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www.acquisition-intl.com • December 2016
Your Essential Guide to Building a Profitable, Sustainable Business in Today’s Marketplace Richard Tyler International, Inc.® - PAGE 52
Soaring Above the Competition Falcon Certified Public Accountants - PAGE 58
Delivering Excellence in the Coaching Sector
Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurs
2b Limitless FZC - PAGE 54
The Top Trends in Company Formations Hawksford - PAGE 8
The Impacts of Corporate Tax Reform III Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law Ltd - PAGE 20
Dr. Andy Khawaja gives an inspirational interview about his globally successful credit-card processing company Allied Wallet, who serve 196 countries and an astounding 150+ million users. In June 2016, this tech billionaire was the recipient of a PHD from the Lebanese American University. Read more on PAGE 36
A Content Client Base Litéra Corp. PAGE 42
Putting the Quality into Quality Assurance QA Mentor PAGE 38
York’s Best Kept Secret No.21 York PAGE 46
Editor’s Comment
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Welcome you to the December edition of AI magazine, which features the latest happenings in the world of corporate finance, including legal and IP issues, M&A, support services & tech, personnel, accounting and also investment.
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No information contained on or in this website constitutes investment advice or an offer to invest or to provide management services and is subject to correction, completion and amendment without notice. Neither AI nor any of its associated entities are authorised to give financial advice of any nature nor are they regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Prior to making any investment, AI recommends that any prospective investor should consult with its own investment, accounting, legal and tax advisers to evaluate independently the risks, consequences and suitability of that investment.
Heading up this edition is a special roundtable feature by Hawksford, which delves into the evolution of company incorporation providers. Four financial service experts give us their expert perspective on what they are experiencing in Asia, the Caribbean and Jersey in terms of how company incorporation has evolved. 2016 has been a fairly positive year in terms of M&A investment, albeit slightly quieter than its record-breaking predecessor according to the Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. They also reveal that both the volume and value of deals signed off in Q4 have yet to reach the levels generated in the opening three quarters of the year. However, it is still possible for figures to surpass these levels before 2016 draws to a close. In legal news, the UK government has confirmed it is proceeding with preparations to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement. This is part of the process needed to realise the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPCA). Under the new regime - businesses will be able to protect and enforce their patent rights across Europe in a more streamlined way - with a single patent and through a single patent court. I hope you enjoy reading the wide selection of news, comments and features that this edition of AI magazine offers. Jonathan Miles, Editor Jonathan.Miles@ai-globalmedia.com
How to get in touch AI welcomes news and views from its readers. Correspondence should be sent to; Address: Acquisition International, First Floor Suite F, The Maltsters, 1-2 Wetmore Road, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1LS. Phone: +44 (0) 1283 712447 Email: reception@acquisition-intl.com Website: www.acquisition-intl.com Find us on...
Inside... NEWS 4 AI ROUNDTABLE The Top Trends in Company Formations 8 Hawksford LEGAL GLEIF and Five ‘First Mover’ LEI Issuers Successfully Conclude a Prototype Exercise to Identify Who Owns Whom in the Global LEI System 12 Providing Peace of Mind - Bespoke Corporate Immigration Services 13 Globetrotters Legal Strength, Equilibrium, Valour and Common Sense 9 Rödl & Partner The Gamut of Tax Services 16 Lautenschlager, Romeiro e Iwamizu Advogados A Leading Player in the Legal Transformation Movement 18 Allygroup Pty Ltd
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Expertise, Dedication, Integration and Ownership 19 BiiP The Impacts of Corporate Tax Reform III 20 Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law Ltd Perfection in Patent Protection 21 NK & Co. Advocates Achieving Excellence in Maritime Law 22 ANDREW LIU & CO., LTD Helping People Solve Their Problems 23 Jones & Haley Bringing the Best out of Others Assurance 24 Nevrivy Patent Law Group P.L.L.C. A Noble Profession 26 PJS Law M&A Sector Talk 28 with Bureau van Dijk
Contents
38
10
Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurs
The Top Trends in Company Formations
56
Delivering Excellence in the Coaching Sector
60
Soaring Above the Competition
54
TYLER TIPS®
Mergers and Acquisitions - The Important Role of Cyber Security 30 Lieberman Software Ciesco: Global Advice to Meet Global Needs 32 Ciesco Group SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH Why China’s New Cybersecurity Law Is a Threat to International Businesses and Innovation 34 IMD Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurs 36 Allied Wallet Putting the Quality into Quality Assurance 38 QA Mentor Changing Lives for the Better 40 Taurus Infotek A Content Client Base 42 Litéra Corp Shaping UK Government Policy 44 PwC
York’s Best Kept Secret 46 No.21 York An Enterprising Individual 48 Adrian Ashton
ACCOUNTING Soaring Above the Competition 58 Falcon Certified Public Accountants
Excellence in Enforcement 48 Enforcement Bailiffs Ltd
Balancing the Books 60 Professional Accounting and Taxation Limited
PERSONNEL
INVESTMENT
New Website Reveals Gender Pay Gap by Profession 50
Compelling Financial Returns 62 Star Mountain Capital
Are You Experiencing Flat or Declining Sales? 52 Richard Tyler International, Inc.®
Unlocking Potential 64 Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD)
Delivering Excellence in the Coaching Sector 54 2b Limitless FZC
WINNERS’ DIRECTORY 68
Essential Employment Law and HR Services 56 EmployEasily Coaching Clients to Corporate Excellence 57 BRIEF Academy Pte Ltd
Acquisition International - December 2016 3
News: from around the world
Manufacturing Cloud Transforms Digital Services Cloud technology is an important enabler of global manufacturing processes and operations according to Frost & Sullivan. It has the potential to improve all levels of manufacturing through value chain optimisation, improved productivity, real-time analytics, device connectivity, seamless communication, automation, data centralisation, storage and cost reduction.
“Connectivity-enabled manufacturers such as Siemens, General Electric and Bosch are looking towards embracing new business models. These companies are no longer looking at monetising the cloud as a mere product. Their focus is now on providing services driven by data that is managed by their cloud,” said Frost & Sullivan Industrial automation & process control senior research analyst Nandini Natarajan. “By providing the necessary infrastructure through cloud, the volume and variety of data being produced by the Internet of Things can be processed in a significantly shorter time period.” Manufacturing in the Cloud is part of Frost & Sullivan’s industrial automation & process control Growth Partnership subscription, which offers clients unique insights into competitive dynamics, pricing strategies, demand trends, and technological development within the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), automation, process and welding sectors.
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To gain a competitive advantage and remain relevant in a dynamic marketplace, manufacturers should: • Focus on workforce remodelling to bring in relevant Industrial Internet of Things skillsets; • Transform from a product-driven to a focussed, data-driven service; • Partner with information technology firms to drive co-optation. A mutually beneficial ecosystem will be essential to survive in the industrial cloud space and; • Overcome current challenges such as security over cloud, lack of awareness, and implementation complexities through cyber technology, workshops and a phase-wide implementation programme.
“Developed economies like Europe and the US have the necessary infrastructure, resources and technology to adopt cloud in their manufacturing space. However, an ageing workforce and fragmented markets are a hindrance. Emerging economies such as Asia-Pacific have a large population that can be turned into a skilled workforce along with the Industrial Internet of Things initiatives aimed at improving operational efficiency. Here, legacy systems and the lack of sound Internet infrastructure are challenges that need addressing,” noted Natarajan.
NEWS / From Around The World
Digital Readiness Key to Growth Opportunities in the Financial Services Market The financial services industry is on the brink of disruption as widening technology use challenges existing products, services and costs. Stakeholders across banking, insurance, funding, lending, fintech, payments, business and retail are reviewing processes to align with transformational social and technological trends. For instance, the demography of customers is now dominated by younger investors who are more reliant on digital channels. Similarly, automation is drastically reducing human effort and decreasing cost to customers, compelling newer fee structures across the board. Banks are being set up digitally with an omnipresence through the cloud. Average individual investment sizes are shrinking, creating a new segment of micro-investments. Service providers are collecting more data about their customers in order to monetise it or gain insights on how to build and modify their products for customers,” explained Frost & Sullivan Visionary Innovation Group Research Analyst Yash Mukherjee. “Essentially, automation is changing the role of institutions in the industry from transaction processing to an advisory one.” Future of Financial Services is part of Frost & Sullivan’s Visionary Innovation (Mega Trends) Growth Partnership Service program, which examines the Mega Trends shaping the world, highlighting macro-to-micro implications on business and society. The subscription provides insights on various topics such as Future of Logistics, Future of Artificial Intelligence, Analysis of BREXIT and its implications to industries, economies and societies and Megatrends in Russia among others.
“With funding and lending channels moving from traditional wealth management institutions to more open peer-to-peer platforms, flexibility and customisability will be the key selling points for future service providers,” said Mukherjee. As such, the evolution of financial services will focus on empowering customers to choose and customise the services they receive or the products they purchase. Some significant market trends expected to emerge by 2025 include: • Cloud-based, software-as-a-service infrastructure model; • Robot advisors that do away with processing fees for customers; • Use of distributed ledger technology, Blockchain, to revolutionise transaction authentication and speed; • Big Data analytics driving new Insurtech products for progressive customers; • Pervasive use of convenient biometric authentication and; • Strong investment in learning machines applications and predictive analytics.
Francesco Trapani Acquires 9pc of Tages Holding Italian corporate and financial law firm Gattai Minoli Agostinelli & Partners advised Francesco Trapani on the acquisition of a 9% equity stake in Tages Holding by means of a dedicated capital increase, to be approved by Bank of Italy. Gattai Minoli Agostinelli & Partners team was composed by partners Bruno Gattai and Alessandro Dolce, senior associate Federico Michelini and associate Diletta Camicia. Tages Holding current shareholders – Panfilo Tarantelli, Sergio Ascolani, Salvatore Cordaro e Umberto Quadrino – were assisted by Anna Di Vilio from Studio Galante e Associati. Tages Holding controls three subsidiary companies: Credito Fondiario, one of Italy’s main non-performing loans servicing platform; the infrastructural investment fund management firm Tages Capital SGR; and London-based funds of hedge funds, alternative UCITS funds and multi-manager investment management firm Tages Capital LLP. Founded in November 2012, Gattai Minoli Agostinelli & Partners is a law firm specialising in Corporate and M&A, Banking & Finance, Tax, Restructuring, Real Estate, Employment, Intellectual Property and Dispute Resolution. With a team of 80 lawyers – 23 of whom are partners – the Firm boasts a leading position in the private equity and corporate finance sectors.
Click on the following link for complimentary access to more information on this analysis and to register for a Growth Strategy Dialogue, a free interactive briefing with Frost & Sullivan’s thought leaders: http://frost.ly/15s.
Acquisition International - December 2016 5
News: from around the world
SPIE Acquires Environmental Engineering Ltd SPIE, the independent European leader in electrical and mechanical engineering, HVAC services and energy and communication systems, has acquired on November 30th, 2016, Environmental Engineering Ltd (EE) in the United Kingdom, thus strengthening its presence in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors.
EE specialises in HVAC, mechanical and electrical engineering services within the food and beverage industry. Its expertise ranges from small singlecomponent works to holistic turnkey solutions. Offering innovative technical design solutions, which are both environmentally responsible and sustainable, EE operates within critical facilities where stringent health and cleanliness criteria are followed. A subsidiary of EE, MSS Clean Technology Ltd (MSS) specialises in the design, installation and commissioning of clean technology systems for laboratories and other controlled environments within the pharmaceutical and related sectors. MSS is an expert in meeting high standards set by client requirements and relevant regulations.
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EE joins SPIE UK’s Industrial Services division, adding further mechanical capability to SPIE UK’s already strong multi-technical services offering. With EE based in Manchester and MSS in York, the acquisition further densifies SPIE UK’s presence in Northern and Central England. Combined, EE and MSS achieved a full-year March 2016 revenue of approximately £19 million.
James Thoden van Velzen CEO of SPIE UK, declared, “the addition of EE to SPIE is a very exciting move for us. Not only does it open a door to new markets, customers and services, but it also provides huge scope for growth within very dynamic sectors. We welcome the chance to grow our team and EE’s unique skill-sets will be a valuable accompaniment to the SPIE family.”
Steven Nanda, SPIE UK’s Industrial Services Managing Director commented, “we continuously search for solutions that benefit our customers and enhance our service offering, as we look to further strengthen our inherent values of sustainability, efficiency and positive environmental performance. In these areas, EE’s culture and technological expertise complement us perfectly and their experience in complicated and regulated environments will be a great asset to the SPIE business.”
Guy Fishwick, co-founder of EE alongside Paul Scurrah added, “since EE was established 25 years ago, we have put great emphasis on our growth and development.” This “represents the next exciting move and we are thrilled that it will be with a business as well respected as SPIE.” www.spieuk.com
NEWS / From Around The World
Fall in Government Technology Tenders Caused by Brexit Uncertainty around Brexit has caused a slowdown in the number of government tenders to the technology sector according to technology solutions provider hSo. In the run up to the Brexit vote in June, government tenders were steadily being issued, however since the vote and confirmation that the UK electorate wishes to leave the European Union there has been a slowdown.
In the nine months running up to the UK’s EU Referendum in June of this year there had been 815 tenders per month on average, but in the subsequent five months there have been only 652 per month, representing a decline of 20% (see chart at end). There remains a strong pipeline of government tenders being issued to private sector firms in a bid to drive efficiencies and cost savings, however the evidence suggests that the uncertainty caused by Brexit is the reason for the marked slowdown, stalling the good progress that had been made in the run up to the referendum when many more competitive tenders were being issued. Up until this summer the process has helped government departments cut costs by overhauling their internal infrastructures and using alternative IT and network solutions that are more cost effective than better known household names. Chris Evans, managing director of hSo said of the findings, “there is plenty of economic data and evidence suggesting that the UK economy has been resilient in the face of the Brexit vote. We were particularly encouraged by the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement with the focus on investment in infrastructure and improving productivity, which will give rise to many more opportunities for hSo in the private sector as companies find ways of becoming more efficient and keeping costs down. “However, in respect to public sector government tenders issued, there has been a slowdown since the EU Referendum. It’s understandable, given we have recently had the appointment of a new Prime Minister that the new administration is accustoming itself and looking to make its mark. However,
this shouldn’t prevent them from maintaining the momentum that was evident earlier in the year ahead of the Brexit vote. “We saw important infrastructure projects such as Hinkley Point temporarily put on hold straight after the referendum, but we remain optimistic that the news flow around these large scale national infrastructure projects will not impact the government’s tendering process into the New Year. However, with the recent political uncertainty presented by Trump’s victory in the US, there are potentially more reasons for inertia to set in at a time when the UK economy needs as much help and stimulus as possible. “Before the Brexit vote there was clearly a big push by private and public sector SMEs to reign in their IT and network infrastructure spend, but since then as economic activity has slowed there’s now even greater reason for businesses to look at more costefficient network, telephony and hosting solutions. Just as the political, financial and services sector landscapes are being disrupted, hSo is disrupting the technology space by challenging the more established traditional providers of choice.” www.hso.co.uk
UK Signals Green Light to Unified Patent Court Agreement The UK government has confirmed it is proceeding with preparations to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement. This is part of the process needed to realise the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPCA). Under the new regime, businesses will be able to protect and enforce their patent rights across Europe in a more streamlined way - with a single patent and through a single patent court. The court will make it easier for British businesses to protect their ideas and inventions from being illegally copied by companies in other countries. UK Minister of State for Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville Rolfe said, “the new system will provide an option for businesses that need to protect their inventions across Europe. The UK has been working with partners in Europe to develop this option. “As the Prime Minister has said, for as long as we are members of the EU, the UK will continue to play a full and active role. We will seek the best deal possible as we negotiate a new agreement with the European Union. We want that deal to reflect the kind of mature, cooperative relationship that close friends and allies enjoy. We want it to involve free trade, in goods and services. We want it to give British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the Single Market - and let European businesses do the same in the UK. “But the decision to proceed with ratification should not be seen as pre-empting the UK’s objectives or position in the forthcoming negotiations with the EU.” Following the announcement on 28th November, the UK will continue with preparations for ratification over the coming months. It will be working with the Preparatory Committee to bring the Unified Patent Court (UPC) into operation as soon as possible. www.gov.uk
Acquisition International - December 2016 7
The Top Trends in Company Formations
ACQUISITIONINTERNATIONAL
Company incorporation has evolved; it’s big business, particularly in regions such as Asia where the climate favours and encourages businesses to set up and / or register subsidiaries. To compete on a global scale company incorporation agents are fast becoming a one stop shop, not only registering businesses, but continuing to provide company secretarial, local directors, registered office and ongoing compliance and reporting support. In this roundtable, Hawksford aims to delve deeper into the evolution of company incorporation providers and has invited four financial service experts to give us their view point on what they are experiencing in Asia, the Caribbean and Jersey.
Meet the Panellists Leanne Ho, Managing Director, Hawksford, Hong Kong Leanne heads the day-to-day operations at Hawksford Hong Kong. She has over 20 years of experience in senior corporate, operations, management and advisory roles in a variety of industries in Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia ranging from fashion retailing, food manufacturing, travel, investment holding and property development.
Andrew Miller, Partner & Head of Global Wealth Structuring, Walkers, Cayman Islands Andrew Miller is based in Walkers’ Cayman Islands office and is head of the firm’s Global Wealth Structuring Group. Andrew is also a member of the Steering Committee which drives the strategy of Walkers’ Global Latin American Group. He specialises in all aspects of non-contentious British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands trust, international wealth structuring and related regulatory work for private individuals and financial institutions, bringing a wealth structuring angle to his responses in this roundtable feature.
Daniel O’Connor, Partner, Carey Olsen, Jersey Daniel specialises in the structuring and formation of investment funds, real estate finance and general corporate work. He has extensive transactional experience establishing, restructuring, financing and winding-up a wide range of offshore structures. Daniel is instructed by both global financial institutions and specialist asset managers and works with many of Jersey’s leading fund services providers.
Jessica Liew, Client Services Manager, Precursor Assurance PAC, Singapore Jessica leads the client servicing team at Precursor, a professional services firm that provides a full suite of corporate and advisory solutions and services. She focusses on how to improve the client’s experience and assists with their compliance needs.
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How would you define company incorporation today and why is this important?
Jessica Liew – Precursor Incorporation is the legal process used to form a company or a corporate entity. A corporation is a separate legal entity from its owners, with its own rights and obligations. The fundamental legal purpose of incorporation has become increasingly crucial and important to curb business risks and frauds. If any individual wants to start a business to earn a living, they must go through this legal process.
Leanne Ho - Hawksford Over the years, many corporate service providers have evolved from a mere executioner into a corporate compliance advisor and business planner for clients. Daniel O’Connor – Carey Olsen Incorporating a company in Jersey is a regulated activity which can only be carried out by a regulated corporate services provider with staff and offices in Jersey. The process is fast (often completed on a “same day” basis) and simple for the client when it is carried out by an experienced service provider. An application to the Jersey Financial Services Commission must be made for each new company, as there are no “shelf companies” in Jersey. Accordingly, company incorporation is not a commoditised service, and it is important that the service provider understands the wider structure and role that will be played by the Jersey company. Andrew Miller – Walkers Almost any reasonably sophisticated international wealth holding structure will involve one or more companies, either as a holding company or sometimes, for instance, a PTC. With such sophisticated structures the service provider should almost invariably be not just a formation agent but also a licensed fiduciary provider with all the necessary skills, experience and other such capabilities.
AI ROUNDTABLE / The Top Trends in Company Formations Hawksford
Hawksford publishes a quarterly ‘Singapore Business Trends’ report that delivers critical information on business formation trends in Singapore during the quarter. It provides up-to-date information about the number of newly started business entities, the profile of recently incorporated companies, the industries that have the highest company incorporation activity and the countries whose residents and firms are establishing the largest number of companies in Singapore. To access the latest report visit https://www.guidemesingapore.com/business-formation-trends
Acquisition International - December 2016 9
The Top Trends in Company Formations
To what extent do you think that company incorporation is a fiercely competitive arena?
Leanne Ho - Hawksford Most corporate service providers compete strongly on fees and speed of incorporation. However, this does not necessarily guarantee that a client will be given the advice and service that is right for the administration and development of their company thereafter. As a legal entity, the company and its directors must comply with the regulatory requirements of the jurisdiction. It is extremely important for a client to ensure that a corporate service provider is carefully chosen based on both their service and their knowledge when it comes to meeting ongoing obligations. Jessica Liew – Precursor Company registration has become far more competitive with the growing prevalence of internet search engines and social media platforms as business clients now have the means to make comparisons on price and service via the internet. It is essential that companies strengthen their digital and online marketing in order to stay connected to their client’s information space. Daniel O’Connor – Carey Olsen Company establishment and administration is highly competitive in Jersey, with a large number of sophisticated service providers of varying sizes. A new Jersey company can be established for the purpose of (i) being managed and controlled (and so tax resident) in another jurisdiction, in which case the corporate service provider may only supply a Jersey registered office; (ii) tax resident in Jersey, in which case the corporate service provider will usually supply or source Jersey resident directors and may supply accounting or other services; or (iii) regulated in Jersey, in which case the corporate service provider will usually also supply a suite of compliance services. Some clients require service providers with large teams, a high level of sophistication and very fast response times, while others are more cost sensitive. Andrew Miller – Walkers It has been competitive in terms of the mass volume and less sophisticated end of the market, where price is king. However, to the extent that it has not already, the bottom is likely to drop out of that end of the market as clients look for increased quality and reliability.
What have been the top trends in company formations in the last year and what are the leading industries that are setting up subsidiaries in your region?
Leanne Ho - Hawksford In Singapore, the leading industries setting up subsidiaries in the last year have been trading, financial services, management consulting and IT. We are also seeing a growing trend in the fintech market, with many companies looking to establish themselves in this arena, supported by accelerators and venture capitalists. Even Singapore authorities are jumping on the bandwagon; the Monetary Authority of Singapore has just signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the five polytechnics in Singapore to review and enhance the curricula, with the view to equipping their graduates with skill sets that will prepare them for the new fintech related jobs. In Hong Kong and China, we have noticed an increased growth in the ecommerce platform for various industries including retail, travel, education, and financial.
