In the Company of Mavericks

Jeremy McKeown and Gareth Evans discuss the main market trends from last year and the outlook for 2024. They discuss the October pivot on rate expectations, the rise of the Magnificent Seven AI wonder stocks, the outlook for Chinese and UK equities, and will a recovery in China be inflationary or deflationary. Will Trump win the US election, and what are the market implications? What about the UK? Can it be the best-performing market in 2024?Please press SUBSCRIBE so as not to miss future episodes.   Brought to you by Progressive Equity. 

Tony Brewer of Likewise Group  Guest co-host James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management, manager of the Huginn Fund.  A few weeks ago, James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management joined me for a conversation with Tony Brewer, the founder and CEO of Likewise Group. James had talked about Tony and his investment in AIM-listed Likewise on a previous episode, and I had been keen to get Tony on ever since.   Tony has spent his entire adult life in the floor coverings business developing Headlam from a small textile distributor to the UK’s leading flooring supplier before leaving in 2016. Two years later, at a time when many of us might consider slowing down, Tony set up Likewise and set about building national distribution, as James points out, this is a business where scale matters. James is an investor who leaves few stones unturned when he seeks companies to join his concentrated and eclectic portfolio. With his questioning and observations, James brings to life the investment case for what one might believe to be an overly competitive and low-value-added business.     This episode offers a fascinating insight into a man with a passion for carpet distribution and the views of a professional investor backing him to succeed.     Please enjoy our conversation with the maverick, Tony Brewer. Made possible by Progressive Equity Research.  

Tony Brewer of Likewise Group Guest co-host James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management, manager of the Huginn Fund. Have you ever wondered why small independent carpet shops can survive competing against the major multiple retailers?In a previous episode, James Wilson of Phoenix Asset Management talked about Tony Brewer previously of Headlam and now the founder and CEO of AIM-listed Likewise. Coming soon I am rejoined by James for a fascinating chat with Tony, about his life in carpets.  This episode gives a behind-the-scenes look at the complexities of the world of floor covering distribution, one man’s life’s passion for it and how a professional investor rates his chances of delivering long-term value from a business he founded in 2018. Made possible by Progressive Equity Research.

For this episode, I am joined by Gareth Evans, the founder and CEO of Progressive Equity Research for a conversation with Nils Gornall, the CEO of DP Poland, and a veteran Domino's Pizza operator. Nils started as a pizza maker at the age of 15 and opened his first franchised store in Perth, Western Australia, just before his 22nd birthday. It is fair to say Nils has pizza in his blood and gives us a masterclass in what makes a delivered pizza shop work and how to develop a winning culture. From Australia to Croatia, via Canada Nils now operates AIM listed DP Poland from Warsaw. He is quite the epitome of the Aussie traveller. In this episode, we learn how operating a pizza shop is like running a sports team, and how wowing customers with pizza delivered in 25 minutes or less involves better in-store metrics and not high-speed moped drivers. As Nils said, “The race is in the store, not on the road.” As Stephen Helmsley of Franchise Brands, formerly CEO of Domino’s Pizza in the UK said in Episode 11, opening Domino’s successfully in new markets requires proven operators. Nils fits the bill perfectly. Please enjoy our conversation with the maverick, Nils Gornall. 

We had a great time chatting with Nils Gornall the CEO of DP Poland, a couple of weeks ago. This episode, dropping soon is a masterclass on how to run a delivered pizza shop and what makes Domino's Pizza a global success story. 

Earlier this year, in Episode 15, I spoke to Laurence Hulse and Alyx Wood about investing in the UK equity market from the perspectives of two UK-focused professional investors with distinctive strategies. On October 17th, I got Laurie and Alyx back together with Simon French, Chief Economist and Head of Research at City stockbroker Panmure Gordon, to ask the question, Why Invest in the UK?      It was a great conversation on a live topic of interest for investors and one I hope to return to in future episodes. Simon frames the discussion with his expertise in interpreting macroeconomic data.Alyx adds his perspective of an investor who spends much of his time talking to international investors about investing in the UK. Laurie talks of what he sees as a generational opportunity to buy abnormally cheap assets at the bottom end of the UK’s “out of favour” stock market.   As always, this is for information purposes only. This is not investment advice. 

