Why Invest?

In this episode we are joined by Tanya Tracey, Chief Executive Officer at the charity GAIN - Girls Are Investors. GAIN’s main purpose is to inspire young women to pursue a career in investing. We discuss Tanya’s early career in finance and go into more detail on the purpose of GAIN and the work that they do. For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk LinkedIn: Doug Barnett – https://w...

In this episode we are joined by innovator and serial entrepreneur, James Alexander, MBE. A titan in the biodiversity world, James is the Chair of Finance Earth, Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Agricarbon UK. We discuss these roles and the challenges he and his teams are trying to overcome, as well as his previous life as the Co-Founder of Zopa, a peer-to-peer lending platform. James explains how we ca...

In this episode we are joined by serial entrepreneur, Roland Horne. Roland is the Founder of WatchHouse, a specialty coffee business. We discuss Roland’s early career, setting up a business selling world-class aquariums to high-profile clients, then we find out what drew him to the competitive world of specialty coffee and his international expansion plans. For further information please visit www...

In this episode we are joined by Kevin Uphill. Kevin is the Founder of Avondale, a company that helps their clients with business sales. We discuss structuring a business for sale, deal negotiations, growth capital and the benefits of Employee Benefit Trusts.     For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk or www.avondale.co.uk LinkedIn: Doug Barnett – https://www.linked...

In our first episode of 2023 Doug is joined by Harry Cole, Political Editor of The Sun and one of the journalists closest to our previous Prime Minister Liz Truss. Harry has the most extraordinary insight and access to Liz and has co-authored the biography: Out of the Blue: The inside story of the unexpected rise and rapid fall of Liz Truss. Doug and Harry discuss the chaos in the Conservative par...

In our final episode of 2022 Doug is once again joined by Waverton Fund Manager, Charlie Jones. Following an incredibly tumultuous year, we take a look back on some key investment themes we have seen amidst raised geo-political risks, higher interest rates, higher inflation, higher commodity prices and supply chain disruption. It has been a big year for the Why Invest? Podcast. We would like to th...

In this episode we are joined by Co-Founders of Lune + Wild, Lara Rodgers and Nadia Simonds. Lune + Wild focuses on producing, marketing and distributing healthy food for babies and children. We discuss what drew them to the world of food, what it is like innovating in the baby food category and how they are looking to raise money for expansion. For further information please visit www.waverton.co...

In this episode we are joined by former Secretary of State for International Development and co-host of hit podcast ‘The Rest is Politics’, Rory Stewart. Rory is the President of GiveDirectly, a charity that allows donors to send cash directly to people in poverty. We discuss the purpose of the charity, the research that underpins the program and the reality of life for 700m people that live on le...

In this episode we are joined by Erik Britton, Managing Director and CEO at Fathom Consulting. Erik is responsible for the company's strategy, guiding its macroeconomic research and leading projects in macro, finance and political analysis. In this episode Erik identifies the macroeconomic problems facing the world at the moment and offers his solutions. We discuss what life was like at The Bank o...

In this episode we are joined by broadcasting legend, journalist and author, Clare Balding. Clare shares stories from her career; how she started, obstacles she has faced and how she has turned her passions into a profession. We discuss women’s sport, how attitudes have changed and the blurred line between the worlds of sport and business. Finally, Clare shares her invaluable advice to pursue a ca...

In this episode we are joined by value investing rockstar, Richard Oldfield. Richard started his career in the seventies at Warburg Investment Management, later to become Mercury Asset Management, and after a stint at a family office founded Oldfield Partners. We discuss why he was first drawn to investment management, the history of value investing and the future of active manageme...

In this episode we are joined by serial entrepreneur Jamie Gourlay. Jamie has spent most of his career in the art world and more recently has been focussed on the NFT market. He is the founder of Verse, a platform built for those buying and selling NFTs. We discuss what led him down this path, what the future holds for his business and the part NFTs could play in the art world moving forwards…&nbs...