Jessica Liew – Precursor There is a preference for foreign companies/ investors to set up local private limited companies (under individual shareholdings) in Singapore due to tax savings and governmental assistances. According to the latest Singapore Foreign Direct Investment Report, the numbers of investment holding companies incorporated and started operations have increased from 200 in 2010 to 400 investment holdings.1 It is interesting to note that many of these companies are investment holdings that were subsidiaries of parent companies based overseas. This provides valuable insight that one of the draw factors is the business-friendly policies that Singapore adopts. With Singapore’s government actively promoting innovation, technologies and start-ups, many investment holdings come in as Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists as well.
Daniel O’Connor – Carey Olsen Each quarter of 2015 saw some of the highest figures for new Jersey company incorporations which have been recorded in the last decade, with the last quarter of the year setting a new record. Jersey has long been recognised as a responsible international finance centre, with a regime that has been independently endorsed by international
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ACQUISITIONINTERNATIONAL
assessors and acknowledged experts. Jersey has continued its policy of international co-operation in the areas of the prevention of money-laundering and terrorist financing and the investigation of financial crime. Jersey remains compliant with international standards and global initiatives, including the introduction of FATCA, CRS and a confidential central register of directors. Jersey companies are used for a wide range of purposes from real estate holding vehicles to fund structures across a broad range of asset classes.
Andrew Miller – Walkers Our clients are all High Net Worth or, increasingly, Ultra High Net Worth, and range from successful entrepreneurs to Middle Eastern royalty, and everything in between. The key continuing trend is a focus on quality, both in terms of the jurisdiction and the service provider. This is driven by the need to provide ever more sophisticated advice in an increasingly complex global environment, usually with the client or his advisors, the fiduciary and offshore and onshore counsel all working together. Where do the leading investors in your region predominantly come from and has there been a shift in trends in recent years?
Leanne Ho - Hawksford We see a good mix of investors coming to Singapore and Hong Kong from the UK, USA, Australia and Southeast Asia. In recent years, there has been an increase of investors’ presence from Mainland China as well. Jessica Liew – Precursor According to the Singapore Statistics Board, the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Singapore amounted to $1,024.6 billion as of the end of 2014. The top investors at this time consisted of the United States ($153.0 billion), Japan ($109.3 billion), the British Virgin Islands ($87.0 billion), the Cayman Islands ($77.7 billion) and the Netherlands ($69.5 billion). In recent years, we have observed the emergence of investors from other Asia Pacific countries such as China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. By relocating to Singapore, multinational corporations (MNCs) have the added benefit of reaching out to the Southeast Asian regions, both in terms of recruitment and widening their areas for distribution.
AI ROUNDTABLE / The Top Trends in Company Formations Hawksford
Daniel O’Connor – Carey Olsen Traditionally, most Jersey companies have been established for UK clients, but over recent years there has been an ever-increasing volume of clients from other jurisdictions, including other European countries, Asia, the United States (especially for fund vehicles and private equity holding vehicles) and the Middle East (for investment and funds vehicles and for private wealth structuring). Andrew Miller – Walkers Not being a volume business, it can be difficult to discern trends, but most of the new business now is coming from regions such as Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Russia. However, we still receive plenty of business from generational wealth clients with existing structures from North America and non-domicile UK. What role do Company Secretaries and incorporation providers play in registering a company?
Leanne Ho - Hawksford For the most part, company secretaries or company formation agents are the first party a business owner will approach for advice on how to set up their business as a legal entity. Providing these clients with relevant and accurate advice will help them build a compliant and strong fundamental structure, supporting the future growth of their business. In Hong Kong, the appointment of a local person/ corporation as a company secretary for a business is mandatory. Similarly, in Singapore, a firm must have a company secretary who is aware of the local requirements/laws. They are statutory watchdogs who ensure the annual filing with the Companies Registry is complete. The role is now evolving, and often includes more business advisory services.
Jessica Liew – Precursor Outsourcing business solutions are increasingly popular. In the past, a company needed to hire a full time company secretary to keep the company updated of compliance requirements but now this function is often outsourced.
If a company from the UK wants to register a subsidiary in your region, how would they need to go about it?
What does a company look for when establishing an agent to support them to incorporate a company in a new region?
Leanne Ho - Hawksford Incorporation of a LLC subsidiary in Hong Kong is generally a straight forward process. There is no minimum capital or appointment of a local resident director requirement for a Hong Kong company. The only mandatory requirement is that a Hong Kong company must appoint a local individual or corporation as the company secretary and this is where it is important for an overseas company to ensure that a reputable service provider is engaged to provide the company secretarial services. This ensures the client is proactively updated with all relevant corporate regulatory requirements and so will not incur any unnecessary penalty for non-compliance issues.
Leanne Ho - Hawksford Corporate services in Asia have evolved over the years. Where previously the agents were there to take instructions and act accordingly, now they have to be savvy and understand clients’ requirements as a whole to better advise them. Other than costs, a company should also take into account the responsiveness of the agent in dealing with requests or enquiries and the quality of advice and service provided.
Jessica Liew – Precursor Subsidiary registration for the most part involves liaising with the Singapore authorities and the company would need to appoint a nominee corporate secretary and a local director. Frequently, a provider will be engaged in the preparation of the necessary regulatory requirements and paperwork. Once the subsidiary is set up, the company can start its business operations in Singapore. Andrew Miller – Walkers We recommend that clients contact either a reputable law firm and/or licensed trust company. Daniel O’Connor – Carey Olsen The best place to begin is by contacting a reputable corporate service provider and Jersey law firm, who have appropriate experience in the sector in which the company will operate. Together, they will guide the client though the process to include compliance and regulatory issues. Once the company is established, the corporate service provider will usually arrange for the opening of any bank accounts for the company, the holding of board meetings to approve transactions and the signing of documents.
Jessica Liew – Precursor Business clients will look at various factors when choosing an agent to help them with the incorporation process. If the provider is able to offer clients a one-stop business solution, the added efficiency would certainly entice them. The support required by a business will vary at each stage of the incorporation process and a reputable provider will be able to provide the required guidance and advice throughout. Daniel O’Connor – Carey Olsen As Jersey companies are used for a wide range of purposes, by a wide range of clients and for simple transactions such as holding a residential property through to the largest and most complex commercial transactions in the world, clients look for a good “fit” with their corporate service provider. Responsiveness, a thorough understanding of the client’s needs and an appropriate fee structure are usually at the top of the list. Beyond that, clients usually look for depth of experience, as the corporate service provider can play a key advisory role for the client in avoiding potential pitfalls. 1. Credits: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/publications/ publications_and_papers/investment/fdi2014.pdf
The role of these providers is crucial as they help companies to keep track of compliance requirements and therefore avoid any potential breech of laws when a company does business in the country. Good service providers will also advise the clients on how to scale their businesses.
Andrew Miller – Walkers For my UHNW clients, these roles should merely be a part of providing sophisticated structuring and fiduciary services. Daniel O’Connor – Carey Olsen Company secretaries play a key role because incorporating a Jersey company is a regulated activity and there is usually a need for on-going services. The client needs a service provider that is commercial in their approach and understands the proposed structure and its purpose. This will ensure that all regulatory requirements are complied with and the incorporation process goes smoothly, as well as to provide a tailored service that meets the client’s expectations throughout the life of the company.
Acquisition International - December 2016 11
LEGAL / GLEIF and Five ‘First Mover’ LEI Issuers Successfully Conclude a Prototype Exercise to Identify Who Owns Whom in the Global LEI System
GLEIF and Five ‘First Mover’ LEI Issuers Successfully Conclude a Prototype Exercise to Identify Who Owns Whom in the Global LEI System The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), the body responsible for ensuring the operational integrity of the Global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) System, and five ‘first mover’ LEI issuing organizations have successfully concluded a prototype exercise to test the end-to-end process of collecting and validating data on the direct and ultimate parents of legal entities that have an LEI. GLEIF will start publishing parent information in early 2017. Including this information in the publicly available LEI data pool will allow connecting the corporate dots globally with open, standardized and high quality LEI data.
he LEI issuers that participated in the prototype exercise, which was completed on 7 December 2016, are: Bundesanzeiger Verlag, Business Entity Data (DTCC’s GMEI Utility), London Stock Exchange Plc, Saudi Arabia Credit Bureau and Unione Italiana per le Camere di Commercio, Industria, Artigianato e Agricultura. LEI issuing organizations act as the primary interface for legal entities that have registered, or wish to obtain, an LEI.
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The LEI connects to a set of reference data that enables clear and unique identification of legal entities participating in financial transactions. The information available with the legal entity reference data, to date, e.g. the official name of a legal entity and its registered address, provides the answer to the question of ‘who is who’. In a next step, the LEI
data pool will be gradually enhanced to include the information that will answer the question of ‘who owns whom’. With the prototype exercise, all aspects of the process, developed to collect, validate and eventually publish information on direct and ultimate parents of legal entities, were tested successfully. The participating LEI issuers worked with selected actual legal entities that have obtained an LEI to collect the parent information. The LEI issuers received accounting documents from the legal entities to validate the information and created data records using technical documentation developed by GLEIF. In addition, the participating LEI issuers uploaded the data records via an interface provided by GLEIF, using an encrypted transfer protocol, and electronically signed the files to ensure authenticity.
GLEIF performed checks to verify compliance of the sample files created by the LEI issuers with relevant technical documentation and business rules. The prototype exercise confirmed that a proven and robust process is now in place that facilitates the inclusion of parent information in the publicly available LEI data pool going forward. In early 2017, GLEIF will start publishing, as a first step, data on direct and ultimate parents collected by the LEI issuing organizations participating in the prototype exercise. In a phased approach, parent information for legal entities that have obtained, or wish to get, an LEI will be added to the LEI data pool. It is expected that parent information for the majority of the LEI population will be available at the latest at the start of 2018. GLEIF CEO, Stephan Wolf comments, “the 2008 financial crisis, and more recently, the leak of the Panama papers, has made apparent the importance of increasing transparency in the financial markets. Once parent information for the entire LEI population is available, GLEIF will provide a unique and free data source that allows corporate dots to be connected globally based on open, standardized and high quality LEI data.” In March 2016, the LEI Regulatory Oversight Committee, representing public authorities from around the globe, published the policy document entitled ‘Collecting data on direct and ultimate parents of legal entities in the Global LEI System – Phase 1’. It sets out the principles governing the process of collecting, validating and publishing parent information in the Global LEI System. www.gleif.org
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LEGAL / Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 - Corporate Immigration Advisor of the Year: Providing Peace of Mind - Bespoke Corporate Immigration Services 1612AI36
Providing Peace of Mind - Bespoke Corporate Immigration Services In an interview with Globetrotters Legal’s Paa Kwesi Hagan, he turns the spotlight on his responsibility for the firms’ corporate immigration and compliance department, and how they are positioning themselves to be the firm of choice for companies doing business on the African continent.
Company: Globetrotters Legal Name: Paa Kwesi Hagan Email: paakwesi@ gtlegalafrica.com Web: www.gtlegalafrica.com Address: No. 8 Adembra Road, East Cantonments, Accra Phone: +233 (0) 302 789 497
Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 Corporate Immigration Advisor of the Year
irst of all, can you tell us about what your company does? Globetrotters Legal is a corporate immigration firm headquartered in Ghana with a network of affiliates in various African countries. The firm provides bespoke corporate immigration services to multinational companies operating in Ghana by providing them with tailored solutions to meet their immigration needs. Particularly, we assist with work authorisation, document procurement and legalisation services and provide up to date opinions on immigration law and changes as they occur and assist with immigration audits for companies too.
software to manage the work of our immigration department.
How long has the firm been going for and where are your offices based The firm has been in existence since 2011 and has progressively risen to become the go-to corporate immigration firm in Ghana. With offices in Senegal and a network of partners in various African countries, we are able deliver professional services to all these regions.
What role do staff play in the success of your firm? The staff at Globetrotters Legal are the backbone of the success of Globetrotters Legal. They possess in-depth knowledge of the business, immigration landscape as well as the drive to satisfy each client of the firm. The firm is made up of lawyers, immigration consultants, a knowledge team and compliance consultants. The staff advise clients on immigration matters and proceed to process applications once the client has made initiations. They normally communicate with the client every step of the way by providing accurate information and status of cases filed.
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What is your own role in the company as a corporate immigration advisor? What areas do you specialise in? As the managing partner of Globetrotters Legal, I am responsible for the corporate immigration and compliance department of the firm, I oversee all aspect of immigration and compliance and also have responsibility to manage our government relations unit. I have been recognised by Who’s Who Legal as a leading corporate immigration expert in Ghana as well as being a regular speaker at various conference on Ghanaian immigration matters. Furthermore, I am responsible for managing client relationships, generating new business, speaking at conferences and contribution to various publications. I am also responsible for training of the staff on various matters including confidentiality, data protection, anti-bribery and anti-corruption. From lawyers, accountants, bankers and consultants to HR professionals, IT specialists and security experts, myriad outside agencies and organisations, to what extent do such advisers contribute massively to a company’s success? The above-named persons play a significant role in the success of Globetrotters Legal’s operations and these are critical agencies which drive any serious business. We have a team of lawyers in the firm specialising in various aspects of law. The accountants ensure that our books are kept in the timely manner required by law - and our IT professionals provide us with the technology and
What kind of clients do you serve and how do you approach them? Globetrotters Legal’s main clientele are multinational companies in various sectors including the oil and gas, IT, power generation, healthcare, security, logistics and freight forwarding, electronics, beverages and manufacturing sectors. There are various ways that our clients have been approached. We have directly engaged with clients and others have been referred to us by existing and indeed satisfied clients.
Do you have any plans for the future that you would like to share with our readers? How long has the firm been going for and where are your offices based. Globetrotters Legal’s goal is to have a presence all over Africa and provide world class services in all the regions in which we operate. We at Globetrotters Legal are driven to provide excellent client care to meet international standards and are poised to change western perception about the uncertainty of service delivery by African firms. We comply fully with the dictates of the FCPA and Anti Bribery laws of the UK and protect our clients against its prohibitions. We are currently in Ghana and Senegal and have been operational since 2011. Do you have any further comments to make? With the forecasted growth in Africa and the accompanying business that follow such growth, Globetrotters Legal is positioning itself further to be the firm of choice for companies doing business on the African continent. We help our clients navigate the immigration requirements in all the countries in which we operate, helping the client to concentrate on their core business. We provide a peace of mind because our clients are protected from pitfalls such as the FCPA and other anti-corruption legislation.
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1612AI37
Strength, Equilibrium, Valour and Common Sense Company: Rödl & Partner Name: Dr. Thilo Ketterer Email: thilo.ketterer@roedl.pro Web: www.roedl.de, www.roedl.com German phone: + 49 911 91 93 30 62 Chinese phone: + 86 13 901 817 966 Address: Rödl & Partner Headquarter: Rödl & Partner Äußere Sulzbacher Str. 100 90491 Nuremberg / Germany Chinese Headquarters: 31/F LJZ Plaza 1600 Century Avenue 200122 Shanghai
As an integrated professional services firm, Rödl & Partner is active at 106 wholly-owned locations in 49 countries. We owe our dynamic success in the service lines audit, legal, management and IT consulting, tax consulting as well as tax declaration and BPO to our 4,200 entrepreneurial minded partners and colleagues.
he history of Rödl & Partner goes back to its foundation as a solo practice in 1977 in Nuremberg (Germany). Our aspiration to be on hand wherever our internationally-active clients are led to the establishment of our first, own offices, commencing with Central and Eastern Europe in 1989. Alongside market entry in Asia in 1994, the opening of offices in further strategic locations followed, in Western and Northern Europe in 1998, USA in 2000, South America in 2005 and Africa in 2008.
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Looking back, we recall the firm’s unique track record in China. Indeed, our first office in Shanghai opened in 1995, making Rödl & Partner among the very first European professional service firms to establish a presence in the People’s Republic of China. We are one of the very few professional services firms in China who have obtained a license to practice as both accountants and lawyers.
“We work together, closely interlinked across all service lines. We think from a market perspective, from a client’s perspective, where a project team possesses all the capabilities to be successful and to realise the client’s goals.” Due to our long-standing experience in providing accounting and advisory services in our Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong offices, we have become familiar with the special demands and opportunities of investment in China and provide complete consulting services in legal and tax related matters to German and other European companies. Rödl & Partner is not a collection of accountants, auditors, lawyers, management and tax consultants
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working in parallel. We work together, closely interlinked across all service lines. We think from a market perspective, from a client’s perspective, where a project team possesses all the capabilities to be successful and to realise the client’s goals. Our interdisciplinary approach is not unique, nor is our global reach or our particularly strong presence among German family businesses. It is the combination that cannot be found anywhere else – a firm that is devoted to comprehensively supporting German and international businesses, wherever in the world they might be. In China, we advise clients in the following fields: • General legal advice, company set-up; • Tax consultancy, tax structuring; • Accounting/controlling/auditing; • Litigation/ADR; • Transactions services, M&A; • Due diligence; • Investment consultancy; • Real estate; • Technology transfer, intellectual property and; • Business consultancy. Due to the foreign ownership of our clients, we have gathered a unique pool of experience, and as such we are able to integrate our clients’ cultural diversity into our work and to address the cross-border side of legal, tax or financial accounting issues from both a technical and language standpoint. In terms of the extent to which advisors contribute to the firm’s success, once defined, we believe that values affect every aspect of an organisation. Our core values simply stated are respect, humility, integrity, independence, competency, teamwork, accountability, quality and efficiency. We work on a daily basis towards maintaining these values to significantly contribute to our client’s success. As such, we enable our clients to get a planned and structured market entry in China or other foreign countries. With consideration of all legal, tax, accounting and auditing aspects we minimise
LEGAL / Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 & Leading Strategic Consultant of the Year - China: Strength, Equilibrium, Valour and Common Sense
corporate risk or unpleasant surprises when entering foreign markets. Due to profound expertise in the Chinese market we are able to prepare and provide individual strategies for our clients’ needs.
The extensive international presence of Rödl & Partner, combined with our long-term client relationships, has resulted in support for companies with international operations which are not of German origin.
Approaching clients Rödl & Partner is an international, owner-managed firm. We therefore particularly identify with the wishes, concerns and requirements of German family-owned companies who have domestic and international operations. Our clients appreciate this and see us as their reliable partner.
‘Força, Equilibri, Valor i Seny’ (strength, equilibrium, valour and common sense) is the Catalan motto of all Castellers, describing their fundamental values very accurately. It is to our liking and also reflects our mentality. Therefore, Rödl & Partner embarked on a collaborative journey with the representatives of this long-standing tradition of human towers, Castellers de Barcelona in May 2011. The association from Barcelona stands, among many other things, for this intangible cultural heritage.
In addition, there are capital market-oriented companies which may or may not be included in stock market indices, which also benefit from our longstanding expertise, just as investors, real estate companies and financial institutions do.
The human towers symbolise in a unique way the Rödl & Partner corporate culture. They personify our philosophy of solidarity, balance, courage and team spirit. They stand for the growth that is based on own resources, the growth which has made Rödl & Partner the company we are today.
Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 Leading Strategic Consultant of the Year - China
In recent years Rödl & Partner has become an indispensable partner for a further group of clients: the public sector with its fully and partially owned companies. The same applies to the renewables, energy and water industries. Furthermore, we also advise health care providers, hospitals and welfare facilities, foundations, supervisory and advisory boards as well as private individuals.
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1612AI03
Company: Lautenschlager, Romeiro e Iwamizu Advogados (LRI Advogados) Name: Gilberto de Castro Moreira Junior Email: gcm@lrilaw.com.br Web: www.lrilaw.com.br Address: Av. Paulista 1.842 – 22° Andar – Torre Norte, São Paulo – SP 01310-200 Brazil Phone: +55 11 2126 4600
Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 Leading Tax Advisor of the Year - Brazil
The Gamut of Tax Services Lautenschlager, Romeiro e Iwamizu Advogados (LRI Advogados) law firm is committed to building a relationship of trust and partnership with its clients, offering quality legal advice to both domestic and foreign companies, based specially in Americas, Europe and Asia. The most valuable asset of LRI Advogados is its long-standing client relationships, which the firm’s Gilberto de Castro Moreira Junior says is based on both trust and cooperation, in a probing interview.
irst of all, can you tell us about what your company does? Operating primarily in Sao Paulo since 2005, the firm seeks to meet the needs of its clients across the Brazilian states, by establishing associations with professionals that share the same work philosophy. The firm also has a broad network of reliable collaborators, such as professionals who specialise in obtaining visas for foreigners, accountants, auditors, translators, experts, engineers and agronomists.
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“The goal of the firm is always to enhance and improve the service we deliver for our clients.” Our firm provides legal consulting services related to a wide range of areas of law. Concerning tax matters, we offer tax consultancy services, tax planning, instruments for obtaining tax incentives and special taxation treatment, obtaining and consultancy regarding installment payment. We also provide the formal consultation of tax authorities on the interpretation of tax regulations, and follow up of developments in proposed bills of law and tax legislation, analysis, calculation and collection of social security contributions and, finally, administrative dispute and court litigation in general. Our professionals are also highly prepared to act in a globalised environment, thanks to their international and multicultural experience, which is one of our best advantages. Furthermore, given its optimised structure, our firm is also able to deliver appropriate legal solutions based on an adequate cost arrangement. We deem vital to perfectly know the business and the needs of our client and provide him with all necessary information to ensure the best deals to our clients.
