Henley Finance Club Inaugural success
On Tuesday 19 October 2010 Clydesdale Bank kindly opened its doors to over 30 members for the launch event of The Henley Finance Club which has been created to promote finance related activities and careers throughout the Henley Business School.
The inaugural event of the Henley Finance Club was held in the heart of the city hosted by Clydesdale Bank and was well attended by alumni, current students and guests as our speakers delivered their lectures on The Outlook for Private Equity for SME's.
The first speaker was Colin Ellis, Chief Economist and Head of Research at the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) and he took the floor to provide a valuable insight into the role of the BVCA in Private Equity, the investment process and future outlook. He outlined his optimistic view for the potential of PE investment in a downturn at all levels of the economy and the need for an enterprise seeking funding to have a strong vision and build relationships with potential investors.
Adrian Wenn, Assistant Regional Director, South Region, Clydesdale Bank provided valuable insights into the general economic position from the banks viewpoint with practical comments on the impact on regulation with relevance to the SME sector. Overall he urged enterprises to have a proactive relationship with their bank and to be transparent.
The floor was then opened to Q&A, with some tough questions about growth in difficult economic conditions. Both speakers held forth on the opportunities open to strong enterprises and how historical returns in a post-recession are often some of the best. The evening drew to a close with many members, guests and speakers networking over refreshments.
The Finance Club is looking to grow its global membership in 2011. As well as the Special Interest Group (SIG) webpage, the club has its own website address www.henleyfinanceclub.co.uk and a Linkedin group (HenleyFinanceClub) which will provide members or an alumnus, an organised focal point for information on club activities.
The Club founder and Chair, MBA participant Brenda Sibindi commented:
"I very much look forward to the upcoming year and our speaker series events. I hope many of our alumni and students will be there to join us. I would like to thank Clydesdale bank for providing us with such a great venue and to thank the Henley Business School and the ICMA Centre Alumni teams for their help and support in setting up the Finance Club and helping to make the launch event a reality. It is through their dedication of time and resources that we were able to hold a launch event of unmitigated success".
To join the club and to and receive invitations to formal and informal club events, please email join@henleyfinanceclub.com.