We operate in quite a sexy niche in life sciences and there was a huge appetite from both UK and international PE as well as trade. We appointed some pretty heavy-hitting advisors to help us do it and that was a great call.
While it was hard work and a big distraction, it is probably the most exciting thing I’ve ever done. Was it easy? No. But we reaped the benefit of a very competitive process all the way through.
We found it relatively easy to find people who wanted the business, some fantastic people, and we had to say no to most of them.
We started with a team that knows what ‘big’ looks like and we all came from the industry.
We built a relationship with our main advisor. By the time we’d finished we had an almost telepathic bond.
One of the things we had to do before we even appointed them was to get real clarity on what every shareholder wanted going into the deal. We wanted that certainty.
Once we knew what everyone wanted we could stand in front of advisors and buyers and tell them with certainty what we wanted to achieve.
Going in with that clarity meant that we didn’t get any last-minute demands that were unreasonable. That was really important.
And we went out and spoke to a lot of people, counterparts in the industry that had completed a transaction. You should absolutely talk to people who have done it before.
Find 10 people, they are out there and they are usually willing to share, quietly and privately, their experiences. Listen to them.
Ben Davies, Marketing director Praetura Ventures
Praetura is a venture capital firm operating in the North West that invests in early-stage businesses.
Based in Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh, we are are a proudly northern VC. We merged with Par Equity earlier this year and that has created the fastest growing VC outside the south east of England.
We will provide investment from £200,000 up to £8m and we are a fairly high- support VC. We roll up our sleeves to help companies grow. There’s a healthy
PE community in this part of the world, but it isn’t especially noisy. It’s different for VCs because there are a lot of international players who are expanding at pace.
Looking at Lancashire, I’d say the trajectory is a positive one. You have incredibly progressive public sector programmes combined with some really decent success stories.
Of all the counties we work in, this is probably the most responsive to new initiatives. Projects like Fraser House, the digital and tech hub in Lancaster, are exceptional. Even places like Leeds, Liverpool or Birmingham would kill to have a Fraser House as a cornerstone location.
We have funded quite a few Lancashire businesses. The Modern Milkman has been named as one of the UK and Europe’s fastest growing companies and it started in Colne. We’ve worked really closely with founder Simon Mellin, helping him expand into the USA.
Lancashire is a place that sometimes sells itself short, considering the amount of talent that exists here and the knowledge assets. There are amazing advanced manufacturers and brilliant life-science businesses.
It is sometimes a narrative issue, as opposed to a talent issue, to be perfectly honest. There is also an element where VCs have not been seen as accessible in this part of the world for many years and that is something that has to change.
If you don’t have a decent angel network then businesses won’t get to our door. And if they don’t get to us, there is no hope of them securing PE. There is a funnel here and that needs to work.
We built a
relationship with our main advisor. By the time we’d finished we had an almost
telepathic bond
When we’re looking at a business, we’re looking at the people and asking, ‘are they resilient enough? Are they dogged enough? Do they know their market? Are they commercial? Are they customer obsessed in order to get to the next stage?’ Also, what have they done before?
We will back someone we believe can make a vision a reality. Get your narrative right. There is often a lack of urgency in the way people fundraise. We hate the idea of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). If you can say ‘this train is leaving and you are either on it or not’ it gets you to a decision much quicker.
Treat fundraising like a sales process. We see people who say they’ve spoken to 10 VCs. You haven’t started, come back to me when you’ve spoken to 200.
Treat if like a funnel, start with the ones you want the least and keep going towards the ones you want the most. You will polish yourself on the way through. If you’re fundraising start 12 months earlier than you think you need to get VC money.
Ian Liddle, Joint managing partner, Farleys
In October 2022, Farleys became part of Lawfront. Backed by private equity fund Blixt, it provides legal services to individuals and businesses through leading regional law firms. Farleys continues to operate under its own brand.
You either choose the PE route or you are chosen. There are lots of reasons why you might choose it, some businesses do because they are struggling with succession, others because they are looking for external investment.
We were not looking for private equity funding, we were doing really well. We were approached.
We’d had approaches before and weren’t really interested but Lawfront’s message was slightly different.
They said they were accountants, not lawyers, and didn’t know how to run a law firm. They were trying to build a group of firms, each with an individual identity.
We liked the fact they were not going to interfere. Obviously, the proof is in the pudding and three years into the journey they have been true to their word. They have supported us with a whole host of investments in systems, people and premises. Our experience has been wholly satisfactory.
Continued on Page 48 LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
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