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The firm is a member of the Law Exchange International Association, which is an international association of law firms that serve clients doing business in major commercial markets across the globe: it aims at providing a comprehensive and seamless web of legal services to clients. Just as client demands increase worldwide, member response and service will be able to meet these quickly and efficiently, ensuring that the association can support the global marketplace. What is your own role in the company as an advisor? What areas do you specialise in? I am a managing partner and the head of the tax department of LRI Advogados. My practice is focused on tax law (litigation, advisory and planning). I hold a JD degree from the University of São Paulo and a PhD degree in economic and financial law from the University of São Paulo. I am also an arbitrator of the EUROCHAMBRES’ Mediation and Arbitration Chamber (CAE), a member of the Tax Litigation Committee of the São Paulo Bar Association, the Brazilian Institute of Tax Law (IBDT), the Scientific Council of the Tax Law Association of São Paulo (APET), the International Association of Tax Judges (IATJ) and I am a sitting member of the Lawyers’ Institute of São Paulo (IASP). I am also the author of the book ‘Bitributação Internacional e Elementos de Conexão’ (International Double Taxation and Connection Elements); coordinator and co-author of the books ‘Direito Tributário Internacional’ (International Tax Law) and ‘PIS e COFINS à luz da jurisprudência do CARF’ (volumes 1, 2 and 3) (PIS and COFINS taxes under the CARF precedents). In total, I have co-authored 21 books and authored several articles addressing tax matters. What important behind the scenes work do advisors such as yourselves carry out? Brazil is the largest country in Latin America region and has a huge market to be developed. Even if we are used to assist different kinds of investors, it is a big challenge to familiarise their activities
LEGAL / Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 / Leading Tax Advisor of the Year - Brazil: The Gamut of Tax Services
to the Brazilian law, because our law system can be really difficult to ascertain. Given our structure, oriented towards international business, we have been involved in various deals and transactions in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) industry that involve due diligences and tax planning. We also support our clients with legal opinions and tax advisory in inbound and outbound matters and, when necessary, in administrative and judicial litigation. Do you have any plans for the future that you would like to share with our readers? The goal of the firm is always to enhance and improve the service we deliver for our clients. We intend to expand the tax department in the coming years, in addition to qualifying our professionals in new business segments arising from the technological development that the world will experience in the future. It is important to mention that I was also nominated for the Tax Controversy Leaders (2015 and 2016) of the International Tax Review (England). Such awards prove that our firm is also recognised and capable to conduct not only tax advisory issues, but also tax litigation matters.
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LEGAL / Leading Project Management Advisor of the Year Australia : A Leading Player in the Legal Transformation Movement 1612AI39
Company: Allygroup Pty Ltd Name: Joanne Rees Email: joanne.rees@ allygroup.com.au Web: www.allygroup.com.au Address: Level 3, 44 Martin Place Sydney NSW 2000 Phone: 02 9216 9800
Leading Project Management Advisor of the Year Australia
A Leading Player in the Legal Transformation Movement Allygroup is an innovative legal services consultancy. We invited CEO and Founder Joanne Rees to tell us more about the firm and its service offering.
stablished in 2007, Allygroup utilises legal technology, alternative fee arrangements, legal process outsourcing, legal project management and flexible and commoditised workforces to reduce clients’ legal spend and maximise efficiencies in the delivery of legal services. As CEO and Founder Joanne has a varied role, which she describes in detail.
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“It is exciting to be a leading player in the legal transformation movement. Having been a partner in three large legal firms, I understand the law firm business models and pressures, and how to work collaboratively with clients and their firms to facilitate trusted relationships, and look forward to applying these tactics as we move Allygroup onto the global stage.” “Through my role as CEO I manage the business and work to grow our client base and service reach. As a legal professional with more than 30 years’ experience in legal project management, running large, complex litigation, legal services consulting and training I have advised banks, insurers and government agencies in the conduct of large, high profile corporate malpractice litigation and delivered savings in excess of 25% on legal services fees. I have previously run the government practice in a leading law firm and undertaken a role as a senior partner in government advisory with one of the “big four” accounting firms.” Steering a steady course through complex and expensive internal restructures requires experienced advisors to build internal consensus and deliver change management support. Joanne talks us through the experience of both herself and her staff, illustrating the dedication and expertise they are able to offer clients. “Allygroup’s advisors have assisted one of Australia’s largest insurers to merge its various insurance brands across the country by reviewing its legal services spend and need and providing recommendations on how to achieve a more efficient, innovative and best practice legal services delivery model. Our advisors’ experience and understanding of changes to the legal market enabled our client to leverage best practice approaches and reduce legal services spend. 18 Acquisition International - December 2016
“Fundamentally, project managing large, expensive litigation is critical to mitigate against reputational damage and financial overspend. One example of the important work carried out by litigation project managers was a long-running dispute between the NSW Government and the provider of an integrated electronic ticketing solution for breach of contract. My role in this action was to oversight scoping of the work to ensure only necessary work was undertaken by external legal providers and focus them on the core issue, and guide the government’s legal staff to stand firm and achieve a beneficial settlement outcome in the face of significant scrutiny from the media and the parliamentary opposition. An independent audit also demonstrated cost savings in excess of $1 million per year of the litigation as a result of our project management methodology.” Collaboration is key to the firm’s success, and this extends beyond clients and through to staff, as Joanne is keen to state as she praises her committed and dedicated workforce. “Here at Allygroup, our people are intrinsic to the success of our projects. As a small to medium enterprise, we punch well above our weight in terms of the clients we serve and the level of professionalism and service delivery achieved. We are lucky to have talented people at all levels of the business, and we focus on culture as a foundation of business success. Our staff often juggle multiple workloads and deploy diverse skillsets to deliver high quality, respected outcomes for our clients, all while maintaining client focus and an emphasis on proactivity and responsiveness.” Allygroup’s core client base consists of State and Federal Government agencies, large corporates and SMEs within Australia. Moving forward, Joanne emphasises that the firm is keen to expand geographically and provide its services to a wider client base. “Looking ahead, we are exploring various options which will allow us to provide our services globally, aiming to offer the same high level of service and quality to clients around the world.
LEGAL / Best Business IP Firm - Belgium: Expertise, Dedication, Integration and Ownership MA16135
Company: Business-Integrated Intellectual Property (BiiP) cvba Name: Marnix Moens Email: info@biip.com Web: www.biip.com Address: Culliganlaan 1B, 1831 Diegem, Belgium Phone: +32 2 403 17 29
Best Business IP Firm - Belgium
Expertise, Dedication, Integration and Ownership Our firm BiiP specialises in providing an integrated approach whereby the whole intellectual property strategy can be used as a dynamic tool to support another firm’s business strategy. Intellectual property can therefore never be a goal on its own, but rather the means of safeguarding options towards commercialisation or exploitation into the market. he company’s insight and understanding how valorisation is done is often not present. BiiP is specialises in an integrated approach of innovation, protection and exploitation strategy taking into account the added value of intellectual property linked to innovation.
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Depending on the client’s specific needs, BiiP offers a selection or combination of the following products to the client:
BiiP integrates IP considerations and IP activities as early as possible into the development and commercialisation cycle of new products, markets and services. To this end, BiiP provides clients with an IP project management methodology (the so-called IP stage-gate process). That is a series of logical steps and milestones for use by project managers from initial conception through research, feasibility demonstrating, development and marketing of new technologies Finally, in order to achieve outstanding levels of client satisfaction, we believe that this can be done through our expertise, dedication, integration and ownership.
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LEGAL / The Impacts of Corporate Tax Reform III 1612AI04
Company: Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law Ltd Name: Nils Harbeke Email: Nils.Harbeke@ pestalozzilaw.com Web: www.pestalozzilaw.com Address: Loewenstrasse 1, CH-8001 Zurich, Switzerland Phone: +41 44 217 91 11
The Impacts of Corporate Tax Reform III We are a full-service business law firm. This enables us to render all our services as integrated services across legal areas. Most of our clients are multinational businesses. The firm was established 1911, so we have a history of 105 years now. This makes us one of the oldest and most successful law firms in Switzerland. We operate through offices in Zurich and Geneva.
ith a firm history of 105 years we have an exceptionally long track record. We are also known to have a long tradition in tax services. It would be fair to say that our law firm was among the first in Switzerland to offer tax services to international clients. As a full-service law firm, we serve business clients from a broad range of industries, as well as private clients.
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In terms of industry focus, we have a long tradition in advising clients in the financial services industry, including banking, capital markets, commodities and real estate, and in the pharmaceutical / life science and IT industry, including fintech. We serve these clients through dedicated industry practice groups where we combine industry knowledge with crosssectional legal expertise. New clients are often derived from existing client relationships, where existing clients refer new clients to us. We are also represented at important industry events where we meet existing and new clients. And
we proactively approach our clients to discuss recent developments both in the business environment and in the legal environment they are operating in. The Swiss Corporate Tax Reform III The Swiss Corporate Tax Reform III combines existing strengths of the Swiss tax system with new opportunities. For example, Switzerland continues with the unilateral tax exemption for income collected through a permanent establishment outside Switzerland. As part of the Swiss Corporate Tax Reform III measures, the general corporate income tax rates will be reduced in many Swiss Cantons. A corporate income tax burden of 12% - 14% will be available in an increasing number of Swiss Cantons as the standard rate, that is without a requirement to apply any additional tax planning measures. With its strong pharmaceutical / life science industry, Switzerland is an important hub for innovation. There also is an impressive number of very innovative IT firms present in Switzerland. If you look at fintech, this ties in with a very developed and strong financial services industry. In this environment, tax benefits such as the patent box help to further encourage innovation. Another interesting measure under Swiss Corporate Tax Reform III is the R&D super deduction. To support innovative industries, this will allow for a tax-effective deduction of up to 150% of qualifying R&D spending. Notably, utmost care has been taken in the legislative process to design all these measures in line with OECD requirements, that is Switzerland offers stable and sustainable solutions. Having said that, will the reforms make the region an attractive location for business to remain, or even relocate to? Well, we already now see the number of company migrations to Switzerland increasing. With its low corporate income tax rates, Switzerland is very attractive. And not only does the government promote this attractive environment. With its healthy budget and responsible spending policy Switzerland is able and willing to offer low tax rates on a sustainable / long-term basis.
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LEGAL / Corporate IP Advisor of the Year - Kenya: Perfection in Patent Protection FD160089
NK & Co. Advocates Company: NK & Co. Advocates Name: Ivia Kitonga Email: iviaki@live.com Address: P.O. Box 60102 – 00200 NAIROBI Phone: +254 716 355 990
Perfection in Patent Protection NK & Co. Advocates are a boutique law firm in Nairobi, Kenya. We invited Ivia Kitonga to tell us more. K & Co. Advocates offer a wide range of services across corporate advice; asset acquisitions and disposals; IP due diligence; registrations; licensing and assignments; IP portfolio management and litigation. Ivia discusses the firm’s service offering and how it works to ensure clients receive the highest possible quality of services.
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Corporate IP Advisor of the Year - Kenya
“At NK & Co. Advocates we serve cross-sector corporate clients across Eastern Africa. Helping technology start-ups navigate the African legal and regulatory terrain is our core business. Our brand is well known in the market for providing effective services and the timely delivery of results. We are renowned as specialist Patent, Trademarks and Tax Agents.” The biggest challenge the firm face operating in Africa has been understanding and adopting to online business. Increased global connectivity is opening up opportunities which have local impact.
Despite this challenge NK & Co. Advocates have enjoyed a successful year, which they attribute to their collaborative strategy and dedication to providing the best possible service to clients. “Crucial to our success is the fact that we uphold integrity and international best practices in our work. We work effectively and efficiently deploying our vast networks in the region.” This network is central to the firm’s working practices, as it ensures that the company remains at the forefront of the latest industry developments. Moving forward the focus will remain on growing this network whilst at the same time maintaining the same high standards which NK & Co. Advocates have come to pride itself on. “Ultimately we are looking forward to joining a global network of law firms and assisting clients doing business in Africa.”
Acquisition International - December 2016 21
LEGAL / AI’s Leading Advisors of 2016: Achieving Excellence in Maritime Law 1612AI13
Company: ANDREW LIU & CO., LTD Name: Vivek Jain Email: vivekjain@ andrewliu.com.hk Web: www.andrewliu.com.hk Address: 25th Floor, Fortis Bank Tower, No. 77-79 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Phone: +852 2521 0373
AI’s Leading Advisors of 2016
Achieving Excellence in Maritime Law ANDREW LIU & CO., LTD (ALCO) was established in Hong Kong in 1988 as one of the first marine insurance consultants assisting Ship Owners and Charterers in China with their insurance and claims requirements. We spoke to Claims and Legal Director Vivek Jain to learn more about this innovative and pioneering company and his role in it.
LCO was the first insurance broker in Hong Kong to acquire the ISO 9002 certification with the goal to provide the best possible service. Vivek talks us through his role as Claims and Legal Director and how his specialism in maritime law has helped him to support the company through many complex cases.
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“Alongside the traditional broking services we offer, ALCO has a specialised Claims and Legal Team, which is working 24 x 7 to serve its clients and vessels around the world. Over the years, ALCO has assisted in handling complex marine claims, handled arbitration cases not supported by insurers and desires to provide innovative legal solutions. Exploring what ALCO’s insurance clients require and how ALCO can meet their needs is a goal which is constantly pursued by the company’s management in order to offer clients the best possible service.” Throughout the year, the Claims and Legal team members are also busy meeting clients at their workplace, and trying their best to resolve clients’
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day to day claims and legal issues. This is what Vivek believes is a key differentiating factor, as ALCO’s mission and philosophy epitomises a proactive approach in the context of providing services to its clients. With offices located in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Dalian, Fuzhou and Zhoushan today, ALCO is now operating as one of the major insurance brokers specialising in marine hull, protection and indemnity, charterers liability, war risks and cargo insurance in Asia. In addition, any special cover that a client need for a specific marine business can also be arranged after obtaining relevant advice from the Claims and underwriting team. Looking ahead, Vivek believes that the key to the firm’s ongoing success is a focus on client service. “Ultimately, ALCO’s philosophy is always to place themselves in the position of the client, so that the whole team proactively thinks and cares for the client, and this will be our continuing focus going forward.”
LEGAL / Best Hedge Fund Law Firm - Georgia: Helping People Solve Their Problems FD160094
Jones & Haley Company: Jones & Haley Name: Richard W. Jones Email: jones@corplaw.net Web: www.corplaw.net Address: 115 Perimeter Center Place Suite 170, Atlanta, Ga 30346 Phone: +1 770 804 0500
Best Hedge Fund Law Firm - Georgia
Helping People Solve Their Problems Jones & Haley is a small, highly sophisticated law firm located in the financial capital of the south - Atlanta, Georgia. The focus of their practice is on business/corporate law, mergers, and acquisitions, securities law, and software and IT law. We caught up with the firm’s Richard W. Jones, who shares his insights into their work in the legal sector.
irst of all, how does it feel to have been given this award and to what do you most owe this success? We feel very honoured to receive such a prestigious award, and we owe our success to a lot of hard work and talented people.
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What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be given this prestigious award? We have focused on solving our client’s problems and helping them achieve success in their business. Please give us an overview of your company, your clients and the services you offer. We provide big firm expertise and small firm service and value to the business community. Please tell us more about your approach towards client service. What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service?
The best area to focus on in providing good customer service is finding out what the client’s goals are and helping the client achieve those goals. Can you tell us more about the culture in you company, that is how do you ensure that this is prevalent across all sectors? We are a small firm so it is easy to make sure everyone that provides services to clients does so on a consistent cultural basis. With this in mind, what is your hiring process? How do you ensure that you attract the best talent in the industry to your firm? We look for talented individuals with a good work ethic that shares our business culture views. Tell us about the legal profession currently. What have been the biggest and most significant developments and what challenges do businesses such as yours face? Our challenge is to attract quality clients and to provide them with the best service possible What sets your firm apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage? We provide sophisticated legal services that are usually only found in large law firms, such as securities law and mergers and acquisitions, yet we can provide the services much more economically because we are a smaller firm with lower overhead. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in the legal profession? Helping people solve their problems. What are your plans for the future? Do you have any particular projects or plans you would be willing to share with us? We plan to focus on continuing to provide the best possible service for our clients. Looking at the wider legal market, what developments do you foresee and how will you adapt around these? Legal issues are becoming more and more complex. We plan to adapt to this by keeping up with the latest developments and trying to simplify the issues for our clients. Acquisition International - December 2016 23
LEGAL / Best Life Science Patent Law Firm - USA: Bringing the Best out of Others Assurance FD160095
Bringing the Best out of Others It is certainly very humbling to receive the ‘Best Life Science Patent Law Firm – USA’ award. While we take great pride in the work we do for clients, we were not expecting this award. This would not be possible were it not for our clients giving us the opportunity to represent them. We have some great clients, who have great technologies and outstanding, smart people. It is a joy and privilege to work with our clients day in and day out, and I think that they help to bring out the best in us. Company: Nevrivy Patent Law Group P.L.L.C. Name: Daniel J. Nevrivy, Ph.D. Email: dnevrivy@nevrivylaw.com Web: www.nevrivylaw.com Address: 1000 Potomac Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20007 Phone: + 1 202 650 6905
Best Life Science Patent Law Firm - USA
he firm does quite a lot of work in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. We recently obtained a patent for one of our clients in personalised medicine, which is a very challenging area right now to obtain patents in the US due to some recent changes in the case law. It was a very complex case that had been in prosecution for over 13 years, and had been handled by multiple law firms. There was even an appeal where the client had lost. When we took it over, we gave it a fresh look and found some new issues and we ended up getting the patent issued within about a year and a half from when we took over. The client was ecstatic to get this victory after such a long and difficult road, and we were also personally very satisfied to be a part of it.
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Our firm is very specialised, focusing mainly on intellectual property in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, energy and consumer products. We focus mainly on patent procurement and strategic IP counselling, which includes advising clients regarding patentability, infringement and validity of patent claims and enforcing their intellectual property rights. We also represent clients in transactions involving intellectual property, such as mergers and acquisitions, licensing and development agreements. Our firm represents a number of clients ranging from individual inventors, start-ups and emerging firms to Fortune 500 firms, located throughout the world. The firm also represents a significant number of research universities through their technology transfer offices. We are also becoming more active in trademark filings and prosecution. As a firm, we use technology a lot to streamline the practice of law and make it more efficient. We are always looking at the latest developments and tools to help us in our practice. As a smaller firm, it is essential that we do this so that we can stay competitive. It used to require a lot of back office manpower to operate a law practice and deliver legal services. Technology has changed that to a large extent and it has tilted the playing field, enabling smaller and leaner firms to deliver the same (and often better) service for less cost.
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The future We are looking at forming some strategic relationships with firms that have practices that differ from our own, so that we can broaden the types of services we offer clients. We are also getting more involved in litigation, which is exciting. In the U.S, the big development in the coming years will be what impact the new Donald Trump administration has on existing U.S. laws and regulations. With both houses of the U.S. Congress and the Presidency in Republican hands, we should expect significant changes on many fronts, including taxes, immigration, healthcare and international trade to name a few. Biotechnology and pharma companies are innovative industries that are vital to our nation’s and the global economy. One of the worries in the industry is that the new administration and Congress will look to rein in drug costs, by negotiating lower prices, as is done in some other countries. The industry was already bracing for more regulation and scrutiny in a possible Hillary Clinton administration. However, with Trump, I do not think the issue will be going away anytime soon, because the Republicans will be looking at all of the big picture issues, including the budget, and the growing entitlement spending on healthcare which is creating a huge hole in the nation’s budget. So, I do not think that the issue of drug pricing will be going away anytime soon. Reduced profits in the biotech and pharma industry could certainly create headwinds and stifle innovation and development of new drugs, which is very expensive. On the other hand, there could be some positives for the industry if Trump follows through on his pledge to reduce taxes, cut regulations, and create a more business friendly climate. The biotech and pharmaceutical industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries, and a more favourable tax and regulatory climate could help to offset the negative impacts of changes to the current drug pricing regime. In short, I believe there will be a lot of new laws and changes to existing laws. There will be plenty of work to do!
Protecting the Profession in an Innovative Way: The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board In the late 1980s, complaints against lawyers in Louisiana were escalating. The Louisiana Supreme Court, in a bold move, established the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB). It was the first attorney disciplinary system in the nation to incorporate the American Bar Association’s new model rules for lawyer disciplinary enforcement, which created a separate agency to administer lawyer discipline independent of influence from attorneys, bar associations and the public. It worked. The LADB celebrated its 25th anniversary last year with a track record of impressive results. Complaints against lawyers in Louisiana began to decline soon after the new Board began reviewing and prosecuting complaints. Since 1990, close to 81,000 complaints against lawyers were opened resulting in approximately 3,100 sanctions being imposed. “The statistics prove that the Louisiana Supreme Court was absolutely correct to create an independent agency to oversee the conduct of lawyers, said Charles Plattsmier, Chief Disciplinary Counsel. “The bulk of the complaints that are filed are resolved without a formal prosecution. The LADB is a critical conduit between the legal profession, clients and the public and the agency has had a tremendously positive effect on the image of lawyers in Louisiana.” The LADB has gained the trust of the legal community and the public by involving both in the process of administering discipline against lawyers in Louisiana. The board’s membership includes volunteer lawyers and non-lawyer professionals from throughout Louisiana who serve on committees that hear complaints and issue recommendations. This adjudicative function is housed separately from the prosecutorial function. Decisions and disciplinary actions may be appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court for review. Today, Chief Justice Bernette J. Johnson, along with Associate Justices Greg G. Guidry, Scott J. Crichton, Jeannette Theriot Knoll, Marcus R. Clark, Jefferson D. Hughes, III, and John L. Weimer have praised the agency for its successes and commitment to finding innovative ways to engage the legal community and the public. The LADB provides a useful educational function as well. It presents free Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars, as well as online CLEs. It is one of the few, if the only agency, offering continuing legal education through online “webisodes.” The True Attorney online web series uses dramatizations of real cases to teach legal ethics in an entertaining way. The series is produced by burgeoning filmmakers Brett Roberts, Michael Rees and Kyle Chase. Roberts is a recent graduate of the University of New Orleans. Rees and Chase are currently students at Loyola University. Visit ladb.org to learn more about the agency, view the True Attorney trailers and subscribe to LADB’s electronic newsletter, “Nota Bene,” which provides periodic updates on ethics, professionalism and Board developments.
www.ladb.org
FD160069
LEGAL / Best Full-Service Law Firm – Philippines & Recognised Leader in Banking Law - Philippines : A Noble Profession FD160096
A Noble Profession Company: PJS Law Name: Ramil E. Bugayong Email: rebugayong@pjslaw.com Web: www.pjslaw.com Address: 10/F 8 Rockwell, Hidalgo cor. Plaza Drives, Rockwell Center, Makati City, Philippines Phone: +632 840.5025
Best Full-Service Law Firm & Recognised Leader in Banking Law - Philippines
PJS Law is Puyat Jacinto & Santos, a Philippine-based general professional legal. We spoke to Ramil Bugayong to learn more.
stablished in 1997, PJS Law has been consistently cited by leading legal and financial publications as one of the leading Philippine law firms recommended for energy and projects, mergers and acquisition, banking, capital markets, project finance and restructuring and insolvency.
