Lord Bilimoria helps launch the BCMS Supper Club
BCMS co-hosts new events for business leaders
Liz Jackson MBE writes: Late June saw the launch of new series of special invitation-only events for business owners and advisors. We’re calling this ‘The BCMS Supper Club’, and the first session was held very much on home turf at The Vineyard, a luxury hotel and spa in Stockcross, near Newbury – just a few miles from our Kingsclere headquarters.
Co-hosted with investment management specialists Rathbones and national law firm Freeths, the general idea with the BCMS Supper Club is to get advisors, entrepreneurs, mentors and business leaders in a room, to share insights, experiences and – frankly – some good old-fashioned face-to-face networking. The key principle here is informality and fun, with no endless PowerPoints and sneaky sales pitches. The Supper Club is simply about creating a great space to share expertise. (And have some fine food, as well, of course!)
The driving principle behind BCMS Supper Club events is to help business owners gain access to great advice, and build their personal and professional networks
We had two star turns on the night. The first, of course, was the brilliant Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL FCA, President of the Confederation of British Industry, cross-bench peer, and founder of Cobra Beer. We’ve done enough events together now to know that Lord Bilimoria is a superb, inspiring speaker – with an attitude to business as refreshing as the beers he created.
One thing he said particularly struck me. Apparently, business leaders have never been more trusted by the public. According to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer the public trust in business and its leaders is at an all-time high, because of their behaviour throughout the pandemic. Unfortunately, public trust in government is at rock bottom. There are clearly some lessons to learn here.
Latest BCMS Fellows: Geotek’s Tony Bosley and Peter Schultheiss with BCMS CEO Jonathan Dunn
Welcoming new Fellows
The second star turn came from our fabulous former clients, the BCMS Fellows. We were joined by shareholders from two companies we’ve worked with in 2022, including Tony Bosley and Peter Schultheiss from Geotek. Advised by BCMS, Geotek sold to AIM-listed Judges Scientific plc just last month. This was Tony and Peter’s first event as official BCMS fellows, and it was great to see them share first-hand advice and offer their experiences of what was a complex and challenging business sale process. I know a number of attendees were fascinated to hear what they had to say – definite food for thought for those considering embarking on a transaction in the coming years.
If you know me, you’ll know I love a good event, and the chance to pop on a posh frock. With the Fellows Group, the BCMS Supper Club – and the recently launched Diamonds & Colours initiatives – we’re creating dynamic new networks for business leaders and entrepreneurs, which we hope more and more inspiring individuals will want to be part of.