Lunch Money

Two narratives dominate the corporate landscape heading into 2021: the “insolvency cliff”, and “money on the sidelines”. Corporate distress will be up – it's just a question of by how much.  And with official interest rates approaching zero, funds bursting with cash are yield hungry and looking for opportunities – what happens when these two narratives intersect?  Joining us this week to discuss a...

Looking into the crystal ball of insurance markets – what’s on the cards for the near future? When insurers pull cover on risk categories or industry segments, we should ask: what do they know that we don’t? Plus, a look at the current wine industry. It is a manufacturing, exporting, agricultural and marketing business all rolled into one – what successful strategies are transferable to other indu...

What's your "talent stack" going into 2021? If you are building your professional services/ finance career - or planning on pitching to raise capital for a business deal or to land a whale - do you have the goods?  Join host Nick Samios as he puts these questions to special guests Alex Wilcox (Managing Director at Human Solutions Group) and Liam Bailey (Partner at O'Brien Palmer).

An economic twilight zone is upon us. The RBA says we are out of recession. Corporate insolvencies have declined sharply. Yet unemployment is up sharply year on year, and the RBA has seen the need to set official interest rates at historical lows.    Something is seriously amiss, and the explanations we are receiving from our politicians and mainstream economists do not sit right.  So this week we...

The temporary COVID-19 safe harbour defence for directors from civil insolvent trading liability expires on the 31st of December. Ditto the temporary changes to the compliance period for statutory demand and bankruptcy notices.  But what does that mean exactly? Must the directors of an insolvent business place the company into external administration before 31/12 in order to benefit from these pro...

This week, Nicholas Samios is joined by David Gandolfo (CAFBA President & Director at Quantum Business Finance) along with Gary Tescher (Managing Partner at Promentor) as they discuss financing the capital equipment needed to ramp up the manufacturing sector. What are the challenges for brokers & their clients? Where do the opportunities lie? Tune in to find out! We also had a special appearance f...

Tune in as Director & Fund Manager Nicholas Samios joins special guests Michael Corcoran (Director at Solido Capital) and Ryan Eagle (Partner at KPMG Australia).  The spotlight is on property development and corporate restructuring, with special "Diggers & Dealers" insights from JP Equity Partners' Director Nicholas Brownbill.

So far, this year, the Covid crisis has given us interest rates heading for zero and anomalies in asset pricing: from used cars, to luxury property and…stocks?  How does money printing and near-zero interest rates affect the fundamentals of corporate finance – debt vs. equity and business valuations? Why are luxury properties selling like hot-cakes, and why are used car values so high? In this wee...

With unemployment projected to reach crisis levels – can self-employment be part of the solution?  This week, guest panellists Paul Nicoloau (Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry) and Steven Phelan (Fayetteville State University) share their insights on “boot-strapping” – starting a business with little or no capital. Is there an alternative to welfare? Should the government find ways to bett...

Family businesses are often riven with entitlement and rivalries at the best of times – how are they coping under the extraordinary health and economic pressures brought by 2020? Is the family a burden in these trying times, or bulwark against forces that may otherwise bring the business asunder?    How are family businesses dealing with challenges the Covid-19 economy has brought to intergenerati...

How are companies navigating the challenges of capital raising to get them through special situations in this Covid-19 recession? What role are asset based lenders playing in making capital available? Uncertainty, debt moratoriums and government financial support packages abound, making the money business challenging on both sides of the desk.  This week, guest panelists Stephen Mitchell (CEO of R...

Payment shenanigans, phoenix activity and insolvency: sub-contractors in construction and civil engineering have always been particularly vulnerable to all three. What are the special problems they are facing today given the nations lockdowns, closed borders, insolvent trading moratorium and tightened credit conditions? This week on Lunch Money we focus on the construction industry with special gu...