In this episode we are joined by Ed Hancock, the founder of cheesegeek, a subscription and gifting service for cheese lovers. In 2017, after a successful career in Fund Management, Ed followed his passion and applied his quant skills to bring cheese to fellow enthusiasts. We discuss the business proposition, operational integrity and why he is so obsessed with cheese…  For further information...

In this episode we are joined by Nidhi and Sahil Verma, founders of recipe box brand The Cookaway. Born from their love of cooking from scratch, The Cookaway offers a subscription-free opportunity for foodies to create authentic, global dishes at home. We discuss how they built the brand, the technology behind order fulfilment, raising capital and their strategy of quality growth over commoditizat...

In this episode we are joined by writer and historian Dr Mary Wellesley. Mary is a medieval manuscripts scholar and teaches courses on medieval language and literature as part of the British Library’s adult learning programme. We discuss why she was attracted to this field, how we attribute value to manuscripts and Mary shares some of the stories she’s uncovered through her research. For further i...

In this episode we are delighted to be joined by English artist and judge of the Waverton Art Prize 2022, Stuart Pearson Wright. We discuss how Stuart’s early life and time at The Slade School of Fine Art influenced both his work and work ethic and we try to establish the difference between creative and commercial value. The Waverton Art Prize was launched to support emerging artists and to showca...

In this episode we are joined by Fred Lloyd George, co-founder of Hamilton George Care, a health business that focuses on live-in care across the UK. We discuss how and why he got into the care industry, what problem he is trying to solve and what the future holds for a company like his. For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk or www.hamiltongeorgecare.com LinkedIn: Doug Barnett –...

In this episode we are joined by Thomas Olivier and Ben Thomson, the co-founders on a mission to democratise the healthcare system. Their platform, Omnos aims to shift the focus of health and wellness from treating symptoms, to a more efficient holistic prevention model. We discuss the complicated problem they are trying to solve, what it takes to build a business like Omnos and their ambitious pl...

In this episode we are joined by pillar of the UK food scene, Thomasina Miers. MasterChef winner and graduate from Ballymaloe cookery school, Thomasina co-founded restaurant group Wahaca after falling in love with the flavours of Mexico after her travels there. In this episode we discuss sustainability in the kitchen, biodiverse ingredients and what it takes to build a successful restaurant. ...

In this episode we are joined by Christopher Garsten, manager of the Waverton European Capital Growth Fund. We explore capital cycle investing and Chris identifies where he sees the opportunities in Europe today. We discuss how he got into fund management and key advice for those looking to pursue a career in this field. For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk   LinkedIn: Doug...

Episode 60 –  Freddie Fforde: In this episode we are joined by Freddie Fforde, the Founder of Patch, a flexible work near home concept with grand ambitions for expansion. We discuss Freddie’s career including his time at Entrepreneur First, his vision for shared work and life spaces and the challenges of growing a company like his. For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk or ww...

In this episode Doug Barnett is joined by Gregor Angus, Co-Founder and CEO of True Royalty TV, an on-demand, subscription channel that focuses entirely on royal families. We discuss everything from the business model and how Gregor got into content creation, to raising capital and how he is using technology to disrupt archaic content distribution systems. For further information please visit www.w...

In this episode Doug Barnett is joined by journalist and author Sarah Sands, former editor of The Sunday Telegraph , the London Evening Standard and Today on BBC Radio 4. We explore how social media is the 21st century equivalent of 18th century coffee houses and whether “who pays matters” in the world of journalism. Sarah also shares some brilliant insights into the long days on Today and what it...

In this episode we are joined by Chris Keenan and James Parsons, Founders of Unibeez, a platform designed to connect employers with talent from universities on a project-by-project basis. We discuss managing growth, building teams and raising capital. We question what it takes to create a coherent marketing message. For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk or www.unibeez.com  ...

In this episode we are joined by Maurits Pot, the Founder of Dawn Global and manager of CUBS ETF which is focused on five historically difficult-to-access equity markets in Asia: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam. These markets transcend the emerging and frontier market space and he sets out his case as to why he believes they are some of the fastest growing economies...