Adviser Hour Series 4 Episode 3 | The EIS 25th Anniversary Show

Lawrence Gosling is the host of the GrowthInvest Adviser Hour and the Editorial Director of Bonhill Group. He was previously the Group Editorial Director of Incisive Media and the founding editor of Investment Week.

Lawrence was also the launch editor of IFAonline, Mortgage Solutions, Cover and Bloomberg Money magazines, and one of the original judges for the Gold Standards. In 1994 he worked at Reuters, and prior to that he spent five years with Financial Times magazines, notably on Financial Adviser.

John co-founded Calculus Capital with Susan McDonald in 1999, creating an independent private equity firm focused on investing in smaller, proven companies. John has over 30 years’ experience in private equity, corporate finance, and operational management. During that time, he has invested in, advised on or negotiated more than 100 transactions and served on publicly quoted and private corporate boards. Before co-founding Calculus Capital, John served as an Executive Director of European Corporate Finance for UBS for nine years where he advised on M&A, IPOs, restructurings and recapitalisations, strategic alliances and private equity. Prior to this, John was Head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Philips and Drew. At the start of his career, John qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Peat Marwick (subsequently KPMG), where he then went on to be recruited as a founder member of Deloitte’s newly established consultancy practice in the Gulf Region and then Corporate Finance practice in London. John graduated from Oxford University with an MA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Jenny is CEO of the UK Business Angels Association, the trade body for angel and early stage investing, representing over 15,000 investors around the UK. Jenny has over 20 years’ experience of facilitating SMEs access to investment, both in the UK and internationally. She ran her own consultancy on access to finance for SMEs, including spending nine years based in Brussels, working closely with the EC. In 2009, Jenny co-founded Angel Capital Group which incorporates London Business Angels, one of the most established and active angel networks in the UK. Jenny is an angel investor and in her role at UKBAA she focuses on building the angel community around the UK, connecting investors to good deal flow and assisting entrepreneurs to attract investors. Jenny sits on the steering group for emerging technologies and innovations for Innovate UK and the advisory board for the London Co-Investment Fund. Jenny is an experienced speaker on angel investing and entrepreneurship both in the UK and internationally. She has an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Jenny was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to small businesses.

Paul is a Chartered Management Accountant and has experience of corporate management, turnarounds, business development and active share owner engagement. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Glasgow. Within Par Equity, Paul works closely with portfolio companies on a wide range of operational and growth challenges as well as being responsible for Par Equity's property funds.

Daniel is the Chief Executive of GrowthInvest. Prior to co-founding GrowthInvest, Daniel worked in finance for nearly 20 years, managing institutional and private funds focusing on equities and derivatives. Daniel managed the UK division of Van der Moolen Equities AG and more recently founded the equity derivatives boutique Ten Derivatives LLP. Daniel has been an angel investor for over ten years, he mentors growth businesses and sits on numerous panels assessing such businesses. He is passionate about increasing efficiency in the alternative investment sector. having witnessed first-hand the automation of Open Outcry traded products in the late 1990s.

Martin Sherwood has many years’ experience of small company fundraising and in particular the tax-efficient investment market, specialising in the Hospitality & Leisure Sectors. Martin is currently chairman of the four British Country Inns companies and of Halcyon Hotels and Resorts plc, which was a major investor in Luxury Family Hotels, which he helped launch 20 years ago. He was founder and head of Tax Efficient Solutions, first at Teather & Greenwood (1997-2004) and subsequently at Smith & Williamson (2004-2010), which he left to found Enterprise. Martin has been closely involved in both Venture Capital Trusts and Enterprise Investment Schemes since their inception, and is a founder director of the EIS Association, the official trade association of the EIS industry. Martin works very closely with a wide range of Hospitality & Leisure entrepreneurs and has a significant network of investors and professional contacts as well as being a serial investor in his own right.