ShareSoc Growth Company Seminar (VIRTUAL EVENT)

ShareSoc Growth Company Seminar (VIRTUAL EVENT), 11 February 2025, 5pm
Featuring: HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE), Shepherd Neame Ltd (SHEP) and EnSilica (ENSI)

Companies presenting

HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE)

HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) is a listed investment company that provides investors with access to private company investments. Listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, HVPE sits in the FTSE 250 and has net assets of $4.0 billion and a market capitalisation of approximately £1.9 billion as at 30 September 2024. HVPE invests exclusively in HarbourVest managed funds. HarbourVest Partners is an independent, global private markets asset manager with over 42 years of experience.

Presenter:
Richard Hickman, Managing Director
Richard Hickman joined HarbourVest in 2014 to focus on the activities of HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited (HVPE), a closed-end investment company that invests in and alongside HarbourVest-managed funds. Richard is responsible for the day-to-day management of the company. He joined HarbourVest after seven years with 3i plc, where he progressed through a number of roles, latterly serving as a manager in the business planning and analysis group.

Shepherd Neame Ltd (SHEP)

Shepherd Neame is Britain’s Oldest Brewer, based in Kent since 1698. It is a family business with strong family involvement and a balance of Neame family members and non-family members on the Board of Directors.
The Company brews, markets and distributes its own beers to national and export customers under a range of highly successful brand names including Spitfire, Bishops Finger, Whitstable Bay and Bear Island.
The Company also has partnerships with Boon Rawd Brewery Company for Singha beer, Thailand’s original premium beer.

Presenters:
Jonathan Neame – Chief Executive
Jonathan joined the Company in 1991. He was Company Secretary until July 1994 and Tied Trade Director until 1999. He was appointed Managing Director in 1999 and then Chief Executive in 2003. He is a barrister-at-law and was a management consultant with the COBA Group from 1987 to 1991. He was Chairman of the British Beer & Pub Association from 2012 to 2015 and a Non-Executive Director of the St Austell Brewery Company Ltd from 2002 until 2018. He is a Director of the Brewers of Europe and was Vice President from 2022 to 2024. He is Deputy Lieutenant of Kent and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Kent in 2016.

Mark Rider – Chief Financial Officer
Mark was appointed to the Board in February 2012. He joined the Company from J Sainsbury plc, where he held a number of senior finance roles. Prior to joining Sainsbury’s he qualified as a chartered accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Rugby Players Association. He has been an advisory Board member of the Zero Carbon Forum during this year.

EnSilica plc (ENSI)

EnSilica is a designer and supplier of mixed signal ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). ASICs are Integrated Circuits or semiconductor chips developed for a particular use or product rather than for general purpose usage. ASICs help differentiate products through optimised hardware making products smaller, faster, lower power, improved security, add novel functionality, improving supply chain security and protecting products from being copied.

The Company has expertise in the area of designing complex mixed signal ASICs. Mixed signal ASICs combine digital and analogue functions onto a single chip. They are the most complex chips to design hence the highest value.

The Company was established in 2001 as a specialist consultancy designing ICs on a contract basis. Using over 15 years’ first-hand industry experience, the Company was able to begin transitioning to a fabless design and supply business model in 2016.

Presenter:
Mark Hodgkins- Executive Chair
Mark graduated from the University of Manchester and is a Chartered Accountant. He started working with EnSilica in May 2016. Formerly a Partner with Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young, specialising in strategy for mid-sized companies. He advised on corporate transactions, worth in excess of £2.5Bn. Since leaving Ernst & Young in 2005, Mark has served as CEO of a number of engineering businesses, with experience in leadership positions including publicly listed businesses.

Exclusivity to watch and ask questions Live on Zoom will be given only to Premium and Full ShareSoc members.

If you are not already a Premium or Full ShareSoc member, you can join as a Full member here (new members) or upgrade your membership here (existing members). Once you have joined or upgraded, please allow up to 72 hours to receive your welcome pack and login instructions to allow you to register.

