For our latest Leaders’ Views interview, we caught up with Stuart Skinner, Co-Head of Industrials & Business Services at Deutsche Numis. He shares why he loves working in the sector, how his role helps our clients, and how he spends his downtime, averaging (thanks to his family) an impressive two cultural events a week.
Can you tell us about your role, and how it helps our clients? I’m Co-Head of Industrials & Business Services, with a particular focus on Business Services within the UK coverage team. This means helping both public and private clients solve their problems and grow their businesses, whether that be through capital raising, financing strategies, strategic combinations or advising on their communication with key stakeholders.
As Business Services companies tend to be relatively capital-light and need little capital to fund organic growth, we are laser-focused on the most ambitious companies, such as those with a buy-and-build strategy, or ones where their growth is likely to be best served through a change of ownership.
What do you like most about working within the Business Services sector? The sector is incredibly diverse and you really do learn something new every day. It’s also the largest and fastest growing sector within the UK economy.
What’s more, it’s rapidly evolving, with a large and sophisticated private equity ecosystem constantly looking for assets in the sector. Financial sponsors love the space because the capital-light nature I mentioned earlier means that these businesses tend to throw off a lot of cash, which can then be reinvested into M&A and organic growth. Note that a private equity asset will likely change hands every 3-5 years, which is a very interesting proposition for us as advisers.
With the growth of the private markets in recent years, one of the particular points of evolution that we’ve gone through is thinking about private businesses in the same way as we think about our listed clients. In other words, if we see a private business that represents an M&A or a financing opportunity, then we channel our efforts into encouraging investors to look at those companies.
What do you think drives the success of your team? A lot of different factors. Top of the list is finding the most talented, ambitious individuals and then being obsessive about holding on to them. This involves tuning into what it is that they want from their careers and doing what we can to ensure they get those opportunities - which has become markedly easier following the combination with Deutsche Bank.
We make it a priority for the whole team to work on interesting transactions that successfully complete. One of Deutsche Numis’ differentiators is our focus on business development – even the most junior team members are enfranchised to go out there and build their networks.
As a team, we see ourselves as a strong, successful unit. Culturally, large egos and general pomposity won’t fit well. At all levels we want people who can ask for help, offer help, and promote a culture of feeling valued. Take the job seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously.
What are your top priorities for your team over the coming months? We have a lot going on, but in a nutshell it’s getting our existing deals over the line and securing new mandates.
As outlined, a big part of this is keeping the team motivated and demonstrating our appreciation of their effort. The team work extremely hard, so it’s crucial that we let them know that we not only appreciate them, but are working equally as hard to support them.
How is your team working with Deutsche Bank to create opportunities for clients? I think it’s a very similar proposition to clients as it is to our colleagues: the intensity and entrepreneurial culture of a boutique franchise, but with the strength and scale of a global bank.
When the equity market picks up, many sponsors will want to run a dual-track process, which is when you look at both an IPO and a private sale, and then decide further down the line which one is the optimum outcome for the company. Thanks to the combination with Deutsche Bank, there is no one in the UK better placed than us to run a dual-track process, particularly in the mid-market space, because we can be completely agnostic as to which option is chosen.
How did you end up choosing to work in this area, and at Deutsche Numis in particular? I started off as a securities lawyer and after a couple of years realised that the bankers were having more fun, so I decided to switch. I’ve been at Numis for over 20 years, which is a lifetime in investment banking! But the thing is, during all that time, Numis was a rapidly growing and evolving business, and that always made it an exciting place to work. So change doesn’t phase us – and we can see how the changes that come from being part of Deutsche Bank create a huge number of opportunities.
What changes have you seen in your field over the course of your career? Diversity is a wonderful positive change that has taken place. There are now far more voices at the table, which is brilliant on every level.
Within the markets, we’ve seen the growth of private equity and an entire ecosystem to support it. It is possible that this might have peaked; many funds are finding it harder to raise money and, now that higher interest rates mean an end to cheap debt, public markets may have an edge going forwards. But whatever happens, going forwards, public markets will no longer dominate financing the way they did 25 years ago.
What are your interests outside of work? I have three sons, so family time is key – walking our dog, watching their sport, playing on the Switch. They’re less keen on my passions of skiing, climbing and hill-walking! Meanwhile, my wife is a culture vulture, so we go to a lot of theatre, gigs, and concerts – probably a couple of times a week.