Earlier this year, in Episode 15, I spoke to Laurence Hulse and Alyx Wood about investing in the UK equity market from the perspectives of two UK-focused professional investors with distinctive strategies. On October 17th, I got Laurie and Alyx back together with Simon French, Chief Economist and Head of Research at City stockbroker Panmure Gordon, to ask the question, Why Invest in the UK?      It was a great conversation on a live topic of interest for investors and one I hope to return to in future episodes. Simon frames the discussion with his expertise in interpreting macroeconomic data.Alyx adds his perspective of an investor who spends much of his time talking to international investors about investing in the UK. Laurie talks of what he sees as a generational opportunity to buy abnormally cheap assets at the bottom end of the UK’s “out of favour” stock market.   As always, this is for information purposes only. This is not investment advice. 

This episode was recorded on September 21, 2023. For today’s episode, I am joined by the private investor and host of the Desert Island Investor podcast, Mark Atkinson, for a conversation with the Chairman and CEO of Town Centre Securities, Edward Ziff. Edward is the second-generation custodian of the family business with a rich history largely centred on the City of Leeds. Edward talks candidly about the challenges of managing a small listed real estate company in which his family holds a controlling stake. He discusses the difficulties of attracting outside shareholders and how modern norms of PLC life often run counter to the cherished traditions of personal relationships often prevalent in family-owned companies.Edward is not a first-generation entrepreneur managing growth and holding a tiger by the tail. First and foremost, he is trying to preserve capital and generate income for an increasingly dispersed group of family and friends while meeting the requirements of a modern listed company. Despite navigating the financing pitfalls of the global financial crisis and the COVID pandemic, Town Centre Securities is left today as something of a stock market relic, trading at less than half its assessed net asset value, reflecting its small size and lack of institutional appeal.  As Edward says, running a small listed family business is exciting and depressing in equal measure.

This episode is made possible by Progressive Equity Research, providing freely available engaging research & opportunities to hear from a wide range of small & mid-cap UK-listed companies.This is a catch-up with Alasdair Haynes, founder and CEO of Aquis Exchange. He last appeared in Episode 3 in November 2021, and much has changed in the meantime. Aquis has continued to grow and is now ten years old. Alasdair has been at the forefront of innovation in stock market technology for many years and remains enthused by the prospects for change and innovation despite a recent health scare. Alasdair openly discusses the successes and mistakes he has made along the way but also clearly reiterates his vision of the future, including the need to improve the UK as a primary listing and trading venue. Please enjoy my conversation with the maverick Alasdair Haynes. 

This episode is made possible by Progressive Equity Research, providing freely available engaging research & opportunities to hear from a wide range of small & mid-cap UK-listed companies.For today’s episode, I am rejoined by Sukh Chamdal, the founder and CEO of AIM-listed Cake Box. For background on Sukh and Cake Box, you should listen to episode 2 from November 2021, where Sukh talked about the formation of Cake Box as a retailer of egg-free celebration cakes and growth via a franchising model.  I was keen to catch up with Sukh as, over the last 18 months, the UK consumer has been under pressure from the rising interest rates, inflation and a general cost of living crisis.  Cak Box has also had specific issues not uncommon among growing businesses, and Sukh has a new senior management team. I visited Sukh last Summer and saw the Enfield distribution centre. I witnessed Sukh's passion for all aspects of the business, particularly the development of new products and production and distribution efficiency. Cake Box now has over 200 stores and continues to grow. Sukh believes that consumers have re-adjusted to the higher cost of living and remain prepared to spend on treats for birthdays and special occasions. Please enjoy my catch-up with the maverick, Sukh Chamdal.