Advisory Board
Luke and Ian have known Fast Track for many years, and have kindly agreed to serve on our advisory board to help expand the company and take it to the next level. They are not investors in Fast Track which is solely owned by its founder and CEO, Hamish Stevenson.
Luke Johnson is chairman of the advisory board.
Luke is founder and chairman of Risk Capital Partners, and writes a weekly column on entrepreneurs in the Financial Times. He is chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, and was formerly chairman of Channel 4 and PizzaExpress, which he floated at 40p and increased its market cap more than 20-fold to over £500m when he stepped down.
Luke has been making private company investments for over 20 years, including businesses such as Integrated Dental Holdings which he sold for £100m, representing 10 times the original investment; Topps Tiles (x10 investment), and Patisserie Valerie (current portfolio).
Luke has sat on one of Fast Track's annual 'Ones to Recognise' awards judging panels since 2006, he has spoken at a number of our dinners; and several of his investee companies have featured on our league tables, ranging from Seafood Holdings to Signature Restaurants, which he exited for over seven times return.
Ian Armitage
Ian is chairman of HgCapital (formerly Mercury Private Equity) which he has led since 1990 having joined in 1988 from 3i. In 2000, he took the private equity business out of Merrill Lynch and renamed the business HgCapital. It is now a leading investor in Europe with over £3 billion under management.
Ian has made over 50 investments, and served as chairman of the investor relations committee of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) and LPEQ.
Ian was one of the earliest supporters of Fast Track through Mercury Private Equity's sponsorship of the first Fast Track 100 in 1997. As one of the most respected private equity practitioners in the UK, he has spoken at a number of our dinners and numerous HgCapital investments have featured on our different league tables, ranging from IRIS Software to Castlebeck, which was sold for more than seven times the original investment.
www.hgcapital.com
Simon Calver is chief executive of DVD rental business Lovefilm.com which he merged with Video Island in 2006. With venture-capital backing he built to sales of £100m before selling it for a reported £200m to Amazon, which had been a shareholder. Lovefilm.com has appeared on the Tech Track 100 and Buyout Track 100.
Stephen Murphy was group chief exec of Virgin until November 2011, overseeing branded revenues of $20bn. He was involved in Virgin’s sponsorship of Fast Track 100, which Richard Branson has supported for all 15 years. He is a non-exec of the government’s Business Growth Fund; and previously held senior positions at Mars UK, Unilever, and Ford.
Martin Ott is joint chief executive of Skrill, the online payment provider – formerly known as Moneybookers – which is backed by Investcorp and works with companies including eBay, Facebook and Skype. It made profits of £20m in 2010, and has appeared on Fast Track’s league tables seven times.
Martin has invested in a range of tech companies in Europe.
Anthony Preston founded Pets at Home in 1991 and grew it into one of Britain’s largest private retailers with 300 stores, before a majority stake was sold to KKR in a £955m deal in 2010. The company first featured on Fast Track 100 in 1999, and has featured on 14 subsequent Fast Track league tables. His investments include Kids Allowed nursery chain and Palatine Private Equity.
Richard Reed co-founded innocent drinks in 1990 with two university friends and sold a majority stake in this quirky smoothie company to Coca-Cola for £100m. The company made sales of £130m in 2010 and is expanding in Europe. It featured on Fast Track 100 for five consecutive years, from 2004 to 2008. He sits on the development board of Oxfam.
Nick Wheeler founded shirt maker Charles Tyrwhitt in 1986 and is sole owner and chairman. Sales for 2011/12 are forecast to be £104m and operating profit of £12m. It has 17 retail stores and online sales, which won it a place on the Profit Track 100. His investments include mywardrobe.com and online customer feedback software firm, Feefo.
Luke Johnson is chairman of the advisory board.Luke is founder and chairman of Risk Capital Partners, and writes a weekly column on entrepreneurs in the Financial Times. He is chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, and was formerly chairman of Channel 4 and PizzaExpress, which he floated at 40p and increased its market cap more than 20-fold to over £500m when he stepped down.
Luke has been making private company investments for over 20 years, including businesses such as Integrated Dental Holdings which he sold for £100m, representing 10 times the original investment; Topps Tiles (x10 investment), and Patisserie Valerie (current portfolio).
Luke has sat on one of Fast Track's annual 'Ones to Recognise' awards judging panels since 2006, he has spoken at a number of our dinners; and several of his investee companies have featured on our league tables, ranging from Seafood Holdings to Signature Restaurants, which he exited for over seven times return.
| www.lukejohnson.org | www.riskcapitalpartners.co.uk |
Ian ArmitageIan is chairman of HgCapital (formerly Mercury Private Equity) which he has led since 1990 having joined in 1988 from 3i. In 2000, he took the private equity business out of Merrill Lynch and renamed the business HgCapital. It is now a leading investor in Europe with over £3 billion under management.
Ian has made over 50 investments, and served as chairman of the investor relations committee of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) and LPEQ.
Ian was one of the earliest supporters of Fast Track through Mercury Private Equity's sponsorship of the first Fast Track 100 in 1997. As one of the most respected private equity practitioners in the UK, he has spoken at a number of our dinners and numerous HgCapital investments have featured on our different league tables, ranging from IRIS Software to Castlebeck, which was sold for more than seven times the original investment.
www.hgcapital.com
Brains Bank
The Fast Track "Brains Bank" is made up of a select cross section of founders and directors of successful companies that have featured on past Fast Track league tables. They generously give their time to Fast Track and meet on a bi-annual basis to provide general advice and entrepreneurial nous.Simon Calver is chief executive of DVD rental business Lovefilm.com which he merged with Video Island in 2006. With venture-capital backing he built to sales of £100m before selling it for a reported £200m to Amazon, which had been a shareholder. Lovefilm.com has appeared on the Tech Track 100 and Buyout Track 100.Stephen Murphy was group chief exec of Virgin until November 2011, overseeing branded revenues of $20bn. He was involved in Virgin’s sponsorship of Fast Track 100, which Richard Branson has supported for all 15 years. He is a non-exec of the government’s Business Growth Fund; and previously held senior positions at Mars UK, Unilever, and Ford.Martin Ott is joint chief executive of Skrill, the online payment provider – formerly known as Moneybookers – which is backed by Investcorp and works with companies including eBay, Facebook and Skype. It made profits of £20m in 2010, and has appeared on Fast Track’s league tables seven times.Martin has invested in a range of tech companies in Europe.
Anthony Preston founded Pets at Home in 1991 and grew it into one of Britain’s largest private retailers with 300 stores, before a majority stake was sold to KKR in a £955m deal in 2010. The company first featured on Fast Track 100 in 1999, and has featured on 14 subsequent Fast Track league tables. His investments include Kids Allowed nursery chain and Palatine Private Equity.
Richard Reed co-founded innocent drinks in 1990 with two university friends and sold a majority stake in this quirky smoothie company to Coca-Cola for £100m. The company made sales of £130m in 2010 and is expanding in Europe. It featured on Fast Track 100 for five consecutive years, from 2004 to 2008. He sits on the development board of Oxfam.
Nick Wheeler founded shirt maker Charles Tyrwhitt in 1986 and is sole owner and chairman. Sales for 2011/12 are forecast to be £104m and operating profit of £12m. It has 17 retail stores and online sales, which won it a place on the Profit Track 100. His investments include mywardrobe.com and online customer feedback software firm, Feefo.
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