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The firm’s transaction experience cuts across various industries ranging from energy, banking, finance, public utilities, infrastructure, manufacturing, trading, food and retail and business process outsourcing, among others. Ramil outlines how PJS Law works to ensure that it partners with clients and provides them with the service they need throughout the process. “As trusted strategic partners of industry stakeholders, PJS Law is at the forefront of innovative legal service and exceptional client care through its expertise in combining both traditional approaches and forward-looking strategies. “Our ability to understand not just the legal framework but also the technical and financial nuances of a target industry remain the strongest aspects of our firm. It has also paved the way for the firm to handle several innovative and pioneering transactions.” Fundamentally, PJS Law adheres to the principle that being a lawyer is a noble profession and as such, it involves certain responsibilities towards clients, the legal profession and to society in general. Ramil explains how the firm aims to take this responsibility through its work, offering services which meet clients’ needs and are always at the
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forefront of industry innovation, as the company looks to evolve with its clients to provide them with the services that suit them. “What sets PJS Law’s apart from our competitors is the proficiency at speaking the language of business and industry when advising clients on legal issues relevant to their respective sectors. Our clients are continuously improving and evolving, and their transactions are becoming more sophisticated. That requires us to keep in step with our clients, and as such PJS Law stands on a solid foundation built upon the values of competence, integrity, relationship, commitment and leadership. Through the application of these values we are able to ensure that we are constantly meeting the needs of our clients. “In continuing the effort to remain true to these values, the partners have provided a mentoring system that ensures continuous guidance and support in the development of each member of the firm as a lawyer, an individual, and a member of the society. Our hiring committee looks for likeminded individuals. They should also embody and committed in nurturing these values so that they will help us build on our legacy of excellence and continue our good work into the future.” Looking ahead, Ramil outlines how the firm is keen to build upon its current success and continue to innovate and develop in order to provide clients with the highest possible quality of service. “Moving forward, we want to continue improving our ability to provide effective solutions, particularly in the field of banking and capital markets, which we believe will grow and offer us great opportunities to work with new clients.”
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M&A Round-Up of 2016 Company: Bureau van Dijk E-Mail: bvd@bvdinfo.com Web: www.bvdinfo.com
2016 has been a fairly positive year in terms of M&A investment, albeit slightly quieter than its record-breaking predecessor. The results generated in the year to date are promising, particularly given that 2015 was such an impressive 12 months, and the fact that we have not seen a dramatic decline in activity is a positive sign.
he first half of this year saw steady levels of deal making, as $2,165,033 million was injected through 50,513 deals between the beginning of January and the end of June, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. This was lower than the corresponding period of 2015, when there were 53,012 transactions worth $2,920,606 million. However, it is worth noting that this represented the best result for the first half of the year since the opening six months of 2007, when deals worth $3,134,821 million were signed off.
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The second half of 2016 is currently down slightly on H1 as $2,123,792 million has been invested so far since the beginning of July. However, given that there is still slightly over a month to go until the end of the year it is possible that we will see sufficient deal making in December to result in value at least coming close to the levels generated in H1. It is less likely that figures will reach the same levels as in H2 2015, when $ 3,110,819 million was invested. Aside from the $3,134,821 million injected in H1 2007, this represents the highest value for a six-month period in the entire period under review, dating back to the beginning of 2006. Although
value has declined slightly in 2016, it is not for a lack of significant transactions; in fact, two deals broke the $ 100,000 million barrier this year, the largest of which was worth $124,444 million. The banking, insurance and financial services sector attracted the most investment in 2016 with $ 768,271 million, followed by personal, leisure and business services with $765,687 million. Other industries which performed well include computer, IT and Internet services ($696,549 million), industrial, electric and electronic machinery ($584,844 million) and chemicals, petroleum, rubber and plastic ($428,505 million). All of 2016’s top ten sectors by value declined on 2015, which is unsurprising given that the year as a whole is down on the last 12 months. The personal, leisure and business services industry led the way in terms of volume with 17,353 deals, followed by computer, IT and Internet services with 17,220 and banking, insurance and financial services with 13,271. As stated previously, 2016 has seen a number of large transactions signed off, the most valuable of which closed in October, when ABInBev picked up UK beer manufacturer SABMiller via its Newbelco vehicle for $124,444 million. The parties agreed terms in July after long-running reports linked them with a deal. SABMiller initially rejected a number of proposals from the suitor before accepting July’s offer, which equated to £51.14 per share. Zephyr shows the deal is the fifth-largest on record. Second place in 2016 was taken by another deal worth more than $100,000 million as AT&T agreed to pick up global media and entertainment giant Time Warner for $108,700 million in October. This deal is also impressive, not just in terms of 2016, and is the seventh-largest transaction on record, according to Zephyr. In conclusion, 2016 has not generated the same level of deal making activity as 2015, but there have still been a number of very sizeable transactions signed off over the course of the year. This, combined with the fact that 2015 was an extremely impressive year in terms of deal volumes and values means that a comparison may do this year an injustice. If large deals continue to be signed off next year deal making levels are sure to maintain a blistering pace.
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M&A / Sector Talk
Number and Aggregate Value (mil $) of M&A Deals Globally: 2006-2016 YTD (as at 30 November 2016) Deal Number half yearly value of deals (Announced date)
Aggregate deal value (mil $)
H2 2016
37,373
H1 2016
Deal yearly value (Announced date) by Sector: 2015-2016 YTD (as at 30 November 2016) Zephus classification (target)
2015
2016
Banking, Insurance & Financial Services
1,418,085
768,271
2,123,792
50,513
2,165,033
Personal, Leisure & Business Services
990,715
765,687
H2 2015
54,011
3,110,819
835,234
696,549
H1 2015
53,012
2,920,606
Computer, IT and Internet services
814,642
584,844
H2 2014
52,539
2,514,066
Industrial, Electric & Electronic Machinery
H1 2014
49,573
2,336,737
482,734
428,505
H2 2013
49,226
2,061,799
Chemicals, Petroleum, Rubber & Plastic
H1 2013
43,133
1,685,120
Mining & Extraction
465,904
358,576
H2 2012
43,423
1,827,996
Utilities
520,187
357,027
H1 2012
41,785
1,509,105
432,253
320,140
H2 2011
42,207
1,589,851
Transport, Freight, Storage & Travel Services
H1 2011
42,151
1,893,405
Property Services
549,967
283,358
H2 2010
41,872
1,823,401
Communications
546,267
248,864
219,730
246,185
H1 2010
41,445
1,694,628
Food & Tobacco Manufacturing
H2 2009
39,419
1,786,335
Retailing
393,914
242,223
H1 2009
35,922
1,967,710
Wholesaling
326,150
228,395
H2 2008
33,910
2,135,861
338,925
179,557
H1 2008
36,741
2,079,269
Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences
H2 2007
38,712
2,510,041
Metals & Metal Products
207,958
161,425
H1 2007
41,240
3,134,821
148,056
36,909
2,331,409
H1 2006
36,229
2,179,944
Public Administration, Education, Health Social Services
271,989
H2 2006
Number and Aggregate Value (Mil $) of M&A Deals Globally by Deal Type: 2006-2016 YTD (as at 30 November 2016) Deal type
Number of deals
Aggregate deal value (mil $)
Acquisition
338,340
23,615,863
Capital increase Minority stake Institutional buy-out Management buy-out
159,891 413,671 18,048 5,427
10,420,158 10,132,953 3,229,680 116,737
Demerger
1,696
54,274
Number of M&A Deals Globally by World Region: 2006-2016 YTD (as at 30 November 2016) World region (target) North America
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
1,103,068
1,397,662
1,907,450
2,140,195
1,639,944
Far East and Central Asia Western Europe South and Central America Oceania
677,003 836,131 345,427 142,183
723,403 956,555 220,598 130,701
1,092,901 1,145,158 306,630 159,000
1,735,091 1,380,092 330,183 175,285
1,157,560 1,045,848 186,024 100,950
Eastern Europe Middle East Africa
133,826 34,846 34,267
240,471 26,460 48,812
192,876 34,588 44,347
149,071 37,383 51,143
90,152 56,826 27,558
Q4 2016 M&A roundup Both the volume and value of deals signed off in Q4 have yet to reach the levels generated in the opening three quarters of the year. However, given that there is still a month to go until the end of the year it is still possible for figures to surpass these levels. In Q4 to date there have been 13,814 deals worth a combined $832,285 million, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. If enough deals are signed off in December and Q4 is able to improve on Q3 in terms of value it will complete a pattern in which each quarter of 2016 has improved on the previous one. This is interesting as by contrast, volume has actually dropped every three months in the year to date, suggesting higher individual considerations account for the increase in aggregate values. Despite the positive trend, the results are less encouraging in a year-on-year comparison; so far, every quarter has been trumped by the corresponding period of 2015 in terms of value, although given what an impressive 12-months last year was this is perhaps not surprising. In particular, Q2 of last year saw deals worth $1,593,500 million signed off, representing the best quarterly result since Q2 2007 ($ 1,815,020 million). It must be stressed that despite this year declining on 2015, the values injected are still fairly promising; both Q1 and Q3 surpassed the corresponding periods of 2014 and values are considerably higher than in the quarters between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2013. In terms of Q4 to date, North America has been the most targeted region in terms of value, having attracted deal making of $381,678 million. This places it well ahead of its nearest competitors, the Far East and Central Asia and Western Europe, with $179,400 million and $166,075 million, respectively. The latter led the way by volume with 4,485 deals, followed by the Far East and Central Asia with 3,623 and North America with 3,548. In conclusion, Q4 has been in keeping with the rest of 2016 as an impressive, if not recordbreaking, period. 2017 is likely to be interesting and will be the determining factor in whether 2016 is seen as a period of rest after a busy 2015 or the beginning of a more significant decline.
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Company: Jonathan Sander, VP of product strategy Name: Lieberman Software Email: support@liebsoft.com Web: www.liebsoft.com Address: Lieberman Software Corporation, 1875 Century Park East, Suite 1200, Los Angeles, CA 90067 Phone: (01) 310 550 8575
Mergers and Acquisitions - The Important Role of Cyber Security When entering a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal, the ruling analogy must be likened to that of purchasing a new home. Due diligence dictates that the buyer understands all of the risks, where there are weak points, leaks or any other risks that will be inherited. To do this, the buyer will bring in an inspector, or in the case of a merger or acquisition, a third party to clue up the buyer to any potential sticking points. But also, akin to buying a home, the true faults don’t begin to show until you’ve lived with them – or done business with them - for a while.
hen purchasing a new company, naturally cyber security is often not a top priority and any inspection pre-merger will consist of a casual examination of the results in IT systems, audits of data dumps and a walk-through transaction from the view of the end user. Just like the new home buyer is more concerned with the neighbourhood than the plumbing at first, both parties are more worried about keeping customers and shareholders happy and focusing strongly on the quickest route to profitability. Therefore, post M&A consolidation of the two companies is likely to be rushed. Rushing always leads to poor engineering, and especially poor security. True consolidation can take years to achieve post-merger and this is because of the complexity that is realised when bringing two companies together.
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And here’s the thing: complexity makes an excellent place for bad guys to hide, whether it’s external cyber criminals looking to take advantage of a chaotic time, or an internal employee feeling uncertain about their position in the new corporate environment. The bad plumbing hides in the walls of the new house, and the security vulnerabilities hide in the 5 layered applications that can’t be changed for fear of lost revenues. The number one real risk from mergers and acquisitions is that this complexity multiplies overnight when Company A amalgamates with Company B. IT complexity isn’t addition, it’s exponential. Cyber criminals under any guise are opportunists and will take advantage while everyone else is distracted. With that in mind, companies need to anticipate that insecure, privileged accounts are a prominent method used by cyber criminals to gain access
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into a network and think about how this problem is effectively multiplied when two or more IT environments merge. Privileged accounts provide the gateway for viewing and extracting critical data, altering system configuration settings, and running programs on almost every hardware and software asset in the company. And once one privileged account is breached, it is easy for hackers to move around the network almost undetected. There are so many privileged accounts in large businesses that many can’t keep track of where all of their privileged accounts reside or who can access them. Privileged accounts are the admin log in that every server, device, router, and IoT toy has; they are the application and service accounts the run every organisation’s most critical software; they are the links that keep all the machine to machine communications humming along. Everyone is dangerous if unchecked. Unlike personal login credentials, privileged identities are not typically linked to any one individual and are often shared among multiple IT administrators with credentials which are seldom changed, making it even easier for the criminals to worm their way through the network. While Organisation A might have well defined processes to keep track of these important accounts, Organisation B could potentially be a mess of who has access to what or overprovisioning (where employees move internally but still have old access permissions). When the two merge, there will also be cases of inherited rights (the dreaded “just give Sally from Organisation B the same rights as Jill from A and be done with it.”) unless rules and policies are well-defined to prevent even more risk being introduced.
M&A / Mergers and Acquisitions - The Important Role of Cyber Security
Put simply, when two corporate IT environments come together, IT and systems administrators come face to face with one of the biggest IT challenges of a successful merger: privileged identity management. Much like that list of projects our home seller has been ignoring for years, the lack of privileged identity management becomes a latent risk to the buyer at the time of M&A. The problem is that if organisations don’t know where their privileged accounts are on the network, they cannot safeguard them. Think of an ostrich; just because it buries its head and is unable to see the problem doesn’t mean that it won’t get attacked. So, the idea is to detect and remediate. For two companies coming together, proactively sorting out the issues surrounding privileged identity management with a view to minimising cyber related risk can build trust and remove arbitrary access to make sure the process is fair. IT administrators can be quite territorial – which is a good trait that means they are personally invested in the quality of the IT services. When you ask two teams to merge, proper controls over the now merged set of privileged identities can make things transparent. This removes any notion that one team is the special, controlling team, and instead puts the control of administrative power in the hands of a system run by policy. Mergers and acquisitions can be a highly chaotic time in the corporate world, especially for IT teams and sys admins who need to keep track of employees and sensitive information. When thinking about the number of new staff, the leavers and the movers, it can boggle the mind of even the most astute IT professionals. By keeping a step ahead and taking actions to easily get insight and control over who is accessing what through privileged identities, it can decrease the complexity of bringing two different corporate IT environments together and help keep cyber criminals at bay.
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M&A / Boutique Business of the Year: Ciesco: Global Advice to Meet Global Needs 1612AI48
Company: Ciesco Group Name: Chris Sahota Email: chris.sahota@ ciescogroup.com Web: www.ciescogroup.com Address: 156 - 158 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9TR, London, UK Phone: (0) 20 3771 3174
Ciesco: Global Advice to Meet Global Needs Ciesco is a London-based boutique corporate finance advisory firm, specialising in M&A advisory and business strategy for the digital, media, marketing and technology sectors. The firm’s Chief Executive Chris Sahota tells us more. stablished in 2010 and led by practitioners with deep industry experience and expertise within new media and disruptive technologies, Ciesco is able to deliver its clients independent and sound advice and execution, as well as access to an extensive network of direct contacts with high quality investors globally. With past and current mandates covering Europe, North America and Asia, the firm have a true global capability and the experience to meet clients’ needs. Chris outlines the firm’s specialist focus in more detail and how this helps its client base to achieve their aims and objectives.
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Boutique Business of the Year
“Here at Ciesco we specialise in helping our clients navigate the complex world of digital, media, marketing and technology sectors. We work with a wide range of clients including young, cutting-edge start-ups, established entrepreneurial businesses, or large global corporates who require our specialist advice on domestic or cross-border transactions, divestitures and business strategy. We also work with private equity firms looking for growth or exit opportunities for their portfolio companies. “As a small boutique firm, we are relationship-driven and pride ourselves on delivering independent, high quality specialist advice focused on maximising long-term benefits and shareholder value for our clients. Most of our work comes by personal
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referral or recommendation, and as such we pride ourselves on providing every client with the very highest standard of service. Our practitioners live and breathe these sectors and their expertise and operational knowledge of sector trends and emerging technologies in this space comes from years of experience gained at senior level within leading firms. We understand the factors that drive value through the execution of hundreds of deals as bankers and operators in our chosen sectors.” In his concluding comments Chris discusses his firm’s plans for its upcoming Global M&A review, which it is debuting to a selection of leading practitioners from media, marketing & technology and will showcase M&A activity across these three sectors for the past year. “Ciesco tracks all M&A activity in the media, marketing and technology sectors throughout the year and publish the key findings in an annual report. Our 2016 Global M&A review launch event will be hosted in London on the 31st January 2017 and then in Amsterdam on the 9th February. The invite-only audience will be made up of Senior Executives from a diverse range of disciplines in the media, marketing and technology sectors, combining a mixture of the large networks, consultancies, new emerging market entrants, investors and entrepreneurs.”
Company: IMD - International Institute for Management Development Name: Professor Georges Haour Email: georges.haour@imd.org Web: www.imd.org
Why China’s New Cybersecurity Law Is a Threat to International Businesses and Innovation China has the world’s largest market for digital shopping, mobile payments, and Internet-enabled financial services. Close to 400 million people in China do most of their payments using their smartphones. China’s overall business in information technology is a market of well above USD $300 billion, and it is estimated that more than 700 million Chinese have access to Internet. So, any law impacting the online space—cybersecurity included—will make ripples in the way China does business.
hat’s why its new cybersecurity law— due to take effect in June of next year—is particularly alarming. It is part of an ongoing government program to reinforce China’s cybersecurity, and arguably targets non-Chinese hackers. But it comes amidst continuous tensions between the U.S. and China, not just in terms of cybersecurity (each country has accused the other of hacking), but with trade, the economy, and, of course, the U.S. election, which will inevitably change how business is done between the two nations. The law appears to be counterproductive in several ways.
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“Innovation involves a complex process, but it requires a society to be as open as possible and to allow vibrant exchanges between people.” First, as the law sets forward, important network equipment and software will have to receive government certifications. This means that specific pieces of intellectual property or technical features will have to be divulged, which could easily be passed on to Chinese companies by the
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regulators behind cybersecurity. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the state in China has tremendous power and plays a critical role in economic plans. Government interference is much more prevalent than in Western nations. And under the veil of cybersecurity, regulators will have access to proprietary information that could benefit Chinese firms at the expense of foreign business. The type of businesses most at risk will be those with special hardware and systems for network management. But it could even include data from and for ATMs. New generation ATMs have a much higher level of connectivity with mobile integration and face recognition. This makes them more vulnerable to hacking and means confidential devices and information will have to be used for protection. And under this law, that creates a big entry place for government snooping. This law is also counterproductive because companies gathering data in so-called ‘critical areas’ will have to store that data inside China. At this stage, the definition of ‘critical’ is worryingly broad. Complying with this requirement will force international firms to make expensive investments to build duplicate facilities within China. This is in total contradiction with the free flow of data, expected to swell in 2020 after the introduction of 5G.
SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH / Why China’s New Cybersecurity Law Is a Threat to International Businesses and Innovation
International companies will have to weigh this risk against the opportunity to do business in China. China has had a long reputation for ‘copying’ without getting insider access, and this law could only open the ease to which China’s business sector can review competition. For international companies, there is no easy way forward as the choice is black or white. Either foreign companies will comply, knowing China has a way to peek into what previously was private, or they will choose to stand by principles of privacy at the risk of being excluded from the Chinese market. Despite the challenging dilemma, companies are likely to comply and give in to China’s demands. The market is too huge and far too ripe for future growth, especially when compared to more stagnant outlooks in Europe and the U.S. In addition to creating barriers for international business in China, this kind of legislative move goes completely against innovation. It could well be considered to be part of what is called ‘indigenous innovation’ in China. This consists in favouring Chinese firms by establishing non-tariff barriers, such as specific standards or regulations on products, in order to prevent non-Chinese firms the access to China’s large and dynamic market. And the impact would be wide-ranging, from consumer electronics to products such as equipment to produce renewable energy, including windmills and solar panels. Innovation involves a complex process, but it requires a society to be as open as possible and to allow vibrant exchanges between people. While cybersecurity is important, this law will wrap around the free market as it grips security. Within China, entrepreneurs are, by and large, not bothered by their government’s management of the Internet, called the ‘great firewall’. However, this new law is a new step to tighten the government’s grip on the Internet. Furthermore, far from favouring China’s champions in this very dynamic area, such as Huawei, Lenovo, or TenCent, this law will handicap them in the long term. Maybe the hope is that these companies themselves will fight to alter the law and mitigate the negative implications for China’s Internet landscape. U.S. companies have already began to strongly lobby against the law, as well as China’s position that the Internet must be managed by authorities. But despite the efforts of any company, Chinese or other, the cybersecurity law is just a piece in a larger ongoing political puzzle that companies will have to deal with. Trump’s stance on trade and is equally, if not more, alarming for business. In the end, agility will be key for companies to succeed in the tense political environment. IMD Professor Georges Haour is a Professor of Technology and Innovation Management at IMD business school and co-author of the new book - Created in China: How China is Becoming a Global Innovator (Bloomsbury, London, 2016).
