Economic downturn will not stop deal flow, message from BVCA conferenceThe current economic climate may well create new investment opportunities for private equity players, most people said in a short live survey at a conference in London today. The conference, organised by unquote”, marked the 25th anniversary of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.
However, speakers also warned there will be inevitable losses and problems that the industry needs to address. Leverage is likely to remain hard to obtain for quite some time and a number of portfolio companies may run into difficulties.
Greater transparency within the industry was generally seen as a very positive thing. Speakers praised the speed with which the industry dealt with the problem but also called for more work to be done. The industry needs to show its face and go beyond the minimum of transparency requirements, some said.
In terms of how the industry is perceived by the general public, it was criticised that often there is too much focus on job losses or gains and not so much focus on how private equity firms grow and also rescue businesses – the core work that is still not communicated enough.
The industry still appears to be shy when it comes to professional communication. While speakers recognised that improvements have been made, some argued that other firms of a similar size employ more communication professionals and communication agencies than private equity firms.
Among the speakers at the conferences were BVCA chief executive Simon Walker, CBI director-general Richard Lambert, Blackstone senior managing director David Blitzer, Duke Street Capital managing partner Peter Taylor, Apax senior managing partner Adrian Beecroft, Candover managing director Marek Gumienny, 3i CEO Philip Yea, Cass Business School professor of finance Mario Levis, Alchemy Partners founder and managing partner Jon Moulton and Douglas Lowenstein, the president of the US Private Equity Council.
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