In this episode we are joined by Sheena Sumner, an incredibly resilient entrepreneur who is the founder of Wonderluxe Travel, an end to end bespoke luxury travel company. Establishing Wonderluxe in 2019 was a significant challenge for Sheena as it coincided with the COVID pandemic which struck in early 2020, making it an especially daunting time to launch a travel business. Sheena knew early on that she wanted to pursue a career in the leisure and tourism industry, so upon leaving school, she...

In this episode we are joined by serial entrepreneur James Kilpatrick, Chair of Gravitilab. Founded in 2018, Gravitilab is a fascinating business that offers space as a service. Their mission statement is to democratise access to Microgravity and space environments. In addressing this challenge Gravitilab aim to make Space more sustainable by significantly reducing vehicle emissions and by helping to prevent the build up of orbital junk that threatens the future of Space services. We discuss...

From 30 June – 2 July Waverton will be exhibiting at The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Scottish Game Fair. This is a celebration of the countryside, conservation and the great outdoors and we are thrilled to have Ross Macleod, Head of Policy in Scotland at GWCT and Paris Jordan, Senior Multi-Asset Analyst at Waverton, join us to talk about responsible stewardship and sustainability. Ross explains GWCT operations, conservation and the promotion of biodiversity and we discuss...

In this episode we are joined by Lady Louise Vaughan, Chair of the Women of the Year Lunch. In 1955 Lady Lothian founded the Women of the Year Lunch. Her aim was to host a lunch where women could be recognised and celebrated for their achievements, but also network with and learn from each other. Nearly 70 years on, the annual lunch is still going strong under the management of our guest this week, Lady Louise Vaughan, current Chair of the lunch and granddaughter of Lady Lothian. We discuss...

In this episode we are joined by Anthony Kingsley, Chief Investment Officer and one of the founding members of Findlay Park Partners, an independent investment partnership based in London. We discuss his career, what drew him to the world of investments and the philosophy and rigorous investment process they implemented at Findlay Park Partners. Anthony describes the kind of stocks he likes and he shares what he believes the future holds for the US, including the potential American advantage...

In this episode we are joined by Cyril Lutterodt, founder and managing partner of the Brixton based seed fund management company, community and coworking space, Black Seed.   We discuss how Cyril started his career, his time in the US, the purpose of Black Seed and what the future holds with his global ambitions. Cyril introduces Doug to the Venture Capital accessibility gap, where black founders are over mentored and underfunded. For further information please visit...

In this episode we are joined by Anne McElvoy who has had a fascinating career as a journalist, author and most recently Head of Podcasting at POLITICO Europe. We discuss the interplay between politics and journalism, and Anne tells us how she spent the formative years of her career trying to get in to East Germany at a time when most were trying to escape. We discuss what drew Anne to the world of journalism, her early days at The Times and the digital disruption to the industry.   For...

In this episode we are joined by Will Butler-Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Brompton Bicycle. The story behind the business is an interesting one which dates back 50 years to when Andrew Ritchie was in his flat overlooking the Brompton oratory. He believed there was a better way to move around the city. Wind forward to today, the business is unrecognisable and run from their enormous factory in Greenford. We discuss his engineering background, founding the company and his vision and goals...

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://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-barnett-a475b820/    Tanya Tracey –...

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 can use market-based mechanisms and financial tools to protect and restore nature. For further...

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.waverton.co.uk or https://watchhouse.com LinkedIn: Doug Barnett –...

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.linkedin.com/in/douglas-barnett-a475b820/   Kevin Uphill – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-uphill/   This podcast is...

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 party- Johnson’s downfall, Truss’s ascendancy, and what a Sunak premiership might look like- and...

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 thank all of our guests, listeners and everyone involved, in particular our award winning...

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.uk or https://www.luneandwild.co.uk LinkedIn: Doug Barnett –...

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 less that $2 per day, globally. For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk or...

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 of England in the 1990’s, the danger of merging fiscal and monetary policies and the...

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 career you love. For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk LinkedIn: Doug Barnett –...

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 management. We talk about his book, Simple But Not Easy and he shares advice for those who are looking to pursue a...

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…  For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk or verse.works LinkedIn: Doug Barnett –...

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 please visit www.waverton.co.uk or www.thecheesegeek.com LinkedIn: Doug Barnett –...

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 commoditization.    For further information please visit www.waverton.co.uk or...

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 information please visit www.waverton.co.uk or www.marywellesley.com LinkedIn: Doug Barnett –...

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 showcase the very best in contemporary art. Shortlisted work will form an exhibition at Alice’s Oyster...

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 – https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-barnett-a475b820/   Fred Lloyd George –...