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For our latest Leaders’ Views interview, we caught up with Stuart Skinner, Co-Head of Industrials & Business Services at Deutsche Numis. He shares why he loves working in the sector, how his role helps our clients, and how he spends his downtime, averaging (thanks to his family) an impressive two cultural events a week.
Can you tell us about your role, and how it helps our clients?
I’m Co-Head of Industrials & Business Services, with a particular focus on Business Services within the UK coverage team. This means helping both public and private clients solve their problems and grow their businesses, whether that be through capital raising, financing strategies, strategic combinations or advising on their communication with key stakeholders.
As Business Services companies tend to be relatively capital-light and need little capital to fund organic growth, we are laser-focused on the most ambitious companies, such as those with a buy-and-build strategy, or ones where their growth is likely to be best served through a change of ownership.
What do you like most about working within the Business Services sector?
The sector is incredibly diverse and you really do learn something new every day. It’s also the largest and fastest growing sector within the UK economy.
What’s more, it’s rapidly evolving, with a large and sophisticated private equity ecosystem constantly looking for assets in the sector. Financial sponsors love the space because the capital-light nature I mentioned earlier means that these businesses tend to throw off a lot of cash, which can then be reinvested into M&A and organic growth. Note that a private equity asset will likely change hands every 3-5 years, which is a very interesting proposition for us as advisers.
With the growth of the private markets in recent years, one of the particular points of evolution that we’ve gone through is thinking about private businesses in the same way as we think about our listed clients. In other words, if we see a private business that represents an M&A or a financing opportunity, then we channel our efforts into encouraging investors to look at those companies.
What do you think drives the success of your team?
A lot of different factors. Top of the list is finding the most talented, ambitious individuals and then being obsessive about holding on to them. This involves tuning into what it is that they want from their careers and doing what we can to ensure they get those opportunities - which has become markedly easier following the combination with Deutsche Bank.
We make it a priority for the whole team to work on interesting transactions that successfully complete. One of Deutsche Numis’ differentiators is our focus on business development – even the most junior team members are enfranchised to go out there and build their networks.
As a team, we see ourselves as a strong, successful unit. Culturally, large egos and general pomposity won’t fit well. At all levels we want people who can ask for help, offer help, and promote a culture of feeling valued. Take the job seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously.
What are your top priorities for your team over the coming months?
We have a lot going on, but in a nutshell it’s getting our existing deals over the line and securing new mandates.
As outlined, a big part of this is keeping the team motivated and demonstrating our appreciation of their effort. The team work extremely hard, so it’s crucial that we let them know that we not only appreciate them, but are working equally as hard to support them.
How is your team working with Deutsche Bank to create opportunities for clients?
I think it’s a very similar proposition to clients as it is to our colleagues: the intensity and entrepreneurial culture of a boutique franchise, but with the strength and scale of a global bank.
When the equity market picks up, many sponsors will want to run a dual-track process, which is when you look at both an IPO and a private sale, and then decide further down the line which one is the optimum outcome for the company. Thanks to the combination with Deutsche Bank, there is no one in the UK better placed than us to run a dual-track process, particularly in the mid-market space, because we can be completely agnostic as to which option is chosen.
How did you end up choosing to work in this area, and at Deutsche Numis in particular?
I started off as a securities lawyer and after a couple of years realised that the bankers were having more fun, so I decided to switch. I’ve been at Numis for over 20 years, which is a lifetime in investment banking! But the thing is, during all that time, Numis was a rapidly growing and evolving business, and that always made it an exciting place to work. So change doesn’t phase us – and we can see how the changes that come from being part of Deutsche Bank create a huge number of opportunities.
What changes have you seen in your field over the course of your career?
Diversity is a wonderful positive change that has taken place. There are now far more voices at the table, which is brilliant on every level.
Within the markets, we’ve seen the growth of private equity and an entire ecosystem to support it. It is possible that this might have peaked; many funds are finding it harder to raise money and, now that higher interest rates mean an end to cheap debt, public markets may have an edge going forwards. But whatever happens, going forwards, public markets will no longer dominate financing the way they did 25 years ago.
What are your interests outside of work?
I have three sons, so family time is key – walking our dog, watching their sport, playing on the Switch. They’re less keen on my passions of skiing, climbing and hill-walking! Meanwhile, my wife is a culture vulture, so we go to a lot of theatre, gigs, and concerts – probably a couple of times a week.