UPDATES

Honours for board members

Two members of the Corporate Finance Faculty board have been appointed CBE in the King’s New Year Honours List, 2025.

National Wealth Fund (NWF) CEO John Flint (above, left) received the honour for his contribution to public service, and British Business Bank CEO Louis Taylor (above, right) was honoured for services to business and trade.

Flint spent 30 years with HSBC, becoming group CEO in 2017. He was appointed chief executive of the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) in September 2021, which became the NWF in October 2024. As CEO, he chairs the NWF’s executive and investment committees. He was a member of the International Business Council and Climate Finance Leadership Initiative of the World Economic Forum, and served as a member of the International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He was also a global commissioner of the New Climate Economy.

“It has been a privilege to take my 30 years of experience in the banking sector and apply it to two of the great challenges of our time – driving growth and tackling climate change. Along the way, I have witnessed the impact the private and public sector can have when they work in tandem, and I have enjoyed leading a hugely talented and committed team. I am honoured to be recognised for this work in this way,” he said.

Taylor became CEO of the British Business Bank in October 2022, having previously been CEO of UK Export Finance. He also held roles as a director general in the Department for International Trade, and was a member of its executive committee and management board. Prior to that he had a career in banking, spending 11 years with Standard Chartered and eight with JP Morgan. He is also chair of British Patient Capital and British Business Investments.

“I am delighted to have received this honour from His Majesty,” said Taylor. “Importantly, it highlights the genuinely outstanding and productive work done by so many colleagues over the years at both UK Export Finance and the British Business Bank in the service of UK business and trade, and I thank them for that.”

Representative on ICAEW Council

Former chair of the Corporate Finance Faculty technical committee and former Deloitte corporate finance partner Yvette Allen (above) has been elected to the role of Corporate Finance Faculty representative on the ICAEW Council. It is the first time there has been an election to the position.

Allen, who retired as a partner from Deloitte in September last year, was chair of the faculty’s technical committee for five years. She will represent the faculty and its members’ views and interests at the Council, which works at a strategic level above the ICAEW board and comprises 125 members, many of whom are now elected.

CONSULTATIONS

PISCES: comments back by 12 February

The Financial Conduct Authority’s consultation on the regulatory framework for Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) sandbox arrangements is open until 17 February 2025. 

The Corporate Finance Faculty will be submitting a response on behalf of faculty members. 

Anyone submitting comments to be incorporated to the faculty response should email them to Katerina Joannou (1), ICAEW corporate finance senior manager, capital markets policy, at Katerina.Joannou@icaew.com by 12 February 2025.

PISCES will be a new type of trading platform for the London Stock Exchange that will enable intermittent trading of private company shares using market infrastructure. The proposed regulatory framework for PISCES will be established under a Financial Market Infrastructure sandbox created by the Treasury. 

The proposals should be of interest to, among others, post-trade service firms and professional advisers, including lawyers and accountants.

“The draft legal change that would enable PISCES envisages a range of different investors will be able to access PISCES trading events, enabling a broad pool of liquidity,” wrote Simon Walls (2), interim executive director of markets at the FCA in the foreword to the consultation. 

“It is intended to connect existing shareholders wanting to sell shares (including those that are company employees) with a variety of buyers. These buyers will include institutions and retail participants who meet the criteria to be considered as sophisticated or high net worth investors,” he continued.

“We have proposed PISCES with a ‘private-plus’ mindset. We want to build on and enhance private market practices and risk tolerances rather than using public market standards as a starting point for designing the regulatory framework. This entails some bold choices, for example in not requiring issuers to disclose inside information.”

SME finance response

The government has published its response to the Treasury Committee’s report on SME Finance – for which ICAEW submitted evidence in September 2023. The government response can be read here. ICAEW’s response, submitted by corporate finance senior manager, capital markets policy, Katerina Joannou, is here.

DATES FOR THE DIARY

AI: from theory to practice

The Corporate Finance Faculty will host a webinar, AI in Corporate Finance: from theory to practice on 4 March at 12:00. The webinar will delve into the practical uses of AI along the deal cycle, with each speaker presenting a case study of how their firm has deployed AI in elements of the deal cycle. 

This webinar is for all parties that are involved in the deal cycle through the origination, execution and deal integration phases. Speakers include: 

• Jan Chan, partner, transactions and corporate finance, AI lead, EY; 
• Kerry Westland, partner, head of Innovation Group, Addleshaw Goddard; 
• Graham Dotchin, partner, corporate finance, and head of data analytics and AI, Azets; and
• Toby Popplewell, deals generative AI leader, PwC

Free for ICAEW members, book here.

Power, politics and your career

The Corporate Finance Faculty is hosting an event, Navigating power and politics for career success, on 13 March at 18:00 in the One Moorgate Place Club, Chartered Accountants’ Hall, London.

The guest speaker is John Hughes (above), director of management consulting firm, Radical Strategy. He has worked in Africa, South Korea, the US and across Europe. As well as founding Radical Strategy, he co-founded Farnham Mediation, a network of lawyers and psychologists working to resolve disputes. He previously spent 28 years with PwC as a subject matter expert on power and politics.

Hughes will outline how to think about power in a deals context, and practical ways to increase influence. He will present ideas on how M&A advisers should play ‘above the table’, while maintaining integrity, welcoming challenge and operating with political savvy. 

He will also set out how to communicate with political skill, crucial in the ‘noisy’ environment of M&A, surrounded by competing interests. The session aims to develop ideas and share experiences relevant to deals environments and career progression.

Following the talk and discussion there will be an opportunity to network. The event is free for ICAEW members, book your place here.