Acquisition International - December 2016 35
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Company: Allied Wallet Web: www.alliedwallet.com
Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurs Allied Wallet is on a noble mission to shape the future of eCommerce, by giving young entrepreneurs the opportunity to accept payments, generate profits and to stay in business. As the ‘Saviour of the Entrepreneurs’, the firm’s tech billionaire Dr. Andy Khawaja gives an inspirational interview about his globally successful credit-card processing company Allied Wallet, who serve 196 countries and an astounding 150+ million users. In June 2016, he was the recipient of the Honorary Degree in Humane Letters, at the Lebanese American University.
s we approach Christmas 2016, what achievements do you feel Allied Wallet has accomplished during 2016? Allied Wallet has recently won the Most Trusted Payment Company Award, because both our merchants and consumers trust our company, and the way we handle their transactions or any issues related to fraud or a product being delivered on time through a third party. That has increased the business of Allied Wallet, especially with Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day, not to mention Christmas shopping.
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We did 300 times more business than the previous year for Black Friday this year, so we are doing extremely well and I am really excited about the business, indeed we want to do the right thing at Allied Wallet to gain more business.
“We are shaping the future and indeed we are the future. That is why in multiple interviews I have done they call me the ‘messiah of eCommerce’ because we are the saviour of entrepreneurs.” Following the Christmas and New Year period, what plans to Allied Wallet have for 2017 and beyond? In the forthcoming second quarter of 2017, we are exploring the possibility of going IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, something that is still on the table. With the new platform, ‘Next Gen Payment Gateway’ for online payment processing, the next generation in my opinion is four companies combined. If you put together Square, Stripe, PayPal and CyberSource, all 4 of these companies are pretty much what the Allied Wallet Next Gen Payment Gateway is. That is, we have built and recently launched, a massive increase in volume
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and many consumers are using it so it is a jackpot for us. It is going to take a massive piece of the market during 2017 – why would you want to go to these companies to do each individual item – when you can come to Allied Wallet and do everything with just one company where everything is integrated? What important role do staff play in the success of Allied Wallet? My team are very important to me because they are part of the company, whatever direction Allied Wallet takes. I treat my team in the way I treat myself, indeed they are being looked after because they all have stock options open to them and there are more of these to come. Again, from the start we always look after all our people and treat each employee as a family member, and this I believe has helped with the growth of the company. Can you tell me about your USA operations office, what are the benefits of having this in West Hollywood, on Sunset Blvd? What does the region have to offer for a business such as yours? It doesn’t matter where we are located, but Allied Wallet are global. In terms of the region, LA is the mecca of the Silicon Valley right now and there are a lot of new kids on the block there. It is the entrepreneur capital of the world and back in the day it was wellknown for the entertainment and movie business. Today it is known for innovation, and we see mass growth in the Silicon Valley as we are surrounded by young innovators. That is why Allied Wallet have created the ‘My Big Idea’ campaign, which means we enable our product to process credit cards for the new ideas that banks do not even understand. In terms of the technology, this is what we do best, because we speak the same language as such entrepreneurs and that is how Allied Wallet gains business. In addition, I note that you have a New York Sales Office, can you tell me a bit about the work they do and the importance of having this office in this specific location?
SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH / Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurs
Allied Wallet has an office on 14 Wall Street, New York and from here I can see people that trade every day. The reason I like to have our sales office there is because in New York what they do best is to sell hard. I like the aggressiveness in sales and that is why we call it the ‘Big Apple’ or the capital of finance because pretty much half of the world’s money is traded there. That location reminds us that people use electronic transactions – they don’t trade with cash in their hands. New York is very highly populated and there are a lot of businesses and opportunities there.
Tell me about your PCI Level 1 Compliance and Proprietary Fraud Scrub and the extent to which this demonstrates a high level of IT security? PCI Level 1 Compliance and Proprietary Fraud Scrub is basically a server network whereby we take the data and encrypt, so it doesn’t stay in letters or numbers, but rather dots and commas. The security is such that it is difficult to be tracked – it is just like plumbing – when you put the water in the sink you have the pipe that takes the water out of the house.
Allied Wallet’s Free Digital Wallet Solution is indeed state-of-the-art. What contribution does this make (and will it make) to the future of technology as we know it? When there are entrepreneurs out there with a new innovation and philosophy, it does take time to build a product, and there is no way that a bank can give them a chance to process a credit card to generate an income. The idea that the ‘dream dies with it’, means that they cannot generate money to stay in business and pay two or three staff a salary.
When we take that credit card number from a website, it goes into that magical pipeline which is the encrypted code, to a highly secure data centre with maximum cyber security that prevents hackers having any access at all.
I think we should give such people a chance, because Allied Wallet understands the business, so what we are doing is drilling a new route into the future. The new route into the future is to stay in business and to have the exposure to serve consumers all around the world by being able to stay alive, and to do this you need a heart that beats like a human. In order for the heart to beat, you need to generate money, for which a credit card payment mechanism on your website, to accept payments and generate profits to stay in business. We are shaping the future and indeed we are the future. That is why in multiple interviews I have done they call me the ‘messiah of eCommerce’ because we are the saviour of entrepreneurs.
The credit card number stays encrypted, via Allied Wallet’s Tokenization API product, whereby the card number is identified like a fingerprint. So, for any future transactions, you never have to enter the same card number again, but it verifies it by email address or the security code you created. What do your customers say about what you do? What kind of feedback do you receive from them? If you come and visit my office, you will probably see 7 or 8 boxes of chocolate and bottles of champagne. Consumers and businesses send me presents and letters saying things such as ‘thank you so much for being in our life’ or ‘without you we would be out of business’. Comments like that put a smile on my face because it affirms that I am doing
the right thing, which is we will keep the economy going. I see myself as an ‘angel for the economy’ because if it was not for Allied Wallet, the economy would not be as good as it is today. The eCommerce industry today is worth trillions of US dollars, which is no joke, this is indeed a serious number. People feel more comfortable transacting online, rather than for example walking into a flower shop, and delivering some roses to a loved one. As everybody prefers to transact online, we are helping to make life more convenient for them in that respect. Finally, what gives you the greatest amount of satisfaction, in all that you do? What puts a smile on my face is other people succeeding and achieving their goals in life. If I am part of making that happen, then this is the happiest day of my life. I celebrate the success of other businesses more than my own, due to the product I provided them with, and this is what drives me to wake up early in the morning. How I am going to make things better for other people, in terms of their online security and success. Finally, I would say that you should believe in yourself and don’t be scared, because life is full of surprises and always be ready. You will never get to the top if you don’t hit the bottom multiple times, so I believe that failure means starting all over again and learning from your mistakes.
Acquisition International - December 2016 37
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Company: QA Mentor, Inc. Name: Ruslan Desyatnikov Email: support@qamentor.com Web: www.qamentor.com Address: 1441 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018 Phone: 1-800-622-2602
AI Global Excellence Awards: Most Outstanding Software Quality Assurance Service Provider 2016
QA Mentor: Putting the Quality into Quality Assurance QA Mentor is an award winning independent software testing services provider. We interviewed Founder Ruslan Desyatnikov to find out more about this innovative company and the range of services it provides.
stablished in 2010, QA Mentor offers over 30 unique QA services and test automation solutions through its own unique methodologies, proprietary frameworks, and developed QA products. Supporting clients across the corporate landscape and around the world from its bases in the U.S, Ukraine, India, United Kingdom, Romania, France, Tunisia, Israel, Guatemala and Thailand, the firm offers complete test coverage, as Ruslan explains.
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“Here at QA Mentor we can help our clients transform a young, budding department into a mature, highly functioning one with just a few changes. One of our most popular services is our QA Audit and Process Improvements Service which helps us open the door to many organisations. “Central to our approach is that we research, listen to our clients, and study trends. With that information, we look for gaps in the marketplace and try to fill them while keeping cost effectiveness in mind. We also look to small companies that are innovating and either partner with them or acquire them, as we did with Abid Consulting recently.
“Overall I am excited about the future, as QA Mentor has consistently grown 25% year after year.” “Using this information we add new services regularly, as we see a need for them. This year alone we launched three new services. Agile Transformation Testing Services helps to offer clients a reduced delivery time, a high ROI, improved quality, and a more efficient process. ETL & Data Warehouse Testing Services that can ensure the reliable extraction, transformation, and loading of data without impacting overall performance, scalability, or reliability. In addition, we also debuted our unique ‘Testing in Your Time Zone Service’, which helps make offshoring easier and even more competitive by giving clients resources that work on their preferred schedule. Our clients enjoy this service because it gives them the affordability of offshore resources with the convenience of
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resources working the way they need them. Whether US East or West Coast, Europe, or Asia, we have resources at their disposal and can organise a team willing and able to work on their schedule.” One of the biggest strategic accomplishments the firm has achieved over the past year was purchasing French company Abid Consulting and its test management tool QA Coverage. Ruslan outlines the reasoning behind the deal and the impact it has had on his firm so far. “Over the few years, I have found that most of QA Mentor’s clients did not have a defect tracking system or test case management software. Many were still using Excel, Word, email or other mediocre tools to perform those tasks. Their difficulty in tracking defects, test cases, or test runs affected their efficiency and ultimately decreased their quality. It was for those clients that I decided to acquire Abid and ultimately provide them with QA Coverage free of charge. Those clients were then able to improve the collaboration of their teams, enabling not only them to work more efficiently but for QA Mentor to also work more efficiently for them and with them.” Since acquiring Abid Ruslan has found that the firm has been able to better support clients, which is a constant focus for his firm. He discusses his clients in more detail and explains how his firm always seeks to ensure that they receive the services that they need. “Our client base is spread across 28 countries, 9 industries from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and individual entrepreneurs. There is no project that is too small for us. We support every need and desire of our client base including one hour help and support in order to conduct health checks on their production environments. “It is a real pleasure to know that our clients are extremely happy with our wide range of service offerings, which includes 30 testing services and, since the Abid acquisition, our QA Coverage test management platform, ensuring that we are able to provide companies with everything they need. Our customers are very pleased with our economical services and our overall company goals and objectives centred around economical quality assurance.”
SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH / AI Global Excellence Awards: Most Outstanding Software Quality Assurance Service Provider 2016: QA Mentor: Putting the Quality into Quality Assurance
This client satisfaction would not be possible without a dedicated team of expert staff, as Ruslan is eager to state. “Fundamentally my staff is the reason that QA Mentor is successful. Their skills and attitude can make or break the company, and because of this I dedicate a great deal of time and resources for internal training programs, not only for the benefit of the company but for the good of my employees. I create an environment that encourages testers to lead projects, take initiative, and make project-level decisions. We challenge our staff to improve themselves by helping them to set goals and objectives, such as passing ISTQB and Agile Testers certification exams, as well as becoming more technical and learning project management skills.
When he first started QA Mentor over six years ago, Ruslan’s aim was to provide strategic consulting for the QA departments of organisations that desperately needed support in transforming immature QA practices to enterprise level QA Organisations. The firm has since accomplished this, and as such its new goal is to become the most cost-effective service provider in the world and spread their methodologies, best practices, and effective approaches to every country.
“Overall I am excited about the future, as QA Mentor has consistently grown 25% year after year. For next year we have set the bar to hit 50% growth due to our new economical packages that we started to offer in September of this year. We are working on an exciting platform for QA Executives set to be released in 2017, which will allow them to monitor metrics and KPIs, and help them make decisions. In addition, we are planning to launch another five new QA services next year.
This is an ambitious target, but one which Ruslan is confident in achieving. He concludes by outlining the latest plans the firm has to take it one step closer to this new goal.
“Ultimately we aim to be a continual advocate of quality assurance and educate decision makers on its importance. In order to achieve this and our additional aims we are planning to expand our footprint and establish testing centres around the globe.”
“In addition, while some of our staff are dedicated to keeping on top of trends due to their job description, most of our staff do it voluntarily since it’s interesting to them and significant part of their livelihood. Keeping up is exceedingly difficult and advances don’t seem to be slowing or getting any easier any time soon. While those of us in technology get excited about advances, they can also make our job more difficult at every turn. Learning seems to be a never-ending endeavour, and it is one that my workforce relishes. “At the end of the day, whether they are a junior resource or an intern, I treat everyone equally and encourage them to speak to me directly with any issues. The entire company is very transparent and lacks the politics seen at some organisations. Every month we highlight an employee’s great efforts and our employees are active in charities across the world. All of this is not only because I care about my employees, but also because I know that they are the keys to the success or failure of the company and as such I value them and their input immensely.”
Acquisition International - December 2016 39
SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH / Sustained Excellence in Immigration Consultancy - India: Changing Lives for the Better FD160097
Changing Lives for the Better
Company: Taurus Infotek. Name: Manoj Palwe, President Email: dreamvisas@yahoo.com Web: www.dreamvisas.com Address: 16/1, Siddharth Chambers (Behind Ranka Jewellers, Off Karve Road) Pune 411004 Maharashtra, India. Phone: + 91 982 2033 225, +91 9822 833 225, +91 992 205 4567, +91 20 2543 8284
Sustained Excellence in Immigration Consultancy - India
The company prominently files cases for migration to Canada and Australia, and has more than sixteen years of successful track record in this field. The company maintains transparency in their dealings, and their consultancy services operate only from one location, but they have clients from all major cities in India and also from abroad. In an interview with the Taurus’s President, Manoj Palwe, he reveals more about the superior service quality this firm offers and his thoughts on winning this prestigious award.
anoj Palwe is a member of the immigration consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC IDR422575), and in addition, is a registered member of Canadian Association of professional (CAPIC). The Australian migration department has given him on offshore agent ID (3000526). He has also passed his exam about migration laws from the Migration Institute of Australia.
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By way of background, Manoj Palwe is the President of Taurus Infotek. The firm carries out immigration visa consultancy for the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Denmark, and also arrange visas for students, spouses, dependents and tourists. “After this, we help the client settle into the country they have migrated to Manoj Palwe explains, assistance helping clients obtain a driving license, arranging somebody to collect them from the airport, provided to look for jobs. As such, we have a number of business associated abroad to assist with these additional services offered.” Taurus Infotek also provides in-house IELTS coaching to aspiring migrants. Indeed, more than
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3000 candidates have been successfully coached by this firm. All the firm’s IELTS franchisees have been suitably trained to guide the IELTS examinees in their respective areas. Manoj Palwe then says he feels “wonderful” to have won this much-deserved award, ‘Sustained Excellence in Immigration Consultancy – India’, he reveals. He goes on to underline the importance of having a staff who are “properly trained and trustworthy.” In addition, attending to the various needs of his clients is also very important indeed. The company has efficiently assisted thousands of clients settle in various countries Manoj Palwe underlines, not to mention more than 467 recommendations Taurus Infotek has received through their LinkedIn profile, also he is having more than 200 testimonials on YouTube. In addition, it is well worth having a look at the many positive client testimonials on the firm’s website, at: dreamvisas.com/Linkedin%20recommendations.pdf. Changing the lives of the clients is the most rewarding aspect of working in the legal profession Manoj Palwe goes on to say. To see them, “earn much more money, having an increased lifespan and giving a better quality of life to their family” is what makes it all worthwhile he concludes.
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Chocolicious With the festive season approaching, Chocolicious are ready to take your orders for your loved ones and friends. Based in New Delhi, India, Chocolicious brings you a whole range of exciting chocolates, fudge, edible Diwali cards, chocolate selection boxes and even a chocolate tajmahal! Chocolate bouquets with edible flowers, chocolate photo frames and much more are available from this enterprising firm, at very reasonable prices.
Name: Mehak Dhingra Email: mehak_15791@yahoo.com Web Address: https://www.facebook.com/Chocolicious-298948066807326/ Address: Kirti Nagar, New Delhi, Shop No.16, M.C.D Market, Ramesh Nagar, New Delhi, India Telephone: +91 99110 25600
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A Content Client Base Company: Litéra Corp. Name: Paul Domnick, President of Litéra Web: www.litera.com Address: 5000 Crossmill Rd. McLeansville, NC 27301 Phone: +1 336 375 2991
AI Global Excellence Awards Best in Content Management Solutions
Content is the currency of business. From emails to contracts, organisations thrive when there is a good foundation for generating, sharing, and managing content. With the right tools implemented in the proper environment, companies have the ability to transact business more efficiently and effectively without risk to their professional reputations.
his is the kind of service Litéra provides so well. We provide knowledge workers everywhere with the tools they need to make better documents, maintain complete control of those documents and collaborate with them securely. Too many professionals around the globe waste a lot of time editing, proofreading, reworking and worrying about the quality of their most important documents. Our powerful suite of products helps to solve these problems by giving clients the ability to streamline and secure the document life-cycle from any device anywhere.
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Our late founder, Deepak Massand, started Litéra in 2001 from his own property in McLeansville North Carolina. From there Litéra has grown into a strong global organisation with teams of professionals working across the US, UK, Ukraine, India, Singapore, Philippines and Hungary. Litéra would not be where it is today without the talented individuals that make up our global workforce. We have some of the most brilliant professionals in their respective fields world-wide collaborating toward the success of our company and the company’s mission to make every document better.
“In addition to offering the highest quality products currently in the market, we have worked hard to develop a reputation for offering world-class product support for our clients.” At Litéra, we have a keen value for diversity because we know that we can accomplish more, and do better, when we work together toward a common goal. As a team, we are able to better understand and provide for the needs of our clients. Several of our team members were former clients themselves, many of whom contribute years of valuable experience and insight into the industries our organisation represents. World-class product support In addition to offering the highest quality products currently in the market, we have worked hard to develop a reputation for offering world-class product support for our clients. We also spend 30% of revenue on research and development to ensure
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our products continue to lead the way in terms of technological advancement. We offer a diverse and scalable product portfolio customisable to the needs of our clients, and make it a priority to listen to our clients in order to ensure their needs are met. In the last twelve months alone, we have performed 194 product enhancements; 60% of those enhancements were made as a direct result of client requests. Because of our excellence in these areas, we have retained >99.5% of our clients throughout the life of our company. Our clients know they can trust us to deliver them the solutions they need, and they are confident that our support will be there to solve any issues that occur. Clientele Many Am Law 200 law firms, and law firms worldwide, choose Litéra for their content creation, management, and collaboration needs, but we also serve enterprises in document intensive industries, such as finance, accounting and healthcare. We truly are a globally diverse organisation with clients in every sector of business around the world. Our approach to clients has been unwavering since we were founded. We want to get to know each client and understand their goals and objectives. It is our job to listen to these diverse messages and craft products that address the common themes and create new ways of doing things that allow all of our clients to succeed. We pride ourselves on building and maintaining long term relationships with clients that allow genuine two-way communication. We strive every day to do our best for our clients and frequently they are kind enough to say thank you. They rarely comment on Litéra as a whole, but rather they will thank an individual or a team for making a real difference or give us feedback on how our products enabled them to save time or prevent a potentially serious mistake. The most satisfying feedback on our products is when people say, “I didn’t even know that was possible….”. Plans for the future We always believe in developing innovative solutions to make every document better. There are several exciting developments we already have in the pipeline that we are hopeful clients will like. Longer term, it is clear we will be doing more in cloud, more on mobile devices and more with machine learning. The world changes faster and faster, and we must run to keep up. We like running.
SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH / AI Global Excellence Awards & Best in Content Management Solutions: A Content Client Base
We are constantly grateful to be working in such fascinating times. Our founder Deepak Massand instilled a strong binding culture across our company that still holds us together and allows us the freedom to excel.
Acquisition International - December 2016 43
SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH / 2016 Leading Advisor Awards Leading Corporate Immigration Advisor of the Year: Shaping UK Government Policy 1612AI93
Company: PwC Name: Julia Onslow-Cole Email: julia.onslow-cole@pwc.com
Shaping UK Government Policy P
2016 Leading Advisor Awards Leading Corporate Immigration Advisor of the Year
wC’s services, that we provide to over 20,000 clients, can broadly be described as follows:
Legal - services includes corporate and banking, cyber security and data protection, dispute resolution, employment, entity governance & compliance, immigration, international business reorganisations, IPIT, pension, public sector and real estate. Tax - corporate tax advisory, transfer pricing, restructuring, indirect tax, finance and treasury, tax investigations, private tax and human resources tax. Human resources includes areas such as global mobility, reward, human capital effectiveness and benchmarking, as well as many others. Assurance - provides assurance services for financial performance and operations. The main areas of focus include statutory, regulatory and internal audit, treasury services, accounting and compliance advice. Consulting - includes consulting, and sustainability and climate change services. Deals - includes business recovery services, corporate finance, forensic services and transaction services. PricewaterhouseCoopers was formed in July 1998 and was constituted from the merger of two of the world’s most prominent professional services organisations: Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand. Each of the legacy firms had a proud history of over 100 years, serving clients around the world since 1894. There are over 170,000 experts in the PwC network located in 221 countries, of which, 15,000 are in the UK. PwC has been providing immigration services since the mid-1990s and continues to be ranked as the number 1 provider of Global immigration services by Chambers & Partners. The 2016 ALM Intelligence report rated PwC as Vanguard Leader for global mobility services. We were also listed as ‘Best in Class’ for Strategic Planning capabilities. We have immigration teams in 169 countries, with our own PwC immigration practices in 154 of these locations, making us the largest in-house network of immigration specialists. My own role in the company is the Legal Markets Leader & Head of Global Immigration, and I am supported by a strong leadership team of 5 Directors in London. Indeed, I am regarded as the expert’s expert on UK immigration and have been heavily involved in shaping UK government policy on the points-based immigration system and have worked collaboratively with the Home Office to devise the Tier 2 compliance audit concept. As a prominent media commentator and regular party conference speaker on global immigration issues, I have extensive expertise in global immigration
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governance and risk management for international businesses. I have also led a number of high-profile crisis management projects from an immigration standpoint, including the Arab Spring and Algeria Crisis. In the last 12 months, PwC has assisted with over 12,000 individual immigration applications across all categories including points-based system categories (Tiers 1, 2, 4 and 5), dependants of British and EEA nationals, ancestry, business and general visitors. We also provide immigration consultancy services, strategic management of complex immigration scenarios, government liaison, audits and risk reviews. PwC certainly plays a key role in many committees and associations who advise governments on immigration policy. Our approach to government relations is very different from many of our competitors. We are the ‘voice of business’ to government and we represent our clients through our strong relationships. As such, our global network organises a number of local events to bring our clients and governments together. From an immigration perspective, PwC has an unrivalled reputation for helping our clients remain compliant, minimise risks and prepare for legislative changes. For example, in the UK, we can help with any Sponsor Licence renewals, ensuring our clients will be in the strongest possible position to meet UKVI’s strict requirements and successfully navigate a compliance audit. PwC’s immigration team is supported by specialists across the firm. We work with global mobility, employment law, and HR specialists which gives us the ability to provide holistic global mobility advice. In addition, we have a deep understanding of how industry events and trends affect the global mobility function. We can help plan for predicted market trends, and using our government liaison capabilities, we can help put clients in the best position in their strategically important locations. PwC provides UK immigration services to over 250 client engagements, across all industry sectors including technology, business services, manufacturing, oil & gas and financial services. We are part of a wider PwC global network which gives us unrivalled access to market opportunities. PwC recognises that staff development plays an important role in supporting the firm in achieving its business objectives. As such, individual career development plans are designed to support and integrate with our business vision and strategy. Our strategy is underpinned by our Global Competency Framework which is used by staff in all locations to assess their progress and development needs. Our staff are expected to undertake training to enable them to maintain ongoing competence and comply with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) standards.
