In the final part of this invaluable interview with the former CEO of SThree, Russell Clements, you'll learn how his team took the business to the next level by floating it on the stock market – although it wasn't all smooth sailing.
He also gives some great advice for anyone else in a similar position, wondering whether they should take the plunge. Part one of the interview can be read here, and part two here.
Listen to the interview or download it below:
Here are some of the questions Kenny asks Russell:
01.00 – What is an Initial Public Offering (IPO)? How can it benefit a business and its shareholders
“Essentially an IPO is an initial public offering. So it refers to the first time the stock of a company, the equity, becomes available to buy and trade on a public market.
“In the case of SThree we did the main board of the London Stock Exchange.
“It essentially means you no longer have to be an insider, so to speak, in order to own equity in that particular business.”
02:10 – What part does the stock exchange play and how do you go about choosing the right one?
05:35 – SThree went from private equity to IPO – what happened with the private equity guys? Did they leave the board?
06:20 – Who then sits on your board going forward? Who are your regulatory responsibilities to?
08:34 – When you were running it as a private company you were allowed to talk about the company how you liked. Was that a big difference when you went public?
10:10 – How would someone prepare for an IPO? What are the costs? Are there people who can help?
14:05 – What happens when you're about to float, how is it marketed?
15:50 – What can go wrong with an IPO? Any examples?
“In our particular case, what was happening on the macroeconomic front, in the background, was going from bad to worse. SThree as a recruitment company is seen as a cyclical business, so it does very well in good times and not so well in bad times.
“So if people think the economic situation is going down hill in the near future – no matter how brilliant they think you are as a company – they're going to be reluctant to get their chequebook out. What that normally gets reflected through is in downward pressure on the price because in the end the price is what the market is prepared to pay for it.”
18:50 – Would you say it was a good thing for SThree to float?
20:25 – How have you grown as a person over your career?
22:00 – Where will we see you in the future?
18:50 – What happens with this money that comes into the business? Can the managers benefit from it?
20:25 – What are your thoughts on the new model of crowd funding?
21:38 – With private equity and angel investors do you get more than you would from a bank in terms of advice and experience.
22:45 – Is there any advice you can give on how to choose the right private equity house or angel investor?
