Creating a Competitive Landscape for UK Growth Companies with Lisa Gordon

Beyond the Bell - Interview with Paul Brotherhood

Julian Walker talks to Paul Brotherhood, co-founder of Investor Meet Company. He calls on quoted companies to market their investment proposition with the same focus and commitment as they would a new product or service for their business.

Using AI to Handle Property Data: Inside Search Acumen’s Vision

In this episode of Instinctive Talks, Emma Becirovic sits down with Andrew Lloyd, Managing Director of Search Acumen, to explore how AI is transforming the way legal professionals handle property data in the commercial real estate sector. From digitising complex local authority searches to reducing legal risk and unlocking massive efficiency gains, Andrew shares how tools like Ray—the UK's first AI-powered document reading tool—are reshaping due diligence workflows.  Key Takeaways * Ray is the UK’s first AI tool designed to digitize and structure local authority search documents, making a previously time-consuming legal process more efficient. * Tools like Ray provide significant efficiency improvements, particularly in high-volume or portfolio-based commercial real estate transactions. * Search Acumen is working on new features, including smart alerts and hyperlinks to planning documents, to enhance the due diligence process. * The future of commercial real estate law will hinge on firms’ ability to partner with trusted technology providers and adopt AI thoughtfully. * Long-term vision: Instantaneous due diligence through geolocation, powered by real-time, structured access to all relevant property data. To learn more, visit Instinctif.com [http://instinctif.com/].

#NavigatingChange: Are businesses too risk averse?

In this second episode of the #NavigatingChange series, host Mark Thorpe explores the UK's approach to risk with experts Julian Walker, John Howarth, Jonathan Kemp, and Daniel Price. The panel unpacks findings from the Instinctive Partners Change Index, examining why the UK appears risk-averse and how this affects business growth, investment culture, and even mental wellbeing. The conversation reveals surprising insights about business optimism versus broader economic pessimism, offering a fresh perspective on how we can better embrace change to drive innovation and growth. Key Takeaways: 1. The UK lags significantly behind the US in startup investment, particularly in secondary phase funding, limiting growth potential for promising businesses. 2. US investment houses are often run by former entrepreneurs while UK counterparts tend to be led by accountants and bankers, creating fundamentally different approaches to risk. 3. People aren't afraid of change itself but the uncertainty it brings—the feeling of not being personally equipped to handle transformation. 4. Business leaders are remarkably optimistic about their own ventures (nearly 60%) while pessimistic about the broader economy, suggesting control over outcomes significantly impacts outlook. 5. Traditional long-term planning models are becoming obsolete with most CEOs now working with 2-3 year horizons maximum, building in flexibility to adapt to rapid change.

Creating a Competitive Landscape for UK Growth Companies with Lisa Gordon

In this episode of Instinctif Talks, host Gus Chipungu sits down with Lisa Gordon, Chairman of Cavendish and member of the Capital Markets Industry Task Force. With over 30 years of senior experience in public and private companies, Lisa shares her insights on why UK capital markets matter and the reforms needed to revitalise them. Lisa outlines the concrete actions that could transform the investment landscape from unlocking the UK's £3 trillion pension pool to reforming ISAs and removing stamp duty on shares. She discusses the challenges AIM-listed companies face, the unintended consequences of MiFID II on research coverage, and why a balanced approach to risk and growth is essential for the UK economy. A must-listen for anyone interested in the future of UK investment and economic growth. Key Takeaways: 1. UK has the third largest pension pool globally but one of the lowest allocations to domestic assets at under 5% – unlocking this capital could be transformational for UK markets. 2. The tax system needs reform to favour UK investment, including the removal of stamp duty on shares and more substantial fiscal incentives for equity ISAs over cash ISAs. 3. AIM remains a vital growth market that has proven to be a hunting ground for future FTSE 100 companies, with successful examples like Alpha Group International. 4. UK companies are currently undervalued relative to quality, leading to 18 UK-listed companies being taken over in just the first four months of this year. 5. Regulatory frameworks should be tailored to different market segments rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach that could stifle growth.

Rejecting the CEO God Complex- decoding the language of leadership in 2025

In our latest podcast episode, Mike Norris and Duart Rankin from Truth Intelligence delve into their groundbreaking research, revealing that modern CEOs are moving away from this outdated model. Instead, they are driven by a new set of values. Through an analysis of hundreds of social media conversations, we discuss why the next generation of business leaders is not following in the footsteps of Trump, Musk, Johnson, and Farage. Our findings show that the era of the expert is far from over. We explore how hard work, technical skill, professionalism, and social impact are shaping today's leaders.