Stockopedia will provide facts and figures on the presenting companies for attendees (don’t forget that ShareSoc subscribing members can get a special discount on Stockopedia subscription rates – see Member Offers).

Registration

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February 11, 2025

Group description:	A small group whose primary interests are equity and Investment Trusts.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings are online using Skype.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are held fortnightly on Tuesday mornings.

Group description:	We welcome anyone interested in investments regardless of their level of knowledge and experience.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings are held in a function room of a pub in Beaconsfield New Town.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Monthly on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6pm.

Group description:	Investors of all levels of experience are welcome to join the Farnham (Surrey) group. Convened by David Stredder, who will be known to many as the founder of Mello, organiser of in person investment conferences and virtual Mello Mondays. David is also a director at ShareSoc and has been investing in quoted shares since the 1980s, with a focus on UK small caps. He has an extensive knowledge of UK companies and network of contacts in the investing universe.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings are held at a pub near to the railway station in Farnham, GU9.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are held monthly on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 11am to 3pm with a break for lunch.

Group description:	Our Group considers both US Small Caps (up to $2bn Market Cap) and Mid Caps (up to $10bn market Cap). Meetings include discussions around buys / sells / watchlists, a short Macro discussion and discussions led by group members on companies or topics of their choice.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings are held online.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of the month from 7pm.

Group description:	Our group is interested in sustainable investing and our goal is to identify and evaluate businesses that will thrive through innovation and their transition to a ‘One Planet Economy’. By leveraging the skills of group members, we aim to deeply understand these businesses, particularly focusing on how they develop long-term valuable benefits for their customers. Each year, we plan to evaluate around seven businesses to identify opportunities where our valuation exceeds the market price. A successful outcome is defined as achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR), including dividends, of 10% over a decade.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings are in-person in a pub near to Waterloo station in London.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are bi-monthly on a Monday from 10:45am to 4:30pm. Members are expected to also pay for their own lunch which secures the group free use of a private room in the pub. The cost is expected to be £35-40 per person, per meeting, in addition to your SIGnet membership fee.

Group description:	An online group for those who are new to investing, or have only been investing for a few years. Including topics such as: – What is a share or a bond, why and how to buy them. – Comparing funds, unit trusts, Investment trusts and exchange traded funds. – Portfolio management and diversification. – ISAs, pensions, SIPPS and how to save tax. – How terms such as PE ratio and dividend yield are used to value a share. – How to use technical analysis or charting.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online using Zoom.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are usually held on the last Monday of the month at 7:00pm.

Group description:	Our focus is on UK listed, high dividend yield individual stocks, although high yield investment trusts/REITS which are of interest to members will also be covered. This group is suitable for members with existing fundamental investing experience (at least 2 years), with a keen interest in discussing in some detail the underlying business, financial performance and future prospects of individual income stock ideas.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings are held online.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are held every 6 weeks from 4pm to 6pm on a Monday.

Group description:	A welcoming group open to all types of investors. Typical meeting content is to have a deep dive presentation on a topic selected by the participants and a session on buy/ sell/ key lessons learnt last month.
Meeting Type/Venue:	In person at a friendly pub close to Piccadilly Circus
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Monthly during the evening on the first Wednesday of the month.

Group description:	Our group is a broad church that contains investors of varying experience. Our members’ backgrounds are diverse and include corporate banking, engineering, teaching and the leisure industry. We generally pick a discussion topic for every meeting, e.g. housebuilders or the defence industry, and members are invited to research and discuss different aspects or companies within that industry. We also discuss stocks and investment trusts that we have bought, sold or are interested in and the reasons behind our decisions, and try to make sense of the ever changing investment environment. Discussions are robust and challenging but we are a friendly and approachable group who welcome investors of all levels – we just ask that you contribute, at whatever level you can.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Our meetings are held in a private room at a nice pub near to South Ealing tube station (Piccadilly Line), not far from Ealing Broadway (District, Central and Elizabeth Line).
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	We meet every 2 months, usually on a Wednesday morning at 11am.