finance
And the winner is…
All the answers were fed into Grant Thornton’s financial model to generate the final result. There was a tie for third place between teams Good Evans Above and Comply or Die, with team Everest in second place. Team Up4It pipped them all, achieving an impressive value of almost £112 million. To the victors went the spoils – in this case bottles of champagne and boxes of chocolates.
If only the value of real-life business exits could be sorted out over an agreeable dinner and with a quick fire game of strategy and nerve.
The winning team Up4It (from left): Jonathan Chitty, Unipart Group; Mark Tracey, Tectona Partnership; Gamil Magal, Magal Engineering; Chris Mundy, partner, Grant Thornton; Caroline Benton, Unipart Group; Gary Connel, Fotech Solutions; Louise Evans, partner, Grant Thornton; and Andy Slater, Activate Learning.
Game set to take off
The showdown in Reading was the first public run-out for the Business Strategy Game after it had been tested. Paul Tillstone, corporate finance manager in the firm’s Thames Valley office and one of the game’s creators, was delighted with the positive response.
“There was lively debate at every table and people were really engaged. Although it is only a game, once they started playing our guests really bought into it – they wanted their company to succeed and they wanted to win,” he said.
“We don’t know of any similar game aimed at CEOs which is equity-value driven. We’re planning to digitise the game so that we can further develop the optionality and increase the information available to contestants, and we believe that it could have ongoing value as a training and team building tool.”
Thames Valley corporate finance partner Wendy Hart was also pleased with how well received the game has been. “So far, we have found the game to engage players with a huge range of experience, from private equity professionals and corporate finance specialists right through to our newest trainees,” she said.
“There is lots to take from the game in terms of learning and thinking, from the rudiments of commercial business valuations at one level to the nuances of timing and risk/reward at another.
“We hope to use the game to help our teams and our clients think a bit differently about strategic decision making as well, of course, to demonstrate our depth of experience in supporting them in maximising and realising the value in their businesses.”
Positive feedback
“It was interesting getting feedback from people with different backgrounds and seeing our team dynamic evolve over the rounds as we listened more to each other.”
Andrew Carter, northern Europe sales manager, XP Power
“The scenarios felt real. It’s not just about making the right decisions, but also thinking about how you respond and adapt to whatever you decide.”
Tony Fossey, chief financial and operating officer, LMC group of companies
“I thought the game was very engaging, so that it is a great ‘shared experience’ and did help us to connect with each other.”
James Shand, director, vfdnet More information
More information about the Business Strategy Game is available from Sarah-Beth Hutchins:
sarah-beth.hutchins@
uk.gt.com
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – MARCH/APRIL 2018
businessmag.co.uk
51
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