Head of Equities at Premier Miton Investors

Fund Manager: The Diverse Income Trust plc, Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc, Premier Miton UK Multi Cap Income Fund, Premier Miton UK Smaller Companies Fund

Gervais Williams is Head of Equities at Premier Miton Investors and manages a number of funds and trusts that aggregate to over £1.5bn, he joined the group in 2011. His fund management career extends over 30 years including 17 years at Gartmore Group Ltd, where he was Head of UK Small Companies investing in UK smaller companies and Irish equities. Gervais is a member of the AIM Advisory Council, and President of the Quoted Companies Alliance. He was a member of the Patient Capital Review panel with the Chancellor of the Exchequer six years ago where the recommendations were put into legislation in the subsequent budget. Gervais Williams has published three books, 'Slow Finance' in the autumn of 2011 (Bloomsbury), 'The Future is Small' published in November 2014 (Harriman House) and 'The Retreat of Globalisation' published in December 2016 (Harriman House).

 Artisanal Spirits Company:

• The Artisanal Spirits Company (“ASC”) creates and sells outstanding, limited-edition whiskies, and experiences around the world

• ASC's purpose is to captivate a global community of whisky adventurers, with an ambition to create a high quality, highly profitable and cash generative, premium global business.

• Based in Edinburgh, ASC owns The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), Single Cask Nation (SCN) and J.G. Thomson (JGT). Owning over 18,000 casks primarily comprising Single Malt Scotch Whisky, ASC's stock includes outstanding whisky (and other spirits) from 150 different distilleries across 20 countries which is sold to members both as individual bottles and whole casks.

• With an established global presence in some 30 countries, SMWS operates a direct-to-consumer model (90% of revenue) primarily through e-commerce, in addition to four member rooms in the UK. SMWS provides members with inspiring experiences, content and exclusive access to a vast and unique range of outstanding, expertly curated Scotch malt and other whiskies.

• In January 2024, ASC acquired SCN which sources, curates and bottles single-cask whiskies and other spirits selling both online and via traditional retail channels to its following of over 10,000 whisky enthusiasts in the USA. SCN also retails to key international whisky markets around the world.

• Launched in the UK in late 2021, JGT has a focus on outstanding small batch blended malt whiskies and other spirits, available both through direct-to-consumer online sales and through traditional retail channels. The award-winning brand has subsequently expanded into international markets.

• With proven e-commerce reach and a growing family of brands, ASC is building a portfolio of limited-edition and small-batch whisky and other spirits brands for a global movement of discerning consumers - delivering revenue of £23.5 million in FY23, predominantly from outside the UK, with an expanding presence in the other key global whisky markets including USA, China, Europe, Japan, Australia and Taiwan.

• ASC has a pioneering business model, a substantial and growing addressable market presenting a long-term global opportunity and a strong and resilient business primed to deliver growth.

Andrew Dane

Chief Executive Officer

Andrew was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in January 2023 (Previously Finance Director of the Company since August 2020), and is responsible for creating and executing the strategy of the company, defining vision, mission and purpose of the business.

Andrew is a highly strategic and commercial leader, with a collaborative, people focus and experience of high growth environments, international operations, corporate transactions, team building and capital investments. He is accountable for the delivery of the group results and performance and seeks to drive the business by demonstrating inspiring leadership, leading by example and developing a strong culture.

Since joining, Andrew’s focus has been on delivering the company’s ambition of creating a high quality, highly profitable & cash generative, premium global business. To support this, he has helped to deliver the flotation of the Artisanal Spirits Company on the AIM market, expansion for SMWS in markets such as Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea as well as leading the acquisition of Single Cask Nation at the start of 2024.

Prior to joining the Company, Andrew was the Finance Director at Argent Energy, helping grow the business from approximately £50 million turnover in 2014 to around £350 million turnover in 2020. He previously worked for eight years at KPMG transaction services in London, Edinburgh and Toronto, working on over 100 transactions covering multiple sectors, business sizes and geographies.

