private investors and spent 3 portfolio analysis platform for individual navigate the IPO process and bringing years as senior investment writer for investors.