The Clayton Hotel on Burlington Road in Dublin will host the first Growth Capital Summit on Thursday May 30, with the theme of facilitating access to long-term capital for companies on a growth path.
Event organiser The Sunday Business Post has assembled an interesting lineup of speakers including Rory Godson, founder and chief executive of investor relations specialist Powerscourt; Orla O’Gorman, head of equity at Euronext Exchange; and Pat McCann (pictured), chief executive at hotel group Dalata.
The event will address a need in the Irish market experienced by growing companies that want to find long term finance to drive the next stages of their development. It will also be of interest to early-stage investors who want to exit their investments.
Kilcullen Kapital chairman Enda O’Coineen, owner of the newspaper, commented: “There is an enormous problem in Ireland at the moment in matching long-term capital with companies. “The Irish market has a pension fund model that is not fit for purpose. After the first five years, many entrepreneurs who have taken in seed and venture funding have to exit and sell their companies way too soon to strategic investors.
“There are tremendous initiatives from the state through the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, private funds and Enterprise Ireland, but they all have a sell-by date to recycle their investments."
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Pat McCann added: “The first thing to look at in the whole fundraising process is to look at how you can build your equity. So you have a wide range of funding you can use, but the important thing is that you pick funding that suits your needs — and then that you’re very comfortable about giving returns on those funds.”
The flavour of the event comes across from the speakers’ themes. Orla O’Gorman will deal with ‘what it takes to deliver a successful IPO’, answering questions for business owners to consider in relation to the financing landscape and how much to look for.
A panel discussion on taking the IPO route will follow, featuring Lotta Edling, editorial director with Sweden’s Bonnier News; Marcus Stuttard of the LSE; and Joe Barrett, Applegreen CEO.
Pat McCann will give a keynote address on his funding journey - 'How I managed to raise the finance to grow my business’- and how he built Dalata into the country’s largest hotel group via his Clayton and Maldron brands.
Investor relations, how to use advisers, debt financing and minority equity are further items in the day long programme.
• Ticket details: Call Jackie Bryan at 087 055 7913 or email jackie.bryan@sbpevents.ie.
Meanwhile, chief executive Siobhan Lennon is to leave her role at the newspaper. She has been CEO since 2016 and said that her decision to leave the business was a matter of timing.
“I am proud to leave the business in a strong position, having overseen the transition of ownership, its return to profitability and our recent victory in a landmark court case,” said Lennon. “I have been involved in developing a new strategy for the business and believe the company is well set for the next stage of its development.
“The owners plan to invest in the business based on this new strategy and I feel that this is the right time for me to hand over the reins. I would like to wish Kilcullen Kapital well in the next phase of the company's growth and to acknowledge the strong contribution and support from all the talented team that I have had the privilege to work with at The Sunday Business Post.”
The company said Lennon will stay in her position to help manage the transition process.
Enda O’Coineen of Kilcullen Kapital, which acquired Post Publications Ltd in 2018, commented: “Siobhan has been a tremendous CEO. She oversaw the company’s return to profitability last year. She was instrumental in the successful sale of the business in 2018 and she played a key role working with us to bed down that acquisition over the last number of months. I am very grateful to her for her hard work and I wish her every success in the future.”
