ONSIDE / GUEST COMMENT
The return of public markets
A number of high profile flotations of well-known businesses in the North is a cause
for celebration, says Chris Barry editor of TheBusinessDesk.com in the North West
T
he path to the City of London
seems to be paved in gold for
North West companies at the
moment as the public markets have
suddenly woken up to the potential
of investing in growth businesses in
the regions.
Private equity or trade deals have
been the only option for years, but
since the successful IPO of Bargain
Booze - sorry its more palatable
corporate name Conviviality Retail
- there have been a stream of other
retailers - AO, Pets at Home, Boohoo
and also B&M Bargains - heading to
the City.
This is good news for the North of
England, and not just the corporate
finance community, toasting juicy fees
and anticipating stonking bonuses.
With some individuals making
eye-watering sums of money, it's
been heartening to learn - indirectly I
hasten to add - of some astonishingly
generous donations to local charities.
One of the early backers of Boltonbased AO - the retailer which sells
washing machines and fridges via the
internet - is I understand donating
well over £10m to good causes in the
Manchester area.
For this reason alone the gold rush
is to be welcomed.
It will be interesting to see how long
the 'IPO window' will last though.
If experience of the last dot-com era
is true - remember the heady days
of lastminute.com and it's uber racy
£500m valuation in 2000 - then this
will be at the first sign of bad news.
Like a thoroughbred race horse
the financial markets are nervous and
temperamental, and while able to
generate winning returns for investors,
can, as we all know, also be prone
to fall.
Silicon Valley wisdom
Onside editor Michael Taylor took a trip to California and found a business culture that embodies
a lot of the characteristics of Seneca. Here are his seven pillars of Silicon Valley wisdom
Network – the wise guy knows
everything, the shrewd one knows
everyone. Take soundings from
outside your comfort zone.
Risk – an inherent feature of
entrepreneurial cultures is an embrace
of risk. Better to have a go than do
nothing.
Innovate – embed innovation into
every area of business.
Obsession – Drive an idea with a
passion. The intensity of desire is
feverish.
Iterate – bold change is vital – grow
the successive market opportunity for
the long term.
Culture – internal cultures require high
standards. Hire the very best people.
Just do it – simply get on with it.
Enough reading – act now!
Michael Taylor is a business writer and
events host.