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The Dealmaker Uncut
The Dealmaker Uncut episodes
- Episode 25: Tom Staff: Building a £200m PropTech with my sister
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, as they sit down with Tom Staff, co-founder of Street Group.
In this episode, Tom Staff discusses:
- The reality of founding a business with your sister
- How the fast-growing PropTech now serves more than 4,000 estate and letting agency branches
- The lessons bootstrapping teaches founders
- Hitting a £200m valuation following Hg’s investment
- Why the siblings are having way too much fun to exit
40 min - Episode 24: I sold out to Accenture - but my new business will be bigger
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, as they sit down with Mark Sweeny, CEO of de Novo Solutions.
In this episode, Mark Sweeny discusses:
- Dreaming of being a drummer in a rock brand
- Why selling Certus Solutions to Accenture was no fluke
- Why founders seeking investment need the ‘eye of the tiger’ to succeed
- The crucial role his wife Natalie played in founding de Novo Solutions in Wales
- Growing a business in Wales, US and India
- The rise of AI
38 min - Episode 23: Building a £1bn business from scratch
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, as they sit down with Mia Drennan, Founder & CEO of GLAS.
In this episode, Mia Drennan discusses:
- Growing GLAS from £6k loan to a £1bn+ business
- How her gender grounded her hopes of being a fighter pilot
- Working as a holiday rep in Corfu
- Exiting her first business Square Mile Connections
- How it took 400 meetings to secure her first deal for GLAS
- Expanding into 10 countries; 14 cities and 4 continents
- Securing c£1bn investment from Oakley Capital and La Caisse
- Being one of only a handful of female founders of a £1bn+ business
36 min - Episode 22: Why US AI Companies Scale Faster Than the UK
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, as they sit down with Steve Rigby, CEO of Rigby Group.
In this episode, Steve Rigby discusses:
- Life as an entrepreneur, business leader, investor and philanthropist
- His remarkable father Sir Peter Rigby
- Growing Rigby Group’s turnover from £1.5bn to £4bn
- Investing in disruptive AI firms
- How the US differs from the UK
- Getting growth back into the economy
- Importance of LinkedIn in leadership
39 min - Episode 21: I got my mojo back in my 50s
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, as they sit down with John Hughes, Chairman of Cortus Advisory Group and serial board member.
In this episode, John Hughes discusses:
- Rediscovering his mojo after a 29-year career at KPMG
- Turning around the fortunes of loss-making delivery giant Yodel
- Supporting ambitious companies like Modern Milkman
- The pain of electric cargo bike firm Zedify going into administration
- His role as Chairman of the ambitious Cortus Advisory Group
- Getting married again and having his daughter Harriet in his 50s
33 min - Episode 20: I swapped Olympic dream to launch tech firm
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, as they sit down with Tom Dunlop, Founder and CEO of Summize.
In this episode, Tom Dunlop discusses:
- Turning his back on Olympic dream to launch Summize
- Lessons learned from 150+ investor pitches
- Growing ARR to 8 figures
- Raising $50m
- How to crack American market and
- Staying true to yourself
38 min - Episode 19: The hard truth about women in deal-making
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, as they sit down with Ruth Percival, Founder and CEO of Contollo Group.
In this episode, Ruth Percival discusses:
- Dealing with misogynism
- Why women have to work harder than their male counterparts
- Making 5 acquisitions and growing to £35m turnover in less than two years
- Building the right culture
- No dickheads rule
- Finding the right private equity partner
- Being married to Jonathan Boyers
36 min - Episode 18: Massive Attack helped me build a multi-million pound business
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, as they sit down with Fernando Kufer, CEO of Emmy award-winning visual experiences giant Disguise.
In this episode, Fernando Kufer discusses:
- How watching Massive Attack at Glastonbury in 2014 changed his life
Speaking 7 different languages
Tripling the size of Disguise
Surviving and then thriving after Covid
Winning two Emmy Awards
Finding the right private equity partner
Using tech to make Oasis, Bono and Beyonce immersive
29 min - Episode 17: Dealmaking for the Future Generation – Inside Empower Youth Zones
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, as he sits down with Adam Farricker, CEO of Empower Youth Zones, the charity behind Hideout Youth Zone in Manchester and Salford Youth Zone.
In this episode, Adam Farricker discusses:
- Growing up in one of Manchester’s most deprived neighbourhoods and how youth work changed the course of his life;
- The collapse of traditional youth services across the UK and the safeguarding challenges that created;
- How state-of-the-art Youth Zones provide safe spaces, hot meals, and life-changing opportunities for thousands of young people;
- The story behind philanthropist Fred Done’s involvement and the dealmaking required to fund and build Youth Zones;
- Partnering with local authorities and the private sector to create sustainable, long-term youth provision;
- The scale of impact so far, including thousands of members and tens of thousands of hot meals served; and
- Why backing Youth Zones isn’t just morally right, but a smart business decision for companies investing in future talent and their local communities.
35 min - Episode 16: Meet the King of Fudge Cakes who became a Deal Machine
Join Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and Christopher Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, sit down with the King of Fudge Cakes himself, Chris Ormrod, CEO of Cakesmiths, the entrepreneur who turned Ministry of Cake into a private equity success story… not once, but twice.
Episode summary
- Building, selling, re-acquiring and selling again the same cake business, turning Ministry of Cake into a private equity success story;
- Buying and selling six businesses;
- Learning people skills from Sir Richard Branson;
- Selling his house to become a first-time entrepreneur at 40;
- Importance of having no Plan B;
- Identifying your buyer on day one;
- Appointing yourself Prime Minister; and
- Working with private equity successfully.
45 min
About The Dealmaker Uncut
From the publisher's feed
The Dealmaker Uncut podcast gets inside the heart of the deal.
In every episode, award-winning dealmaker Jonathan Boyers, Head of Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance, and journalist Chris Maguire, Executive Editor of BusinessCloud, are joined by a special guest from the world of business.
The podcast discusses everything from growth; investment; M&A; surviving a crisis; becoming a unicorn; international markets; leadership; life after exit; and a lot more beside.
In the second half of the show, Jonathan leans on his 30+ years of working in corporate finance to answer your questions.