Times Enterprise Network

Last night, we held a summer drinks reception at News UK to bring together some of the founders and leaders of the UK's top private companies. With the UK economy gaining momentum, it was the perfect time to get together and share the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. A massive thank you to Ashley Ramrachia, our guest speaker, who spoke so eloquently about what it was like being given enormous responsibility at his previous employer THG, and how he's applying what he's learned in his own start-up, Academy. Matthew Moulding saw "something in me when I was 23 that I could not see in myself,” Ash told the room. He went on to say that 100 THG staff members, mostly under 30 years old and all living in the north, became millionaires as a result of THG's success. “Something Matt doesn’t get enough credit for." We also heard from the excellent Smruti Sriram about the impact of The Wings of Hope children's charity. Thanks also to Fever-Tree, itself a British entrepreneurial success story, for once again providing the delicious cocktails, as well as DASH Water, for helping us all stay hydrated on a warm day. Too many to tag here but thank you all for joining us Janet Coyle CBE Olivia Ferdi, Daniel Khoury, Roni Savage, Isabel Malbois, Alana Macfarlane Kempner, Lisa Macfarlane, David Gordon, Christian Facey, Amman Ahmed, Oli Barrett, Rikos L., Aneisha Soobroyen, Reshmi Bennett, Rachel Watkyn OBE, Louise Hill, Sophie Milliken MBE, Kuntal Fisher, Katrina Hutchinson-O'Neill, Byron Dixon OBE, Lauren Murrell, Radha Vyas, Asif Ahmed, Lizzie Carter, Alex Wright.

Powerful writing from Helen Pattinson on post-exit life. We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic.

Two graduates of UCL have become multi-millionaires after the business they launched at the start of the Covid pandemic delivering office equipment to remote workers was acquired. Michael Ginzo and Sami Bouremoum who studied engineering and computer science, respectively, at the London university, sold their company, Hofy, to Deel, a San Francisco-based payroll and HR technology company with 4,000 employees. The terms of the deal for Hofy, which employs 120 people, are undisclosed but it is thought to have valued the business at about £100 million. Venture capital firms including Day One Ventures, 20VC and Kindred Capital VC had invested a combined $30.2 million and will also benefit from the sale.

The number of large companies prioritising #sustainability goals has fallen to its lowest level in four years, a study by NatWest Group has shown. Only 56% cited sustainability as a high priority this year - a record low. Some 36% of small and medium-sized enterprises rank sustainability as a top priority - significantly below the 44% seen at the start of 2020. The findings coincide with warnings from the independent Climate Change Committee that Britain will not reach its emissions reduction targets for 2030 unless much more action is taken by both the public and private sectors. https://lnkd.in/eVXCCGZs #netzero #greeneconomy #business #carbonreduction

Right jab or right job? Marnie S. talks to Amy Wilson-Watson about the highs and lows of winning #TheApprentice and its impact on her business, Bronx Boxing Club 🥊 www.bronxldn.com 🥊 https://lnkd.in/ekwbw4zh #entrepreneurs #publicity

We hear from #mentalhealth first-aiders at two small companies about the challenges of supporting colleagues. Charlotte Richmond, (pictured below) is head of employee engagement and wellbeing at Aiimi, a Milton Keynes-based technology company with more than 200 staff. She says “the majority of what I deal with is personal. It’s relationship breakdowns, financial worries, caring responsibilities, domestic abuse, violence — it’s horrific stuff”. Eliza Thomas, the mental health first aid lead at KOMPAN Global, a playground equipment suppliers, says she had found that “it can be a lot of pressure and upsetting” to hear colleagues’ concerns at times. In response the team established a confidential “buddy system” to ensure that first-aiders are supported. “It means if we need support or reassurance, we’ve got somebody that we know we can go to straight away.” https://lnkd.in/ebYrnjGK #HR #management #employeeengagement

Lots of positive comments from readers of The Times on our story about George Hughes-Davies, founder of Daily Dose Juice, a cold-pressed juice company that manufactures all of its products at a factory in Corby, Northamptonshire, using British produce. It's far from straightforward to manufacture in the UK - from borrowing the money to do it in the first place, to finding the skilled staff to operate the specialist machinery. It seems readers think it's worth the effort. A current customer wrote: "My husband and I love them ! Anything to support 'British made', and their 'Strawb' juice is to die for !" Another comment reads: "Impressive and inspirational story. I wish him the best of luck. Will be buying some in Waitrose or Gails when I see it next." 🍎🍐🥕🔥💪

Entrepreneur and investor Joanna Jensen has just taken the role of chair of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA). What's first on her to-do list? Shoring up the future of EIS and SEIS - the tax breaks that help encourage investors to back early-stage companies. Jensen knows better than many about the benefits of the scheme; she raised money through both EIS and SEIS when she was starting and growing Childs Farm Ltd, a children’s skincare brand formulated for sensitive skin that she sold to the consumer goods giant PZ Cussons for £36.8 million in May 2022. Since the deal, she’s become an investor herself, using EIS to back young, female-founded companies to the tune of £1.5 million so far. “I know how important it is and I’ll be damned if I’m going to see it disappear as a short-term tax cut. And if I can beat a drum that increases awareness I’m going to give it a damn good try because without people like me we lose things that matter," she said. 

Demand for Randox's services boomed during the pandemic, with the company processing 25 million Covid tests for the government in 2022. That same year it increased its staff from 1,400 to 3,400 and made a pre-tax profit of £465 million. But as demand for testing fell away, so too have its revenues, and Randox made a £40 million loss last year. Peter FitzGerald, the company's founder and owner, describes how the company has pivoted and what the impact has been on staff morale in this week's What I Learnt interview with Richard Tyler. 

When Beth Salem got in touch to say she was having issues finding a manufacturer to make her award-winning Goody Granola, we wanted to help. So on Monday we ran a feature on the challenges faced by small food companies as they scale up. It also included comment from Giles Brook, the seasoned food and drink exec, entrepreneur and investor, as well as some thoughts from the founder of one of his portfolio companies, Jac Chetland, co-founder of SURREAL. If you have any ideas of UK-based food manufacturers who may have capacity and are willing to work in smaller minimum order quantities, please do drop us a line and we will pass on your details to Beth 🙏