Peppinuzzo / Shutterstock.com
At GoWireless Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer stores, we offer the best in Verizon wireless smartphones, tablets, hotspots, and other devices, as well as cool accessories and money saving plans.
www.gowireless.com 1610AI29
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York’s Best Kept Secret No.21 York is a multi-award winning Bed and Breakfast housed in a Victorian Terrace property offering homely hospitality in some of the finest bed and breakfast accommodation in York. We invited husband and wife team - Simon Boyle & Andrea Schipper - to tell us more about the establishment and the secrets behind its success.
Company: No.21 York Name: Simon Boyle & Andrea Schipper Email: stay@no21york.co.uk Web: www.no21york.co.uk Address: 21 St. Mary’s, York, North Yorkshire, YO30 7DD, England Phone: +44 (0)1904 629494
AI Global Excellence Awards Most Outstanding B&B Accommodation 2016
o.21 York has a history of offering quality accommodation and breakfast to guests since 1966 when Mrs. J.P. Morcome opened her home to travellers to the city as Morcome Guest House. Since then, Simon and Andrea, who purchased the establishment in 2014, believe that the firm has evolved through its dedication to providing the highest possible quality of professional and traditional service to our guests.
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“Here at No.21 York we do what we can to make our guest’s stay all that more memorable for all the right reasons. We aim to surprise and delight our guests by going the extra mile wherever possible, be this making table reservations at restaurant, providing prosecco or hand-made truffles to celebrate a special occasion, driving guests to their destination when taxis are unavailable or to organising a surprise birthday party at a local restaurant complete with personalised cake and decorations. “In addition, we are also fiercely proud of the fact that all of our fresh produce is sourced from within 25 miles of our front door and we are able to pinpoint exactly where it comes from & when it was produced. We also cater to all forms of dietary requirements from vegetarian to gluten free and lactose intolerant – making up breads and dishes to suit our guests wants and needs.”
“Here at No.21 York we do what we can to make our guest’s stay all that more memorable for all the right reasons.” York is an amazing city and destination that attracts a wide selection of visitors to the city, for example York’s Racecourse hosts some of the premier flat racing meets every year drawing 10’s of thousands of visitors each year with the John Smith Cup & Ebor Festival along with the Summer Music Showcases. Both the city and the county host some of the best Stately Homes in the country and – outside of London – have the highest number of Michelin and Rosette Restaurants in the country.
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All of these wonderful attractions have helped Yorkshire to be ranked third in the top 10 regions of the world to visit in the Lonely Planet guide. Based in St. Mary’s, a quiet cul-de-sac in the heart of York, No.21 is just a five-minute stroll through the beautiful Museum Gardens into the City and an eight-minute walk to the Train Station, and as such is ideally located for everything guests will need or want to do in York. Alongside this excellent setting Simon firmly believes that what marks out No.21 York as a paragon of excellence in the B&B market is its dedication to excellence and its friendly, approachable staff. “Without a doubt our Team and the personalised approach we offer our guests is what sets No.21 York apart from our competition. Ewelina, Dawn, Adi, Mirka and Barbara are the most amazing bunch who give us great support. We would not be able to achieve what we do without them. Guests regularly comment on what a friendly team they are and that they will go out of their way to help.” “We also use local products throughout the B&B in order to showcase the variety and quality of the local produce which we are lucky enough to enjoy from our local and independent suppliers and producers in Yorkshire. From our fresh produce to the biscuits, spring water and toiletries - everything we utilise or provide for our guests is sourced from within a 25-mile radius of our front door. Even our beds were sourced and manufactured in Yorkshire. We try to cover every eventuality by providing everything our guest will need during their stay from umbrellas to hair dryers and even bottle openers.” “A secure and reliable free wifi service along with onsite parking also helps” In today’s ever evolving hospitality market the need to integrate new technologies and online platforms into an establishment’s marketing strategy is more important than ever. As such, Simon talks us through how No.21 York has expanded its technological offering since he took it over in order to keep up with client needs.
SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH / AI Global Excellence Awards Most Outstanding B&B Accommodation 2016: York’s Best Kept Secret
“When we first started out we used just our website and booking engine, provided by EVIIVO with a link to TripAdvisor and LateRooms.com. With just eight reservations on the books from the previous owner, it was a very tenuous time for us as - with no history - we were unsure of where the business would come from. We were also new to York and Yorkshire we weren’t too sure of the market but research had shown that it was a destination city and that would stand us in good stead. It was only after our first guests all wrote reviews on TripAdvisor and it was like the flood gates opened, following four exceptional reviews from our first weekend of operation, the bookings started to pile in.” “A great website built, with the help of Jonah at Hosting Yorkshire, to our design and specification, helped to attract customers in the first instance but it is the reviews on TripAdvisor that have helped us get on our feet. By providing a homely and traditional style we have managed to get over 800 Five Star reviews across all social media platforms and this has helped to drive our business forward. Word of mouth and a high percentage of repeat and/or recommended guests also helps. Having linked to Booking.com and Expedia earlier this year, alongside the Brexit vote, this has only cemented the success of No.21 York for 2016 and 2017 is looking to be just as busy with over 20% occupancy on the books already.” With this exciting rise in interest the B&B needs to continue its focus on innovation in order to build upon its current success. As such in his concluding comments Simon is keen to outline the exciting plans he has for the establishment as it seeks to continually adapt and innovate in order to offer guests the most authentic display of Yorkshire hospitality in the region. “Currently we are working with the Planning Department at York Council to bring the exterior of the property back to it’s original Victorian façade and create a small extension to the rear of the property which will increase the size of the kitchen and improve the guest parking area. We are also looking to re-configure the guest rooms so as to create more space that will include a seating area in our Superior Rooms as well as upgrade all of the shower rooms. We had hoping to begin this work at the beginning of 2018 and are excited to start this exhilarating project. “In the meantime, we will continue to upgrade our breakfast room with new décor in keeping with the period of the property, as well as the front entrance, which we intend to rejuvenate by taking the stairs back to the original and natural Yorkshire Stone.”
Acquisition International - December 2016 47
SUPPORT SERVICES & TECH / Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 & Leading Consultant of the Year - UK: An Enterprising Individual / Leading Enforcement Advisor of the Year: Excellence in Enforcement 1612AI08
Name: Adrian Ashton Phone: 07786 492313 Email: adrian.ashton2@gmail.com Web: www.adrianashton.co.uk
An Enterprising Individual Adrian Ashton is a provider of enterprise support to social, charitable, and public organisations. We profile him and explore the range of innovative services he offers.
Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 & Leading Consultant of the Year - UK
drian Ashton offers a range of services and activities to a wide variety of clients, including organisations, government bodies, individual enterprises, residents in local communities, and thematic communities experiencing disadvantage.
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What unites this diverse range of clients is the quality of service Adrian provides them with, drawing on a set of core values which underpin all of Adrian’s professional activities. Adrian discusses these values and how he adapts them regularly to meet the ever evolving needs of his clients. “Having been involved in supporting groups and sector bodies to understand, identify, and report on their social impact since the last 1990s through national programmes, individual consultancy, and
the development of sector-specific toolkits, I chose to commit myself to doing the same. In 2005 I therefore started to create a reporting framework for freelance consultants like myself, having not been able to identify any existing standards that are suitable for sole traders, or that would allow me to consistently report against my performance overall – not just in respect of a specific activity or service (as most of the existing frameworks and standards are concerned with doing). “Each year I review this framework openly through inviting peer review, which has led to its expansion with each reporting cycle. It continues to be structured to allow me to easily benchmark myself against other organisations, as without this ability it would have limited value in not understanding how representative its findings are against wider ‘market norms’.”
1612AI07
Excellence in Enforcement
Leading Enforcement Advisor of the Year
Enforcement Bailiffs Ltd is Commercial Property Enforcement specialist. We gained an insight into the firm and its Expert Bailiff Andy Coates.
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nforcement Bailiffs provide a same day nationwide service to evict trespassers, squatters and none paying tenants as well as collect unpaid commercial rent
arrears.
Company: Enforcement Bailiffs Ltd Name: Andy Coates Email: sales@qualitybailiffs.co.uk Web: www.qualitybailiffs.co.uk Address: 78 York Street, London W1H 1DP Phone: 0208 0902439
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Bailiff Andy Coates provides advice to clients on the best way to enforce their instructions and oversees the operations. Andy has been in the profession since 1988 the current Vice President of Certificated Enforcement Agents Association. He specialises in the eviction of trespassers from land, commercial rent arrears and removal of fly grazing horses. Andy, who believes that getting the right help and support is crucial to any business, outlines his dedication to excellence and how this will remain his ongoing focus.
“Ultimately, everyone needs help and support on occasion, and obtaining the right is invaluable. Any company who is faced with problems needs a variety of quality qualified advisors to help them solve a problem, and our aim at Enforcement Bailiffs is to be among that number. “As such excellence will remain our firm’s ongoing focus, and as we are taking on more contracts this year and of course more staff to cope with the extra work. We are constantly striving to exceed our client’s expectations and invest heavily in technology.”
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New Website Reveals Gender Pay Gap by Profession A new online tool that allows the public to find out the gender pay gap for their occupation has been launched by the UK’s Minister for Women and Equalities, Justine Greening on 9th December.
he online tool, created by the government and the Office for National Statistics, shows construction and building trades, and financial managers and directors have the highest gender pay gaps. The online tool is launched as details of how large employers will have to report their gender pay and gender bonus pay gaps from next April have been published.
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The regulations, which will affect almost 8,000 employers with around 11 million employees, will shine a light on workplace practices that could be preventing women from reaching the top in their organisations. Tackling injustices like the fact that women earn on average less than men is a key part of building a society and country that works for everyone, as Theresa May made clear in her first speech as Prime Minister. Minister for Women and Equalities Justine Greening said, “Britain has the lowest gender pay gap on record, there are more women in work than ever before, more women-led businesses than ever before and there are now women on every board in the FTSE 100. “But if we are to help women to reach their potential and eliminate the gender pay gap, we need to shine a light on our workplaces to see where there is more to do to. This tool will empower both men and women to challenge this issue in their profession and help people to make more informed decisions about their career. Occupations with the largest GPG in favour of men
“Employers must play their part in this too and take action to tackle the gender pay gap in their organisation. That’s why we are requiring large employers to publish their gender pay and gender bonus pay gaps for the first time ever and our regulations mean they can start getting ready to report from April next year.” The online tool uses the latest data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings to provide the most up to date gender pay gap data. The gender pay gap is now at a record low of 18.1% and the online tool will show the gender pay gap by profession, so that the public can see how their job measures up against the national average. Alongside the tool, an online quiz has also been launched allowing people to challenge their knowledge of what the gender pay gap is for a variety of professions. The benefits of helping women to unlock their talents are huge – eliminating work-related gender gaps could add £150 billion to our annual GDP in 2025. That is an opportunity that neither Government nor businesses can afford to ignore. Details of how large employers will have to report their gender pay and gender bonus pay gaps have also been published. The regulations, which have been developed in close partnership with businesses, set out how employers will be expected to collect and publish this data from next April.
Occupations where average pay is most similar for men & women (i.e. GPG is closest to 0%)
Occupations with the largest GPG in favour of women
Construction & building Waiters & waitresses, 0.0% trades supervisors, 45.4%
Midwives, -61.8%
Financial managers Bar staff, 0.0% & directors, 36.5%
Probation officers, -25.3%
Printers, 35.1% Fishmongers & poultry dressers, Fitness instructors, -22.9% -0.0% Financial institution managers Nurses, 0.0% & directors, 34.1%
Childminders & related occupations, -20.5%
Assemblers Podiatrists, -0.1% (vehicles & metal goods), 33.5%
Parking & civil enforcement occupations, -18.7%
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This data will help employers to see where they have further to go in attracting more women into their industry or to support them so that are not held back by caring responsibilities or gender stereotypes. The regulations, which have been publicly consulted on and will now be debated in Parliament, set out the proposed requirements for employers in the private and voluntary sectors to: Publish their median gender pay gap figures By identifying the wage of the middle earner, the median is the best representation of the ‘typical’ gender difference. Employers will be asked to use data from a ‘snapshot’ period in April to calculate this average. Publish their mean gender pay gap figures By taking into account the full earnings distribution, the mean look at both the low and high earners in an organisation – this is particularly useful as women are often over-represented at the low earning extreme and men are over-represented at the high earning extreme. As with the median gender pay gap, employers will use data from a ‘snapshot’ period in April. Publish the proportion of men & women in each quartile of the pay structure. This data will show the spread of male and female earners across an organisation, helping to show employers where women’s progress might be stalling so they can take action to support their career development. Publish the gender pay gaps for any bonuses paid out during the year As there is a significant issue around bonus payments in some sectors, employers will also have to publish the proportion of male and proportion of female employees that received a bonus during the year. Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive at Virgin Money and the Government’s Women in Finance champion said, “what gets measured gets managed and what gets published gets managed even better. Gender pay gap reporting will encourage all companies to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of their practices and work hard to ensure progress in this area.”
PERSONNEL / New Website Reveals Gender Pay Gap by Profession
Ann Francke, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute said that, “gender balance provides a big boost to productivity which is one reason why the Government’s gender pay regulations are especially timely. Large organisations will have to report the number of men and women they employ at every quartile, and the difference in their salaries and bonuses. Too many organisations resemble a glass pyramid, with the majority of entry-level roles filled by women, and the number of women reducing the higher up you go. “According to CMI’s long-running research, the gender pay gap has stuck stubbornly around 23%. Men are 40% more likely than women to be promoted in management roles. The combination of transparency and targets will help employers become more aware of their own glass pyramid and encourage them to do something about it. This is great for business because diverse teams are more productive and boost employee engagement. Through our CMI Women campaign we’re working with employers to use best practice and the regulations as a launch pad to achieve gender balance in their teams to drive productivity.” Emma Codd, managing partner for talent at Deloitte UK remarked, “Deloitte welcomes the Government Equalities Office announcement on gender pay gap reporting regulations. This is an important milestone on the journey towards greater gender parity at all levels within large UK businesses. Being able to access information about the gender pay gap will enable people to make better-informed decisions about potential future employers, and will also allow companies to consider gender pay data when selecting suppliers and partners. It is critical that government and businesses continue to prioritise this issue; recent Deloitte research found that unless action is taken to tackle it now, the UK gender pay gap will not close until 2069.”
David Freeman, ONS head of labour market statistics said, “At ONS we realise how important it is to make our figures helpful to their users, so we’re delighted to have been involved in developing this tool to make gender pay gap data more accessible to the general public.” Acas head of guidance, Stewart Gee commented, “from April next year, any organisation that employs 250 or more employees must report on their gender pay gap. We welcome this new tool as it provides useful insights into the gender pay gaps within specific professions, enabling companies to benchmark themselves against occupation averages. Acas will be launching new guidance for employers on gender pay regulations in the new year.”
“At PwC, publishing our gender pay gap has allowed us to understand the reasons for the gap and hold ourselves accountable to make changes. For example, we know that a sizeable part of our pay gap is a result of having fewer women in senior positions, so this is an area where we continue to focus our efforts. We’re also challenging our recruitment processes, making more senior jobs available on a flexible or part-time basis, and have introduced a return to work programme. “In our experience. there is no silver bullet and the gender pay gap is just one data point that organisations should be tracking as part of their overall efforts to create a workplace that works for all.” www.gov.uk
Laura Hinton, executive board member and head of people at PwC added, “the current rate of progress towards closing the gender pay gap is too slow and gender pay gap reporting is an important step towards tackling both the symptoms and causes of gender inequality in the workplace. “Publishing pay data alone won’t change anything - progress will only happen if organisations use this as an opportunity to understand what’s happening in their business and make some fundamental changes as a result. Bold action is needed to create true equality in the workplace. For the first time, we will have comparable gender pay gap figures across organisations which will be a useful tool to drive accountability and action.
Acquisition International - December 2016 51
RICHARDTYLER
®
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Company: Richard Tyler International, Inc.® CEO: Richard Tyler Address: 5773 Woodway Dr., Suite 860, Houston, TX 77057-1501, USA Phone: Tel: (+1) 713 974 7214 Websites: www.RichardTyler.com www.SalesImmersion.com www.RichardTylerTechnologies.com
TYLER TIPS® 21st Century Edition by Richard Tyler
Are You Experiencing Flat or Declining Sales? (Here’s What You Need to Know) Your Essential Guide to Building a Profitable, Sustainable Business in Today’s Marketplace
Flat or declining sales are what many companies and salespeople are facing today. Let’s face the facts - there is a lot of uncertainty right now. All that uncertainty leads to individuals and businesses holding on to their money. So, what can you do about it? I’m going to give you 7 reasons why sales are flat or declining and what you can do to make your sales begin to soar! I guaranteed that if you commit to these changes and begin to always look for new ways to improve, your sales skills you will see improvement.
IME MANAGEMENT Look at the existing technology that is available to you, and use it! To grow your sales, you will need to put dedicated time into all the necessary actions, such as: prospecting, contacting, follow-through, relationship building, personal development, marketing (traditional and social media), networking, research, planning, competitive analysis and role-playing practice, just to name a few. Each needs to be scheduled so that nothing gets missed.
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2. SALES CYCLE Identify the length of your Average Sales Cycle. A Sales Cycle is calculated by determining the length of time from your first contact with a customer until the customer invests in your products or services. This will vary greatly by business type. To illustrate this point, here are some examples: If you are a Quick Lube retail store, your Sales Cycle is 10 minutes. If you are a Real Estate Agent, it may be several months. If you are selling complex enterprise solutions it may be a few months to over a year. You get the idea. It will vary but you need to determine yours. In each of these cases you will have variances as well. One of your sales may take 7 days, another 14 days and another 30 days. Adding up all the time each sale took and dividing by the number of sales determine your Average Sales Cycle. In the example I just used, you would add the 7 days plus the 14 days plus the 30 days, which would total 51 days. You then divide that by the total number of sales (in this case 3). You have 51 days divided by 3 sales, which leaves you with an Average Sales Cycle of 17 days. Each time you make a new sale, add the time that sale took to complete to the previous total. Then divide by the new total number of sales. If you do this every time you will keep your Average Sales Cycle up to date and perpetual. This information is vital because one of the ways to get more time to get more customers is to reduce your Average Sales Cycle (without reducing the dollar amount of your Average Sale). If you do not track and know your Average Sales Cycle, you will have little or no impact on it. This is just as true for a business as it is for an individual.