Andrew is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers.

Billy McCarter

Chief Financial Officer

Billy was appointed as Chief Financial Officer in May 2023 (previously Group Financial Controller of the company since February 2022) and as leader of the Finance, People, Technology and Legal Teams is responsible for the financial governance and compliance of the company alongside the Financial, People and Technology strategies that support the long-term objectives of the Group.

A qualified accountant with around 20 years of experience in finance roles, Billy’s career incorporates experience across different sizes of organisation, from SME’s to multinational, the last 10 years in senior management and executive roles delivering strong, clear, future focused leadership.

Having spent 8 years within Diageo prior to his time at ASC, Billy has over 10 years’ experience in the Whisky and spirits industry, covering distillation and maturation, packaging, strategy setting and productivity efficiency projects.

IP Group plc is the most active UK based, early-stage science investor, having formed more than 500 science-based businesses. Backing companies from start-up to scale-up, the Group develops and supports some of the world’s most exciting businesses in deeptech, life sciences and cleantech (led by Kiko Ventures).

IP Group pioneered the concept of systematically investing into university spin-outs more than two decades ago and, together with Parkwalk (the Group’s EIS fund management business), is the largest investor in UK university spinouts. The Group benefits from deep partnerships with leading research institutions, predominantly through Parkwalk, providing access to a pipeline of pioneering scientific research and high-potential intellectual property from institutions including the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London.

IP Group’s specialist investment team combines sector expertise with an international approach and has a long track record of supporting standout companies such as Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Featurespace, Ceres Power, First Light Fusion, Hysata, and Oxa. The Group has performed strongly on cash realisations, recording its largest ever exit last year with the sale of Featurespace to Visa which generated £134m of cash for the Group, a return of 5.9x on the £22.9m invested.

Combining university relationships with deep sector experience and networks provides highly differentiated dealflow while the Group’s access to capital provides a flexible approach to funding across all stages of company maturity, ensuring IP Group can support companies from inception through growth and scaling.

By starting and growing businesses driving improved health outcomes, the energy transition and the digital transformation, IP Group aims to have a significant impact on some of society’s biggest needs while delivering compelling financial returns.

A constituent of the FTSE 250, IP Group is chaired by Sir Douglas Flint, who is also Chairman of aberdeen, chair of the UK’s Digitisation Taskforce and a key figure in the wider Mansion House reforms. IP Group is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO.

For more information, please visit the IP Group website - www.ipgroupplc.com.

BASH is an acronym for Buy, Avoid, Sell and Hold a share in a company to be discussed during each panel.

Panellists:

Kevin Taylor (Covering Gamma Communications)

Kevin is an experienced small-cap investor having invested his own and family money for over 30 years.  He began his City career in 1993, training as an actuary with a focus on defined benefit pension schemes.  In 1997 he moved over to Investment Banking, joining a structured finance team that created bespoke financial solutions, and provided debt finance, for large corporates.  

After leaving banking in Feb 2021 Kevin worked for two years as CFO of a small software business that he helped to rescue from administration.  He is now a full-time professional Investor.  Kevin is one of the more sceptical panel members and likes to see proof that demonstrates management’s claims before investing in a management team.  He invests on a long-term basis but also trades short-term trends on both the long and short side of markets.

Damian Cannon (Covering Gaming Realms)

Damian is an experienced private investor who has tried almost every successful strategy, and many that weren't, over the last 20 years. During that time, he has published deep-dive analysis of individual companies, blogged a monthly trading journal and established the StockSlam social investor event. He probably could have saved a lot of time by sticking with the Zulu Principle from the beginning but where's the fun in that?

Mark Simpson

Mark Simpson is a Value investor, writer and presenter. He focuses on finding sources of edge in the market and developing practical ways to overcome behavioural biases. His book Excellent Investing describes this approach and how investors of all types can generate higher and more consistent returns by developing a strategy that plays to their strengths and overcomes their weaknesses.