The Bottom Line

The business of film. Evan Davis follows the money trail from script to screen. With the help of a top independent film producer, a film distributor and the head of a top cinema chain, Evan discovers who takes the risks and who makes the money behind the scenes.

Guests

Alex Hamilton, Managing Director, Entertainment One UK

Elizabeth Karlsen, Producer and co-founder, Number9 Films

Tim Richards, CEO, Vue International.

It is not easy to teach new tricks to the business world's old dogs. The latest fashionable solution for big corporations slowed down by bureaucracy and traditional ways of thinking is to incubate tech start-ups. The idea is that the big corporation benefits from the creativity and "can do" attitude of the start-up. In return the start-up gets funding, professional advice and help navigating the corporate world to reach the top decision makers. The model is known as "corporate acceleration" and it is growing in popularity. Evan Davis hears how it works.

GUESTS:

Jess Williamson, Director, Techstars with Barclays FinTech Accelerator

David Fogel, Head of Accelerator & Deputy Director at Wayra UK

Emily Forbes, Founder, Seenit

Producer: Julie Ball.

Asset management - or asset stripping? This week Evan Davis asks when making a profit from running a business becomes simple plundering.

In business, things go wrong at the best of times ... mistakes are made, luck turns bad. But sometimes things can also go wrong not because of bad luck, but because someone makes money out of failure.

The "profit or plunder" question has been raised by events at BHS. It was struggling, facing intense competition in a tough retail environment. But the owner took quite a bit of money out of the company. And the staff pension fund went into deficit. Sir Phillip Green, who was then in charge, sold the business to an inexperienced former bankrupt who didn't make it work and it is now in administration.

This has made a lot of people angry - but aside from BHS, how do we distinguish between a case that is bad luck, a bad apple, or a system that is badly designed?

Joining Evan Davis in the Bottom Line studio this week are Bruce Davis of peer-to-peer lender Abundance, Breffni Walsh of Brands Are Best and Garry Wilson of private equity firm Endless LLP.

What does EU membership mean for UK business and how might that change if Britain votes to leave? Business leaders join Evan Davis to discuss how trade agreements and red tape can both help and hinder corporate success. What can Switzerland teach us about trading with Europe and beyond, despite being outside the EU?

Guests:

Jan Atteslander, EconomieSuisse

Julia Gash, CEO, Bidbi

Christopher Nieper, Managing Director, David Nieper

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO, Virgin Money

Jon Moynihan, Chairman, Ipex Capital

Producer: Sally Abrahams.

Whether it's creating Angry Birds, the best-selling mobile app, or developing the best-selling Alzheimer's drug or discovering one of the world's biggest oil fields in recent years, every company dreams of blockbuster success.

But what happens after you hit the jackpot? How do you sustain that level of success? And what's needed to adapt from small start-up to big business?

Evan Davis and guests share the secrets of success and explore their experiences of trying to maintain their market position.

Guests:

Kati Levoranta, CEO, Rovio Entertainment (creators of Angry Birds)

Dr David Jefferys, Global Senior Vice President, Eisai Pharmaceuticals

Jón Ferrier, CEO, Gulf Keystone Petroleum

Producer: Sally Abrahams.

Many senior executives now employ personal coaches to help them through their toughest business challenges. Coaches can provide confidential, independent support for senior managers who find life lonely at the top. But shouldn't the boss be capable of making decisions on his or her own? And are coaches sometimes the hidden power behind the senior executive throne?

Guests:

Gavin Patterson, CEO of BT Group

Melanie Richards, Vice Chairman and Partner of KPMG UK

Jonathan Bowman-Perks, Coach and Mentor

Producer: Ruth Edwards.