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PERSONNEL / TYLER TIPS® 21st Century Edition by Richard Tyler: Are You Experiencing Flat or Declining Sales? (Here’s What You Need to Know)
3. CHANGING PERSONNEL Clients are always going to have people who leave as your main point of contact. Some will quit, some will retire, some will be promoted, some will be demoted, some will transfer, etc.… The main point is they will no longer be your main decision maker. In some cases, they will stay; however, for some reason they will be unwilling or unable to make decision you need. In order to make sure your sales don’t stall out and go flat, you will need to identify all the decision makers and establish relationships with each. At every visit, you need to expand your points of contact and look for new decision makers. 4. CAN’T GET AN APPOINTMENT Remember, there will always be times when you just won’t get an appointment, no matter what you do. However, most often not getting an appointment is a result of lack of preparation and confidence. To remedy this, first you have to project yourself in the role of a confident, trusted, well-prepared business advisor and professional. Nothing breeds confidence more than having a plan of action. For example: think of 10 reasons why a customer could object to meeting with you. Then write out the answer to each objection. Keep in mind that the answers must address why meeting with you would be beneficial to your potential client. Once you have the answers, script a role-play (write a script as if two actors where going to act it out) on how you can get them to see their way clear to meet with you. Practice the answers in role-play form with someone else until you are smooth and confident. If you are in retail and the customer comes to you, for all intents and purposes you have the appointment. In this case, you need to go through the same exercise. However, your 10 reasons should address why a customer might delay making a decision on owning your product or service today. 5. PRICE CONCERNS You have got to present only what has value to your customers. Average salespeople will tell a customer everything about their product and/or services without finding out what the problem is the customer is looking to solve. Before presenting anything about your products or services, you must find out the problem for which the customer needs a solution. This is done through the use of Wants and Needs Analysis™ questions. Once the problem has been diagnosed properly, excellent sales professionals present only the Features, Advantages and Benefits (F.A.B.’s) that represent value to the customer in solving their problem. Presenting anything else means the customer is paying for F.A.B.’s that have no real value to their situation. Anytime someone feels they are paying for something they will not use or will not get value from, a Price Concern will always be the result. 6. CUSTOMER CAN’T GET APPROVAL If you have gotten this far, maybe you didn’t ask the ‘Right Questions’ up front. Make sure that
whom you are talking to makes the decisions in this area. Determine through proper Wants and Needs Analysis™ questions what products they want and/or need and what they can afford. Remember, there are only two things that need to be present in order for a sale to happen: 1. You have to have a product or service that your customer Wants and/or Needs, and 2. They have to have the ability to pay for it. Both of these conditions must be met at the same time. 7. NOT ENOUGH PROSPECTS It is important to always be adding potential customers to your sales pipeline. They must be companies or individuals that can legitimately benefit from what you offer. It is true that it is harder and more expensive to find new customers than to keep and expand business with the ones that you already have. You must both find new customers and expand business with existing customers in order to keep your sales growing. For the customers that you have now, look for new ways to do business with them (i.e. look at their different departments and different locations). They may not know that you offer some of the products and/or services that they are currently getting somewhere else. You can find all this out by asking the ‘Right Questions’. As for companies that you have no business with now, look at the companies your direct competitors do business with as the first source of prospects. They should all be potential customers for you. Thoroughly examine all the capabilities of your company and its products or services. Some may be under-utilised and can be developed with a little effort. Investigate other industries that are using similar products or services. It is not uncommon for many industries or groups to have similar needs and problems. As an example, to illustrate this: a number of years ago, a food services company was working with an airline. The airline wanted fresh vegetable snacks included in their boxed lunches to be passed out on the plane. The packs needed to be small so that costs could be low and so there would be little waste and no storage issues in the limited space available.
led to sales with national, regional and local grocery stores. So today, the company is much larger than it previously was. It has a much more diverse base of customers, it has stabilised its income stream; it has expanded its offerings, and their products are available everywhere. All this happened because this food service company asked the ‘Right Questions’ and looked outside their traditional customer base into other industries to see who else might have similar problems to solve. They continued this process to expand into new sales channels, which greatly enhanced the company’s revenue and profits. There are many reasons why sales may decline or be flat. Some are out of your control. However, the 7 reasons that I have listed here are in your control. Address them with the positive action steps we recommend, and you will see results begin immediately. Keep in mind, success is an ongoing lifetime journey not a destination. Now get busy making yourself the best you can be! “Remember, your success tomorrow is in direct proportion to your “Commitment to Excellence®” today.”™
Richard Tyler is the World’s Top Sales and Management Expert. Subscribe to Tyler Tips® for more Personal and Professional development principles at www.TylerTips.com ©1989-2016, Richard Tyler. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means or stored in any database or retrieval system without prior written permission from Richard Tyler.
The food service company was used to this request since they had worked predominately with airlines for years, and the portion size was always a concern for the reasons already mentioned. When the airline industry had a huge downturn, the company’s sales reacted accordingly. Fewer flights meant fewer boxed lunches. When we first discussed with them the idea of looking outside their industry, it was met with resistance. But after some effort they began to look at other places where small packages of fresh fruit or vegetables could solve some problems. To make a long story short, several prepared packaged lunch programs for schools had this need. Better still, the need existed in programs all across the country. The resulting sales grew to be even larger than the sales to the airline industry and were not as fluctuating due to the economy. If it made sense that prepared school lunches were using the small packages of fresh fruit or vegetables, then what about lunches being made at home? That question Acquisition International - December 2016 53
1612AI42
Delivering Excellence in the Coaching Sector 2b Limitless as a professional coaching organisation focused on strengths, engagement, performance and transformation. We are focused on c-suite executives, senior leaders, entrepreneurial leaders and high performance teams. Our core business is built around executive coaching programmes and our 2BYB international goal-setting events. We also deliver targeted training and workshops around strengths, goals, strategy, purpose, vision & values and extraordinary success. Company: 2b Limitless FZC Name: Michael ‘Mick’ Todd Email: mick@2blimitless.com, info@2blimitless.com Web: www.2blimitless.com Address: Dubai - International Media Production Zone, PO Box 392862 Dubai, UAE Sharjah - SAIF Zone Suite, Office Q1-2-008, PO Box 120322 Sharjah, UAE Phone: +9714 5144026 (Office) +971 56 4662860 (Mobile) +971 50 1535213 (Direct)
Executive Coach of the Year - UAE
s a business, we do not focus on satisfaction… ‘satisfied customers leave all the time!’ Our core focus is ‘engagement’ and our key metric for success in engaging our clients is referral and repeat business. We are very pleased with our performance against this metric with deeper and broader work planned in 2017.
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2016 has seen 2b Limitless grow significantly as an organisation based around the quality of our team and the outstanding achievements of our clients. We have assembled our strongest ever team that deliver excellence across a broad spectrum of personal and professional success. We now feel that we have a complete coaching and training offering. • Mick Todd - Founder, Senior Executive Success, Leadership & Strengths Coach • Dr. Justin Kennedy - Senior Executive Coach & Neuropsychologist • David Labouchere, OBE - ‘The Art of Possible’ Facilitator, Strategy and Change Coach • Sacha Fitch - Executive Strengths, Leadership Consultant Facilitator • Kim Page - Communication & Influence Coach and Trainer • Jason Grange - ‘The Art of Possible’ Facilitator • Linda Bonnar - NLP and Youth Empowerment Coach • Bronwyn Byrnes - Corporate Role Player These outstanding professionals have given us the bandwidth and skills to deliver in an elegant manner that better support our client’s needs. Our primary success measures are built around the achievements of clients and this year has delivered success on an amazing scale. Our clients have built amazing success around coaching and strategy, which we co-developed. •
54 Acquisition International - December 2016
Bluehaus Group, Dubai – This is our longest corporate coaching relationship and we are incredibly proud of the coaching, training and strategic partnership we have developed. The growth of this business from boutique interior design firm to regional architectural, MEP (Bluehaus Engineering) and urban surveys is a testament to the vision of the leadership and the culture of courageous innovation. Bluehaus Group is a fantastic example of our strengths – engagement – performance – transformation and the process has had a massive mutual positive impact.
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ADCB, Abu Dhabi – Within the board secretariat and legal department of the UAE’s third largest bank we have developed a long-term coaching relationship that was originally focused on developing leadership and management capability across the department. It has now widened around goals and engagement. 2016 has seen this process contribute greatly to increased engagement and successfully support a seamless transition within the structure of the legal department leadership. E-Golf Megastore, Dubai – Phenomenal growth and expansion from ecommerce platform to opening of two retail stores. Now the largest golf retailer in the Middle East. The Entertainer, Globally – Executive leadership and management programmes based on building a strength-based culture that have supported the amazing growth of this business in the GCC and internationally. To be recognised as the ‘APP of the Year’ was a key indicator of the success of the transformation strategy that we have consistently supported. One&Only, Wolgan Valley, Sydney, Australia – The goal setting, strategy development and leadership coaching that has supported the recognition as the ‘AHA Australian Luxury Resort of the Year’. This recognition is almost secondary when compared with the impact the 2016/2017 goals and strategy have had on performance. House of Comms, Dubai, From a small twoperson operation to the fastest growing integrated digital, communications and PR business in the region. The strategy and coaching piece that has seen the business grow to represent some of the world’s largest brands and the creation of a culture that everybody believes in and is engaged in is a key element of our work with the business. IPT Practice, DLA Piper, Middle East, the recently crowned ‘TMT Practice of the Year’ is a long standing 2b Limitless client we have worked with the key partner in developing both strategy and team over the past 5 years and this has had an enormous impact on engagement and performance. This team is explicitly strengths-based and is the trusted IPT advisor to many of the world’s leading brands. Starwood Hotels, Dubai & Northern Emirates, we have worked with 5 key Starwood properties across the Emirates to develop a focus that has developed leaders, goals and strategy across all properties. This work has
PERSONNEL / Executive Coach of the Year - UAE: Delivering Excellence in the Coaching Sector
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had meaningful impact in terms of top and bottom line performance, increased market share, clarity of objectives, engagement of staff and owners and guest experience. GASCO, Abu Dhabi, the oil and gas Industry is the key driver of the UAE’s GDP and as such developing local leaders and strategies of substance are critical elements in building sustainable success. 2b Limitless is proud of the training and coaching programmes it has run throughout the year with the leaders at the very highest level in the business supporting them in set clear objectives and giving them the tools to be more impactful leaders.
There are many other individual and organisational successes that we could share. We are proud to work with all of our clients and are delighted to share a small part of their success. The real heartbeat of 2b Limitless is our backoffice team led by Melanie Bangcaya our Office Manager and Mohammed Harief our PRO and Head of Logistics these two massively dedicated professionals allow the rest of the team to deliver seamlessly by ensuring all the details are managed with excellence. Without them none of our success would be possible. We also receive outstanding support from Vikas Takhtani and Jerald Matiban from Legends Accounting who provide financial planning and strategic financial support. Complex realities in today’s world The pace of change in the modern business landscape is staggering. Leaders are faced with an unprecedented number of real time decisions that have far reaching ramifications for clients, employees and shareholders. Having real clarity of purpose, objectives, goals and the rituals and behaviours that will deliver performance that will lead to a meaningful impact are critical components of the modern leaders’ toolbox. As business continues to become more and more complex a leaders’ ability to simplify and identify the true priorities, take agile action and make a meaningful impact is key. That is where we come in and help leaders to develop a roadmap and the tools that they need to deliver excellence in performance. External coaches for executive and senior management As a neutral sounding board and expert external coaches are able to help generate insights across a variety of industries. As a coach with over 15,000 hours of experience across multiple industries the level of expertise and exposure to high-level relationships and decision-making enables me and all our 2b Limitless coaches to help bring a quality of impartial perspective that is very difficult for an in-house resource to offer.
Priorities for the future Growth – In a word this is our key focus across all of our key success measures. We are building plans to develop a centre of excellence so we can offer pathways and standardised coaching process. We are also looking to develop a standalone high performance coaching and training facility in Asia, in order to offer our clients an unrivalled coaching and goal setting retreat through our 2BYB (To Be Your Best) process, so 2017 promises to be another amazing year at 2b Limitless. We are currently developing our 2020 strategy and it is focused around building success and leadership processes, programmes and events that focus on strengths, engagement, performance and transformation so we not only plan to be in this space, we plan to be a key player in this space. I am conscious that it is easy to sit and talk about how great we are but the insights that we are most interested in as a business are what our clients think it is like to work with us… Here is what they think…
“The coaching with Mick helped me focus on my goals, my strengths and to be consistent. It transformed my life, privately as well as in business.” - Abdul-Aziz Al-Yaqout of CEO Al-Yaqout Group, Dubai & Kuwait “Mick is a Master Coach. His genuine ambition to help others succeed, his authenticity of character and his unique skillset in combination allow him to help already successful people continuously improve and evolve both professionally and personally. Mick’s 2BYB platform is my trusted process for helping me to firmly establish my own goals and achieve them.” - Paul Allen, DLA Piper, partner & head of IPT, Middle East “Mick Todd has a contagious persona which is ideally suited to working with teams and in our case harnessing the cultural shift required as the business of managing Hotels in an increasingly competitive environment continues to call for evolution and innovative mindsets. I have enjoyed working with Mick both professionally and personally as much of what is relevant to professional growth is also in some ways relevant to personal development to make people better human beings, at least that is the case in my own experience working with Mick!” - Shaun Parsons, General Manager of Le Meridien, Dubai “Our team would not have experienced the success that it has achieved without our partnership with 2B Limitless. Mick and the 2B Limitless team have
helped our team to develop stronger relationships both amongst ourselves and with our partners. Our classification as a ‘high performing team’ owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mick and his team.” - Simon Copleston, group general counsel & board secretary of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank “Mick Todd is a ROCK STAR! He helps us on a daily basis to leverage the unique talents and strengths of our team to continue to build an agency that we can all be proud of. His contribution to House of Comms is invaluable – supporting us individually to be the best versions of ourselves and as a team to create organisational goals that are focused, measurable and impactful.” - Abby Wilks & Kaja Weller, managing partners of the House of Comms – Dubai “Engaging Mick Todd and 2b Limitless on a personal level has allowed our family to be the Directors of our own destiny. To live in the present and plan, measure and achieve the future we all dreamt of. “Engaging Mick Todd and 2b Limitless on a business level has helped develop leadership skills and strengths within our team that would have otherwise remained unharnessed… This has been a journey of success.” - Billy Harkin, managing director of MEGARME – Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Qatar “I’ve been working with Mick for the last 5 years; he has helped me transform my operation, from a small operation to a large one. Mick has been close to me, supporting me in driving strategic initiatives, organic and inorganic, developing my team’s capabilities and driving transformation and performance. “My journey is extremely stressful and requires fast reactions and prompt decisions. Mick has taught me how to balance my time, to have my ‘Balcony Moments’, to keep distance and to focus on better decisions with sharp prioritization. I have developed my ‘Rituals’ and strategic thinking time... in order to stay focused on controlling what I can control. “Mick is a great coach and mentor... always available… open to offering honest and courageous feedback… driven by results… and focused on me and my needs!” - Paolo Cervini, President & CEO Philips Lighting - Middle East & Turkey “I love working with Mick as he is so motivational and he has so much passion in what he does and after a session with him I feel I can conquer anything!! He is the best at what he does by a long way.” - Donna Benton, Founder & Chairman, The Entertainer - International
Acquisition International - December 2016 55
PERSONNEL / Our Company in 60 Seconds: Essential Employment Law and HR Services
Name: Gary H Sutherland Company: EmployEasily Legal Services Limited Web: www.employeasily.co.uk Address: Baltic Chambers, 50 Wellington Street, suite 544-545, Glasgow, G2 6HJ Phone: 0141 611 9785
Our Company in 60 Seconds
Essential Employment Law and HR Services EmployEasily Legal Services help clients manage their employees across all aspects of their employment and offer a range of essential employment law and HR services designed to deliver practical and affordable solutions for employers all on a fixed fee basis that comprises: HR services packages, employment law and HR consultancy as well as employment tribunal representation. The firm’s Gary H Sutherland reveals more in a special 60 second interview. hat does your client base look like? We have a broad range of clients across the private, public and voluntary sectors, including but not limited to manufacturing, warehousing, healthcare, call centres, and the care sector.
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What are your firm’s unique selling points? Every client has a dedicated advisor who combines their knowledge, skills and experience of employment law, HR and operational management to provide practical, purposeful advice and support to every client based on their preferred outcomes. The team at EmployEasily Legal Services understanding of how to balance compliance with UK employment legislation with the practicalities of successful people management in an operational
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environment where organisational objectives need to be delivered is truly unique. What are the main challenges facing your company today? Brexit, Scottish Independence and the uncertainty these ongoing challenges create across both the UK business and legislative landscape. What are the main objectives for your business in the future? To distinguish EmployEasily Legal Services throughout the UK as a trusted business partner and leading legal services provider that offers the right advice, best possible solutions, service excellence that consistently exceeds Client expectations, and exceptional value for money, helping Clients to prevent problems, protect their business, save time and avoid unnecessary risks and costs.
PERSONNEL / Executive Coach of the Year: Coaching Clients to Corporate Excellence 1612AI40
Coaching Clients to Corporate Excellence BRIEF Academy is a Singapore based, solution focused coaching company dedicated to supporting clients and guiding them to success. We invited Managing Partner and Master Executive Coach Simon Lee to talk us through the firm and its approach to supporting clients.
Company: BRIEF Academy Pte Ltd Name: Simon Lee Email: simonlee@ briefacademy.com Web: www.briefacademy.com Address: 8 Temasek Boulevard, #42-01 Suntec Tower Three, Singapore 038988 Phone: +65-6829 2287; Mobile: +65-9851 9609
Executive Coach of the Year
RIEF Academy was founded on the passion and desire to spread the effective use of the solution focused approach throughout the Asia Pacific Region and to help clients successfully apply this approach.
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Simon Lee is Managing Partner and Master Executive Coach of BRIEF Academy. He is one of Asia’s pioneer executive coaches specializing in Higher Ground Leadership development and Solution Focused Brief Coaching. He has over 25 years of business management experience with P&L responsibilities including sales, customer service, product management and quality control. Simon’s extensive and broad-based corporate experience spreads across the Information Technology, Telecommunications, Manufacturing, Storage and Professional Services Industries. As such he draws on this vast experience to provide the very best support to his clients and disseminate his knowledge on the firm’s solution focused approach. “At Brief Academy we provide the highest quality leadership development, coaching, training and career services possible that deeply impact individuals, transforms organizations and produces significant and lasting results. We use strengthbased coaching to help our clients achieve peak performance, improve their level of productivity, with results that positively impact their bottom-line.
“At Brief Academy we provide the highest quality leadership development, coaching, training and career services possible that deeply impact individuals, transforms organizations and produces significant and lasting results.” “We are very pleased with our performance currently, as we are creating ripples of Solution Focused movement across Asia, helping organizations create and sustain a strength-based coaching culture. Some of our successes include Petronas, having trained
more than 10,000 employees since 2005. Our Intensive Coach Certification program in Malaysia is now offered in collaboration with Petronas Leadership Centre. In addition, our Career Management and Coaching Skills workshops at Singapore’s Defence Science Organisation (DSO National Laboratories) have been running for 10 years and we have helped them in their talent retention. Where certification of coaches is concerned, we are the only organization that has our intensive coach training program recognized by three major accreditation bodies (CCPC Global, ICF and AC UK).” Within the corporate coaching market, external coaches such as Simon and the team at BRIEF Academy continue to be in demand because of the increased awareness of the benefits of coaching as a developmental tool for senior executives. External coaches are more attractive to senior leaders because of the confidentiality of the nature of the coaching partnership. Also, external coaches bring to the table an outside perspective and clients are more open to sharing intimate information. Research has shown that 40% of global leaders assigned to either new positions or overseas assignments fail after 18 months and therefore, targeted external coaching interventions with such global leaders can help to avoid disastrous consequences and ensure success. Therefore, looking ahead, BRIEF Academy will be looking to take advantage of these developments, and in his concluding comments Simon is keen to discuss the firm’s exciting new plans and service offerings as it seeks to build upon its current success. “Moving forward, our priorities for 2017 would be to continue our signature coaching programs to create more ripples of Solution Focused successes. Our popular coach certification program will expand from three to five runs per year. We have planned to participate in an exclusive Learning & Development Contact Days in Singapore in July 2017 – this is an exclusive event to connect with 1,500 invited HR and L&D leaders in a 2-day sharing. Our partnership with the University of Toronto will deepen with the collaborative program in Solution Focused Brief Coaching under the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education. We will also create a platform for peer coaching among SMEs business owners to accelerate their growth through solution-focused transformation.”
Acquisition International - December 2016 57
1612AI28
Company: Falcon Certified Public Accountants Limited Name: Gilbert Loke Email: gilbert@fcpa.com.hk Web: www.fcpa.com.hk Address: 2201, 22/F Malaysia Building, 50 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Most Innovative Accountancy Firm 2016
Falcon Certified Public Accountants - Soaring Above the Competition Falcon Certified Public Accountants Ltd., registered with the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, specialises in providing audit, tax and corporate advisory services to a wide range of clients. Founder Gilbert Loke talks us through the firm and its commitment to offering the most innovative services possible in order to support clients and meet their ever-changing needs.
stablished in 2009, Falcon is a cross border financial specialist, supporting clients looking to incorporate companies in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Thailand and other offshore jurisdictions covering Belize, Seychelles, Samoa, Marshalls Islands, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bermuda. Gilbert discusses the firm’s service offering in more detail, outlining the breadth of Falcon’s knowledge and expertise.
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“Fundamentally, we are committed to offering a bespoke service tailored to our clients’ individual needs.” “Here at Falcon, we provide a wide range of services particularly in cross border jurisdictions, acting as company secretary taking care of all the statutory matters for clients, assisting clients on their book-keeping and management accounting activities, assisting our clients on tax planning and compliance including application for offshore profits tax exemption in Hong Kong. “In addition, we also offer audit assurance, and providing cross border listing on the U.S OTC Markets, NASDAQ, NYSE, as well as in Hong Kong and Australia. We also provide specialised services which are not normally provided by small to medium sized accounting firms - and these cover family offices where we assist our clients to strategically planning and protecting their legacies for multi-generations by setting up trusts or foundations - developing financial and
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wealth planning for their hard-earned wealth to ensure growth and capital appreciation, asset management and fund management services. Fundamentally, we are committed to offering a bespoke service tailored to our clients’ individual needs, whilst at the same time remaining independent so that we can ensure they receive the most relevant support and advice.” Alongside his work at Falcon, Gilbert is qualified with Hacker Young, Chartered Accountants, from London, and has over 35 years of accounting, auditing, tax planning, asset protection, and cross border IPO listing experience. To enhance his contribution to the financial market Gilbert, in partnership with Co-Founder Mr. CK Lee, a qualified accountant with ACCA, also founded Greenpro Capital Corp. a company listed in OTC Markets, and its subsidiaries and related companies, Greenpro Venture Capital Ltd, Greenpro Trust Limited, Greenpro Family Office Limited and its fund unit, Greenpro Asia Strategic Fund, to provide effective financial solutions for clients. As such Gilbert has a unique vantage from which to assess the global financial market. He provides us with an absorbing overview of how the latest developments in the market and how his firm is constantly adapting in order to remain at the forefront of innovation. “In our opinion, accounting firms adopting and practising the traditional accounting models are finding it more challenging to sustain especially in the fast-changing environment, with high-technology, talented people, big data and innovative speed all changing the way we do business, let alone the changing banking operation, due to demanding requirements such
ACCOUNTING / Most Innovative Accountancy Firm 2016: Falcon Certified Public Accountants - Soaring Above the Competition
as FATCA, CRS, KYC, AML, etc., making it more and more challenging for many accounting and secretarial firms in Hong Kong to sustain their business. It is vital that businesses in this industry are constantly innovating otherwise they will shrink due to competitive services, and will become unable to attract, recruit and retain talents, therefore encountering potential threat of competitions from your competitors, decreasing fee level and increasing costs relating to staffing and high office rental. We need to get out of the Jurassic mind set and to be constantly up to date with the latest developments our industry has to offer. For example, WeChat, Whatsapp, QQ, etc., changes the way we communicate, WePay or AliPay changes the way we make payments, and Uber changes the way we use public transport. So, we have to know and understand how to make use of these technologies to add values to our chain of activities to stay profitable. “As such, if we want to stay competitive then we need to make changes to our traditional model, be inventive and not be afraid to try various innovative approaches to deliver our services and to serve our clients more effectively, efficiently and economically.