A surge of corporate collapses is anticipated in Australia when government assistance and debt moratoriums end. So, the government is revisiting the rules of the game – and features of the US-style Chapter 11 are said to be on the table.  Considering, shouldn’t we also be looking at the way “pre-packs” are done in the UK?  Or is our current system of Voluntary Administration and Safe Harbour worki...

What does it take to be a successful Australian manufacturer in 2020?  This Friday we put the question to Todd Alder, CEO of Orbital UAV (ASX: OEC) – the Australian world-leading designer and manufacturer of engines for tactical drones. Todd was joined by Jason Skinner, Managing Director of corporate advisors JP Equity. Jason has been acting as lead manager and corporate advisor on several interes...

How do you build a team in the face of adversity - deciding who stays, who gets sidelined and how to find and make the right draft picks? Join host Nick Samios and special guests Deanne Tindale (CEO, DreamVast Executive Search) and Bryan Hughes (Executive Chairman, Pitcher Partners) as they discuss managing executive talent in special situations companies.

How do we build trust and “make it rain” when the stakes are high, but face-to-face meetings are not an option? Join host Nick Samios along with special guests David Kenney (Partner, Hall Chadwick) and Adam Benson (Managing Director, Recognition PR) as they discuss how to create, deliver and communicate value in professional services in the Covid era.

This week, on Lunch Money host Nick Samios is joined by BDO Partner Nicholas Martin, along with Managing Partner at William James Law, Brendan Wyhoon. Special guests discuss surviving lockdown 2.0, powering recovery and the mountain of deferred loans continue.

It’s time for some Covid-19 “half-time analysis”. Has the collective response of our governments and the banks to Covid got the structure right – or have they dropped the ball? Should the government intervene in business more, or should they just put the whistle away and let business be business? This week, host Nick Samios is joined by David Gandolfo (CEO, CAFBA) and Scott Langdon (Partner, Korda...

Business restructures and turnarounds require the corporate advisor to lead disparate groups of stakeholders with competing interests to the singular objective of saving the business – in these times of unprecedented levels of uncertainty. Senior management, staff, bankers, suppliers, regulators and more all need to “buy-in” for the turnaround project to succeed. Lunch Money this week explores uni...

2020 has asked of us to fight one battle after another – how do we build the resilience necessary to maintain enthusiasm and to win out in the end? How do we garner “resilience” so we can lead ourselves and others in times of uncertainty and adversity? This week, the focus is on the spate of resilience in the current environment with host Nick Samios and special guests Arabella Macpherson (Directo...

The role of private equity in the retail sector is again under the spotlight following another retail giant collapse last week. What are the lessons for investors, lenders and suppliers to the retail sector – and beyond? This week, the focus is on the spate of private equity backed retail collapses with host Nick Samios and guest field specialists - Sule Arnautovic (Partner, Jirsch Sutherland) and...

How can a business see around corners when it sets about the task of forecasting? Challenging indeed as we launch into a new financial year of uncertainty. And how can a business successfully pivot - changing its business model and strategy in the face of dramatically shifting buyer behaviours and economic conditions? This week, the focus is on forecasting/seeing around corners and the business pi...

Lunch Money is where work-outs, special situations and commercial finance specialists give us their take on the weeks’ news. The focus this week is on preparing for the next phase of the “Covid Recession”. In September, JobKeeper ends, and deferred loan repayments become due again. At the same time, business owners will no longer be quarantined from the threats of insolvent trading and business wi...

What is “Strategic Intelligence”? “Intelligence that is required for the formulation of strategy, policy, and military plans and ...” - Pentagon Official Definition; “The better the strategic intelligence, the better the strategy” - Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Lunch Money is the weekly livestream and podcast where work-out, special situations and commercial finance experts give us insights...

Join us as work-out, special situations and commercial finance experts give us insights into their professional lives, where the opportunities are in market for finance and investment, and their take on the weeks news. This week, on Lunch Money, Nick Samios is joined by corporate restructuring expert Neil Cussen (Partner, Deloitte), insolvency and securities enforcement expert Alison Robertson (Pa...