FOUNDERS URGED TO DESIGN THEIR EXIT STRATEGY FROM DAY ONE AT LONDON SUMMIT
London Summit to Examine How Founders Can Build Exit Value Long Before Selling
Entrepreneurs, investors and advisers from across the UK business ecosystem are set to gather in London for a summit focused on a central question facing high-growth companies; how to build a business that is exit-ready long before a sale becomes an option.
Business consultancy Champions (UK) plc has confirmed the speaker line-up for its forthcoming Entrepreneur Growth & Exit Summit, an event aimed at founders and senior business leaders seeking to strengthen the long-term value of their companies.
The event will take place on Wednesday 11 March at the London offices of international law firm Squire Patton Boggs, bringing together founders, advisers and investors to examine how early strategic decisions can influence business valuation, investment prospects and succession planning.
Organisers say the event will focus on a growing shift in entrepreneurial thinking: that successful exits are rarely improvised and are instead designed into the business model years in advance.
Among the keynote speakers is Ian Mattioli MBE, founding president and co-founder of wealth management firm Mattioli Woods. Mattioli famously grew the company from a garage-based start-up to a publicly listed business before overseeing a £432 million private sale, making him one of the UK’s most experienced voices on scaling and exiting founder-led businesses.
He will be joined by Matthew Hayes, Managing Director of Champions (UK) plc, whose consultancy work has delivered more than £5 billion in sales growth for clients and who has been involved in over 220 mergers and acquisitions transactions during the past decade.
Also speaking is Sarah Furness, founder of leadership consultancy Well Be It and a former RAF fighter pilot, who specialises in translating military leadership principles into strategies for building resilient and high-performance business cultures.
The summit will also feature a panel discussion exploring governance, funding and boardroom strategy in scaling companies. Participants include Conrad Ford, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Allica Bank; Paul Tutin, Chairman and Managing Partner at accountancy firm Streets; Amir Qureshi, Managing Partner at The NED Advisor; Jason Druker, Chief Commercial Officer at venture capital firm SFC Capital; and Fergus Gallagher, Partner at Squire Patton Boggs.
Champions describes the summit as a forum designed to move beyond theoretical advice and focus instead on the practical decisions that influence a company’s long-term capital value.
Matthew Hayes, Managing Director of Champions (UK) plc, said: “The Entrepreneur Growth & Exit Summit has been designed as a practical briefing for leaders who are building value and planning ahead, whether for investment, succession or an eventual exit.
“The agenda brings together founders, family-businesses and scaling leaders alongside experts from across banking, advisory, governance and legal. We’ll be focused on the decisions that need to be made early, and the ones that are too often left too late.
“Champions is hosting the event to provide a structured forum for informed discussion between business leaders and experienced practitioners. We look forward to seeing everyone there!”
Discussion sessions will explore several key themes facing growth companies, including improving access to capital for established SMEs, strengthening relationships with lenders and investors, and navigating accounting, tax and legal frameworks as businesses scale.
The event will also examine the role of board structures and governance frameworks in preparing businesses for investment or sale.
Amir Qureshi, Managing Partner of The NED Advisor, said: “Exit readiness is increasingly shaped by governance and leadership, as much as financial performance, particularly as organisations scale and complexity increases. The panel will consider how boards and advisory structures need to evolve to support long-term value creation.
“The NED Advisor’s contribution reflects the role of non-executive leadership in building investable, resilient businesses. The Summit provides an opportunity to discuss these issues in a focused setting with founders and investors.”
The summit is being delivered in partnership with headline sponsors Allica Bank and Streets, alongside Cowens as insurance partner and Artelium as the official drinks partner. Recruitment partners include The NED Advisor and Board Champions.
Attendance is free but limited, reflecting the organisers’ intention to create a focused environment for discussion among founders, advisers and investors.
For entrepreneurs navigating the increasingly complex journey from start-up to scale-up and ultimately exit, the event reflects a growing recognition that building enterprise value is not a final-stage decision but a discipline embedded throughout a company’s lifecycle.