“Therefore, Falcon are always seeking new ways to offer better services to clients, exploring ways we can support them that are not currently offering in the wider accounting and financial market. Currently our firm stands out from the crowd in these competitive times because we have our own offices and talented team members in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, with our own resources, providing a great variety of services, which are not provided by those small and medium sized firms. “Currently, we have about 86 staff members within our group, and through this vast array of talents we are able to provide a wide variety of services in one place, including cross border IPO advisory services, asset protection services, family office services, trust and foundation services, asset management and fund management services. Our firm is not only a registered audit firm, but supported by our licensed trustee firm registered under the Trustee Ordinance in Hong Kong, our associated mutual fund registered with the Cayman Island Monetary Authority, and our associated licensed finance company registered under the Money Lenders Ordinance of Hong Kong. Offering such a vast array of solutions ensures that clients can save time and money by working with just one provider. In my personal opinion, the business growth we have achieved by way of clients’ referral through their recommendation and words of mouth advertising is testimony to the success of our approach.”
This vast array of services would not be possible without a committed and professional workforce, and Gilbert is very proud of his talented and dedicated team. “At Falcon, we encourage our staff members to play in a multi-tasking role, as myself and the other senior managers do, as this helps us all to gain the capabilities, expertise, knowledge and skills to deal with different stakeholders, especially our clients, who are the most important stakeholders of all. Staff need to know and understand a variety of practice areas covering marketing, corporate finance, accounting, tax, company laws, economics, etc., because all of these are components of our clients’ businesses. For example, our cross-border team members are called Corporate Finance Engineers because they need to know more than just corporate finance in order to be able to do a better job for our clients. As an engineer, one has to possess various environmental knowledges relating to the client’s business inside out. This enables them to provide the level of services that our clients have come to expect from Falcon.” Looking to the future, Gilbert believes that the firm’s core challenges revolve around obtaining skilled and dedicated staff who embody the right attitude and are willing to adapt to the company’s ethos. “Moving forward, the challenges we face are attracting talented people who have passion, drive and positive attitudes. They must also be visionaries and have the desires to become leaders and entrepreneurs themselves. These talented people will make us more successful and act as our engine for growth in the coming future, and we look forward to working with them to develop our service offering to meet the everevolving needs of our clients.”
Acquisition International - December 2016 59
ACCOUNTING / Best of the Best in Finance - Hong Kong: Balancing the Books 1611AI01
Balancing the Books Company: Professional Accounting and Taxation Ltd Name: Zue Lo Email: zuelo@netvigator.com Web: www.24722222.com Address: 7/F Pearl Oriental Tower 225 Nathan Road Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong Phone: + 852 2472 2222
Best of the Best in Finance - Hong Kong
Professional Accounting and Taxation Limited is a professional accounting firm established in Hong Kong since 1982. We have a great team of good experienced and specialised associates with expertise in accounting, taxation and legal knowledge. Our client base spans industries from different sectors, including: construction and engineering, transport and logistics, medical services, general trading, insurance, jewels, manufacturing, retail and distribution and all other businesses.
ver the years, through our sincerity and endeavour, we have developed very closed relationships with individuals and SME enterprises in Hong Kong, Taiwan and most importantly, we have built up a strong network with Mainland China operating for almost 25 years.
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Facing the highly competitive business environment nowadays, Professional Accounting and Taxation Limited aims at providing clients with a wide range of professional services of high quality and assists them with their most complex business challenges. We are also renowned for providing practical and current information to clients with a view to setting up business in Hong Kong SAR and the PRC. And we have our branch offices in different provinces of China.
Our services include but not limited to: (1) Accounting services; (2) Taxation services; (3) Corporate finance consultancy services; (4) Company formation – worldwide; (5) Company secretarial services; (6) Personal auto office services; (7) Registration of trade marks – worldwide and; (8) Legal consultancy services; In regards to our consultancy offering, our dedicated team are well-equipped to provide a full-range of corporate finance advisory services to companies who are seeking capital funding for future business developments. We are able to match your financial needs to the right channel through our strong connections with various financial institutes and investors. In addition, we deeply immerse ourselves in our client’s business, with our advice being quick and to the point. Our commitment to our job guides everything we do, indeed without such an ethos, we would not be the firm we are today. Every time we take on a new client, we take time to understand their needs, before putting a robust plan of action in place. Facing today’s highly competitive business environment, Professional Accounting and Taxation Ltd not only aims to provide our clients with a wide range of professional services of high quality, but to also assist them with their most complex business challenges. In short, we immerse ourselves deeply in the client’s business and industry. Advice is always quick and to the point. Indeed, our values are to attain high efficiency but low service charges, as we actively attend to the needs of our clients’. Looking ahead to the future, arguably our biggest challenge will be the increased competition in our geographical area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In short - we truly believe the best way of responding to this competition is through the training of our staff - and the development of our business approach. Please visit our website (www.24722222.com) and we hope that we can partner with you to expand your business in Hong Kong and China.
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1610AI37
The Cruikshank Advisory Group Ltd. Midmarket Expertise and Focus The Cruikshank Advisory Group Ltd. is an independent provider of advisory services to buyers and sellers of middle market companies. Our services include: • • •
Divestitures Acquisitions Financing
We focus on companies ranging in revenue size from $2 million to $100 million and have significant knowledge of the financing, private equity and private sale market in Canada and the United States. CAG believes mid-sized private companies in Canada pose unique challenges and require specialized skills in valuation, marketing and problem solving if they are to be taken to a successful completion. We have developed our expertise and experience by successfully completing deals over the years.
Email: Doug@cruikshankadvisory.com Phone: +1-604-922-2553 Web: www.cruikshankadvisory.com
PE160017
Company: Star Mountain Capital Name: Brett Hickey Email: Brett.Hickey@ StarMountainCapital.com Web: www.StarMountainCapital.com Address: Tower 57 at 135 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022 Phone: +1 (212) 810-9044
Best SME Private Equity & Mezzanine Fund Manager - New York
Compelling Financial Returns Star Mountain Capital is a specialised lower middle-market asset management firm exclusively focused on the U.S. lower middle-market. In this engaging article, the firm’s Founder & CEO Brett A. Hickey unveils the firm’s approach to creating attractive portfolios for their investors, as well as his reflections on winning this prestigious and much deserved award.
tar Mountain invests through four complementary verticals through which it is able to garner competitive advantages and add distinctive value to the companies and the funds it invests in: (i) Direct credit investments; (ii) Direct minority and control equity investments; (iii) Strategic limited partnership investments into other lower middle-market funds and; (iv) Secondary fund investments providing liquidity to limited partners in lower middle-market funds.
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Star Mountain believes that its multi-pronged approach, while staying exclusively focused on only one marketplace, provides it with superior information, knowledge and relationships to create attractive portfolios for investors which allows for: (i) Scale; (ii) Diversification and; (iii) Large market expertise brought down into the lower middle-market.
“We are proud of our team and the great businesses and jobs we help create and look forward to continue pushing frontiers to make a positive impact for society and generate compelling financial returns for our stakeholders.” Star Mountain’s team consists of over 25 fulltime professionals and over 30 senior advisors & operating partners all of whom have highly specialised backgrounds. Including Star Mountain’s portfolio fund managers, its aligned network consists of over 125 people who focus exclusively on originating, underwriting and managing U.S. lower middle-market investments. Star Mountain offers investment products to enable institutions and high net worth individuals to access the U.S. lower middle-market. Investors are able to choose from a wide array of complementary products across both credit and equity investments including co-mingled funds and tailored separately 62 Acquisition International - December 2016
managed accounts. Within equity or credit, investors are able to further select between direct investments, fund investments and secondary fund investments which allows Star Mountain to help build optimised risk-reward and scalable product solutions for investors. Star Mountain also has a specialisation within the SBIC space where Star Mountain’s team has deep expertise including partner Harry Haskins having led the SBIC program for 15 years representing approximately 300 SBIC funds and $18 billion of capital. Star Mountain can creatively structure vehicles for its investors on a bespoke basis to maximise their objectives including yield, liquidity, diversification, geography and industry specialisation while also providing more standard structured co-mingled funds. Best SME Private Equity & Mezzanine Fund Manager - New York We are honoured to receive this award and be recognised among our peers. It feels great to see our long-term efforts paying off. We have taken an entrepreneurial approach to building a specialised business model which looks different from most other asset management firms, particularly in the lower middle-market. The ‘secret’ - we don’t think is actually any secret - it is just a matter of being thoughtful, strategic, focused, organised, aligned…and a lot of effort! For example, we all know that alignment of interest is important, and as such, 100% of our employees participate in the carried interest and all of our senior team invest material personal capital alongside our investors and own part of the management company. We also know that technology can bring substantial competitive advantages to businesses so we have an experienced full-time Chief Technology Officer and an in-house junior technology team to help realise these opportunities. Lastly, we know that we are in a ‘people business’ and we work very hard to build a highly talented team with diverse skill sets and backgrounds to execute against a highly-organised business plan which I developed in part while doing a three-year
INVESTMENT / Best SME Private Equity & Mezzanine Fund Manager - New York: Compelling Financial Returns
executive program at Harvard Business School and taking advantage of learnings from organisations such as the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) where I have been a member since 2008. We are proud of our team and the great businesses and jobs we help create and look forward to continue pushing frontiers to make a positive impact for society and generate compelling financial returns for our stakeholders. Star Mountain’s mission is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to its investors by investing in the U.S. lower middle-market, known as ‘the growth engine of America’ (which Star Mountain has trademarked) with a differentiated team and business model. In addition to positive financial outcomes, investing in growing U.S. businesses helps create jobs and that is also part of Star Mountain’s culture and mission of generating material positive economic impact. Through our network, we are able to help educate and effect change including assisting with internship programs and educating our business owners on the value of diversity, culture, etc. Looking ahead We have a large market that we will continue to execute against, striving to continually improve ourselves and our business. Many new items are on the horizon within our ‘Collaborative Ecosystem’ and custom-built technology tools to continually add more value to our portfolio companies and our investors. We always welcome ideas, suggestions and people looking to engage with us on any front! Please connect with us via our many social media assets and the over 75 events that we host and speak at across the U.S. annually.
Acquisition International - December 2016 63
1612AI09
Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector
Company: Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) Name: Top Management Email: icd@isdb.org Web: www.icd-ps.org Address: P.O. Box 54069 Jeddah 21514, KSA Phone: (966 12) 636 1400
Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 Leading Private Equity Consultant of the Year
Unlocking Potential The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the world’s largest Sharia’a compliant multilateral institution. A spokesperson from the firm reveals more about the firm’s advisory services to governments, public entities and private entities of member countries to create the ideal environment to facilitate private sector investment. irst of all, can you tell us about what your company does? ICD focusses on supporting the development of our 57-member countries by stimulating the private sector in various ways. Our mandate is similar to other multilateral institutions with the proviso that all of our operations must be Sharia’a compliant. Apart from providing critical capital, we also impart knowledge, help manage risks and catalyse the required participation of others in order to achieve sustainable development goals.
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Through ICD’s numerous projects, we support the type of entrepreneurial initiatives that help developing countries attain sustainable economic growth. Currently, we are rated ‘AA/ FQ’ by Fitch, ‘Aa3/P-1’ by Moody’s, and ‘A+ by Standard & Poor’s. What kind of clients do you serve and how do you approach them? ICD provide advisory services to governments, public entities and private entities of member countries with an aim to create the ideal environment to facilitate private sector investment and to assist companies in unlocking their potential. Advisory services include project finance advisory, raising funds through the issuance of Sukuk, and encouraging the development of the business environment for SMEs. In the last couple of years, ICD has comforted its presence in the member countries with its advisory services, which complements its products through advising clients in issuing Sukuk and establishing Islamic financial windows and Institutions. From lawyers, accountants, bankers and consultants to HR professionals, IT specialists and security experts, myriad outside agencies and organisations, to what extent do you think that such advisers contribute massively to a firm’s success? As a multilateral institution, we work with all our member countries. Some of them do have similarities and some have a unique market that needs to be dealt with, taking into consideration its particularity and uniqueness. ICD is mostly relaying in its internal resources, which consist of highly qualified professionals, but we do realise that for some projects, local or international expertise might be required. All the external parties are carefully selected so that both, ICD and the member country, can benefit from their inputs. What role do staff play in the success of your firm? ICD’s business focus is the development of innovative, high-quality products and services - employee performance plays an integral role in achieving our business goals - and we realise that all steps of ICD’s products from conception to marketing are essential components. Employee performance in these areas is therefore critical to our business success. 64 Acquisition International - December 2016
Due to that, ICD invests in each and every employee, who, in turn, contribute to the success of ICD. We work in an inclusive environment that embraces change, new ideas, respect for the individual and an equal opportunity for them all to succeed Do you have any plans for the future that you would like to share with our readers? Since its inception, ICD has devoted itself to private sector development in its 57-member countries to promote inclusive growth and poverty reduction. It has addressed some of the major constraints for the private enterprises including providing access to capital and advisory services to improve financial practices and channels to maximise development impact, with efforts specifically geared towards promoting Islamic finance. Some of our results for 2016 include the creation of over 50,000 jobs in our member countries. We also generated $65.4mln in increased government revenues, and contributed $11.8mln to community development initiatives including: • Providing new energy sources for 2 million people and; • Supporting 1,180 small- and medium- enterprises and 3,944 new businesses, including 1,794 housing projects and 61 agribusiness projects. Moving forward, we will continuously strive to increase private sector engagement in our member countries. In this regard, ICD has set a 10-Year Strategic RoadMap, supported by a 4-Pillar strategy that consists of: 1. Developing Islamic finance channels; 2. Investing in high-impact sectors; 3. Improving the enabling environment and; 4. Mobilising resources. Do you have any further comments to make? ICD has been on a transformational journey since its establishment 16 years ago. Starting with a limited number of products, services and countries of operation, ICD has gradually become the Islamic private sector development institution of reference. ICD operational evolution has taken on a very holistic trend whereby each part of its business has gone through significant transformation. The journey took on even greater visibility when ICD embarked on its strategic roadmap in 2010. The ICD 10-year strategy approved and commenced in 2015, further confirms the direction taken. ICD has made it a priority to increase the availability and affordability of Islamic finance products for a wide range of financial institutions in member countries. Extending Line of Finance (LOF) to financial institutions, and investing in various types of financial institutional equity for the ultimate benefit of local real sector businesses, have proven to be critical tools for ICD in boosting the private sector and combating poverty in Member Countries.
INVESTMENT / Leading Advisor of the Year 2016 & Leading Private Equity Consultant of the Year: Unlocking Potential
Acquisition International - December 2016 65
2014 Copperstone Capital. All rights reserved.
winner
Copperstone Capital is an investment management firm founded in 2009 with offices in Moscow, Russia and London, United Kingdom. We manage wealth for high net worth individuals and institutions through various hedge fund strategies. 16 Sadovnicheskaya Street, Moscow, 115035, Russia T +7 495 988 0010 F +7 495 951 1410 www.copperstonecapital.com
HEDGEfund awards2015 Best Russian Fund (Since Inception)
GLOBAL CONSISTENT
CONFIDENT
STRATEGIC LASTING INDEPENDENT
1610AI22
Medical Innovation meets the Patriot Promise™ Alliant Healthcare Products is a leading medical products provider specializing in government contracting and procurement for the care of veterans worldwide. The company’s owner and CEO is Bob Taylor, a U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserve veteran with a track record of creating value for customers and partners in the medical device industry. Alliant is proud to offer medical products and services from some of the most respected medical device manufacturers in the world, such as Philips, Olympus, Skytron, and many more. The company provides the government with access to numerous high tech medical companies with products ranging from state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, to robotic cardiology devices, to amniotic tissues for treating diabetic foot ulcers.
Learn more at
allianthealthcare.com
Winners’ Directory AI’s CEO 100 Company: VIRTUS Data Centres Name: Neil Cresswell Email: info@virtusdcs.com Web: www.virtusdatacentres.com Address: 2nd Floor, Kent House, 14-17 Market Place, London, W1W 8AJ Phone: +44 (0)20 7499 1300
Best of the Best in Finance – Malta Company: PKF Malta Name: Donna Greaves Email: info@pkfmalta.com Web: www.pkfmalta.com Address: PKF Malta, 35, Mannarino Road, Birkirkara, BKR 9080 Malta Phone: +356 2148 4373, +356 2149 3041
2016 Banker of the Year – Hungary Company: Erste Bank Hungary Name: Jurgen de Ruijter Email: jurgen.deruijter@erstebank.hu Web: www.erstebank.hu Address: Nepfurdo Utca 24-26, 1138 Budapest Phone: +36 1 2684110
Best of the Best in Finance – UK Company: Acorn To Oaks Financial Services Ltd Name: Jason Oakley Email: jason@a2ofs.co.uk Web: a2ofs.co.uk Address: 93 Church Street, Bilston, West Midlands WV14 0BJ Phone: 01902 409 414
2016 Banker of the Year - Austria Company: Raiffeisen Centrobank AG Name: Heike Arbter Email: arbter@rcb.at Web: www.rcb.at Address: Tegetthoffstraße 1, 1015 Vienna, Austria Phone: +43 (0) 1 51520 407 2016 Banker of the Year – France Company: Arkea Banking Services Name: Christophe Bitner Email: christophe.bitner@arkea.com Web: www.arkea-banking-services.com Address: Tour Ariane 5 Place de la Pyramide 92088 Paris La Défense France Phone: +33 1 4197 79 76 2016 Banker of the Year – Afghanistan Company: Bakhtar Bank Name: Faizan Ahmed Email: info@bakhtarbank.com Web: https://bakhtarbank.com/ Address: Plot 148, 4th Street, Ansari Square, Sharenaw Kabul, Afghanistan Phone: +93 79 001 0105 2016 Most Innovative Accountancy Firm – Cambodia Company: K Professional Accountants Co., LTD. Name: Darith Khun Email: info@kpaglobal.com Web: www.kpaglobal.com Address: 5th Floors, CPL Building, 348 corner 205 Street, Sangkat Toul Svay Prey II, Khan Chamkarmon, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia Phone: +855 99 554 445 (mobile) +855 12 580 580
68 Acquisition International - December 2016
Best of the Best in Finance – Gabon Company: Cabinet Me Anguiler Name: Ruben Mindonga Email: mindongaruben@yahoo.fr Address: Immeuble Résidence des Forestiers, 2ème étage face à la, P 1166 Gabon Phone: 00241 (0) 1 72 52 73 2016 Best of the Best in Finance Company: Compare Money Transfer Ltd Name: Raffick Marday Email: sales@comparemoneytransfer.com Web: www.comparemoneytransfer.com Address: 27D Bruce Street, Dunfermline, Fife KY12 7AG Phone: 07739 897 954 2016 Most Innovative Accountancy Firm – Wales Company: Mitchell Meredith Limited Name: Ian Mitchell Email: Ian@mitchellmeredith.co.uk Web: www.mitchellmeredith.co.uk Address: The Hawthorns, 6 North Road, Cardiff, CF10 3DU Phone: 02921 303 306 2016 Most Innovative Accountancy Firm – UK Company: MBE Accountancy Ltd Name: Mathew Ellwood ACCA Email: mathew@mbeaccountancy.co.uk Web: www.mbeaccountancy.co.uk Address: 10 High Street, Windermere LA23 1AF Phone: +44 (0)15394 88561
2016 Most Innovative Accountancy Firm - West Midlands Company: mca group Name: Adrian Holles Email: aholles@mcabusiness.co.uk Web: www.mcabusiness.co.uk Address: Suite 16D, The Mclaren Building, 46 The Priory Queensway, Birmingham B4 7LR Phone: 0121 784 5818 2016 Excellence Award - Most Outstanding for Prepaid Card Services Company: Compare Prepaid Name: Raffick Marday Email: sales@what-prepaid-card.co.uk Web: www.what-prepaid-card.co.uk Address: 324 Southend Road, Wickford, Essex SS11 8QS Phone: 07739 897 954 Mobility in Business - Logistics and Shipping Specialists Company: UM Logistics (India) Pvt. Ltd. Name: Manish Trikha Email: manish@aumlogistics.com Web: www.aumlogistics.com Address: 406 Ansal Imperial Tower, C Block Community Centre, Naraina Vihar, New Dehli – 110028 India Phone: 91 981 010 9787 Mobility in Business - Logistics and Shipping Specialists Company: Group A Logistics Name: Vikrant Gogia Email: vikrant@groupalogistics.com Web: www.groupalogistics.com Address: 301-302, Plot No 50, Comunity Centre, Narayna Industrial Area Phase I, New Delhi 110 028 India Phone: +91 11 2589 6971 Mobility in Business Company: VIP Corporate Housing Name: Kevin Killoren Email: kkilloren@vipcorporatehousing.com Web: www.VipCorporateHousing.com Address: 570 Lake Cook Road, Suite 120 Deerfield, IL 60015 Phone: 847 205 0222 2016 Dentists of Distinction Company: Town Hall Dental Name: Dr Imran Rangzeb Email: info@townhalldental.co.uk Web: www.townhalldental.co.uk Address: Thornton Square Brighouse, West Yorkshire, HD6 1EA Phone: 01484 723 788
Winners’ Directory
Acquisition International - December 2016 69
Isle of Man
Forward Thinking Modern Solutions 1608BW66
www.bakertillyiom.com