1st presentation – Express Sales Solutions
Ed Booth started Express Sale Ltd three years ago as a means to find distressed property sales which the company then bought at a discounted price in exchange for a quick sale to renovate or develop and then sell on. By summer 2007 he had developed 5 properties and sold 4 and because of the poor outlook for the UK property market, Ed, did not want to buy any more.
Since the beginning of 2007 he had employed one person to answer calls and line up property sales with other investors for properties which weren’t suitable for the company to purchase.
Since then Express Sales have concentrated solely on operating as an agency providing discounted property for investors and have taken on an IFA to help cover this work. It has become apparent how similar in operation the company structure has become to a mortgage brokerage and they are now working towards making the operation replicable with many of the systems now in place for expansion, including a bespoke Customer Relationship Management software system.
During Ed's time in property he has also worked with a few very wealthy investors and through them he has pushed to network with people involved in commercial property and speculative land. Because of this, in the last few months, Express Sales Solutions have started to make headway into distressed sales in commercial property and land in Scotland as well as commercial bank repossessions in Spain where the market is far worse than it is in the UK. This has led to another member joining the team bringing on Spanish language, property experience and a strong network of commercial and investor contacts.
John (42) a qualified Chartered Surveyor, established Callander Estates in April 2006 with high net worth individuals Billy Allan and Jim Cooper. The company invests in commercial / residential properties and development land across Scotland and prides itself on its ability to move quickly and source off market deals through a network of friends and contacts.
Prior to Callander, John held senior positions in a number of national surveying firms including, CB Richard Ellis, Montagu Evans, Knight Frank and Colliers CRE. During this time he acted for a number of major public and private sector clients providing development, agency and investment advice across a broad range of property sectors including offices, industrial, residential land, telecoms and hotel site acquisitions. Previous clients include; - CALA Properties, Ashfield Land, AWG, Hoover Candy Group, Drambuie, Capital Shopping Centres, Scottish Water and Scottish Enterprise.
John brings a wealth of experience in the provision of high level planning, asset appraisal and estate management advice.
2nd Presentation – Metis Partners
“Five years on and still a start-up (because we can’t decide on a strategy)”
Company bio:
Metis Partners are business analysts who identify intellectual property in companies and show them how to exploit it more effectively. Our client services rely on our skills and experience, combined with our research into and knowledge of the field of intellectual property. The most valuable assets in many businesses are usually made of up intellectual property (IP) and other intangible assets (IA) – not physical assets. This complex mix of IP and IA incorporates some of the following:
- Brands and brand development strategies
- Customer relationships and how they are managed
- Organisational knowledge and individual know-how
- Key business processes
- Unique relationships and partnerships
- Approach to innovation.
There are significant benefits to be gained from understanding and managing IP and IA. These can be:
- Internal: a positive impact on strategy, business performance and profitability through the development of IP which is crucial to the business yet undervalued
- External: the ability to confidently communicate the value in IP and the real differentiators in your business to customers, investors or potential buyers
Biography:
Stephen Robertson: Qualified in law and then as a Chartered Accountant in 1992 with Deloitte & Touche in Glasgow. Stephen has worked in a variety of Corporate Finance roles including banking, business angel investment and the plc sector with the London Stock Exchange. He founded Metis Partners in 2003 to focus on assisting companies with the assessment, valuation and exploitation of intellectual property and intangible assets. Stephen currently sits on the committee of the Scottish branch of Licensing Executives Society.
Darran Gardner: A former freelance journalist, Darran worked for a number of UK newspapers and magazines. As a staff business journalist with the Sunday Herald in Glasgow, he spent four years analysing and reporting on a wide variety of Scottish and UK businesses. After securing an MBA from the University of Strathclyde Graduate School of Business, he joined Metis Partners where he now specialises in the recognition, capturing and commercial development of intellectual property and intangible assets.
Guest Commentator for Metis Partners will be- Donald Maciver - Gael Ltd
Donald has been MD of Gael Ltd for the past 13 yrs. His strengths are making things happen by sharing his vision and empowering and encouraging teams to deliver great products centred around the needs of their target audience.
Co-Sponsor
We would like to thank The IA Centre for supporting us by co-sponsoring this event.
exists: “to assist Scottish businesses to maximise the economic potential of their intellectual assets”.
Funded by the Scottish Government, the Centre is the first of its kind in Europe and is a trailblazer in the field of intangible asset management.
The underlying aim of the IA Centre is to develop the market by encouraging the eventual emergence of a strong private sector demand and supply for IA services.
To achieve this, the IA Centre acts as a catalytic and evangelising body that has set out to develop a high profile as a 'Centre of Excellence' in intellectual assets (IA) issues relating to business and economic development. Its aim is to be seen as a resource that complements and adds value to the current and future activities of both public and private sector intermediaries; it seeks to be the 'place to go' for impartial advice on IA management.
The IA Centre:
o Raises Awareness & Understanding of IA, their value, identification, protection, management and exploitation for business benefit
o Demonstrates how IA impact upon the development of strategy, products processes, services, markets and supply and distribution channels
The IA Centre delivers through:
o IA focused events, training sessions, seminars, tailored one-to-one advice, and information provision
o Tools which answer the questions about IA, why they are important to all organisations; how to identify, assess and to record IA; how to manage IA; and ultimately how to extract additional value from IA
The aims of the IA Centre are to:
o Guide, Direct and Signpost Scottish organisations to suppliers of IA management products and services
o Encourage the development of a strong private-sector-led supply of IA management products and services
o Develop Scotland’s international profile as a leading exponent of IA management and exploitation
The Centre works with companies and organisations across Scotland regardless of size, sector or status and offers a free advice, guidance and one-to-one service tailored to the companies’ individual needs. In addition there is an ongoing programme of sector-specific initiatives which aim to deliver a bespoke service to identified sectors ranging from software to education and from digital media to renewable energy.
Further details about the Intellectual Assets Centre can be found at our web site www.ia-centre.org.uk – if you would like to find out how we can help your business simply log on … and get in touch.