I hope you’ve had a great summer. Mine was three weeks in Chicago — a wedding, time with old friends, and enough dinners out that I came back 2kg heavier from “organic American foods”.
It was a proper reset before heading into the final stretch of 2025. Hard to believe it’s already 19 September — the year’s last quarter is just around the corner.
As we turn toward year-end, many of you are thinking about closing the books, planning for 2026, and preparing for investor and board conversations.
That raises a simple question: do you ever use your advisor as a sounding board?
Not just for transactions. Not only when lawyers and accountants are already in the room. But earlier — to test strategy, explore capital plans, or sense-check what investors are really thinking about your sector.
Over the past month, I’ve been pulled into discussions well before any mandate. No fee, no stopwatch, no awkward “billable hours.” Just open conversations about direction:
Are we prioritising growth at the right pace?
How should we position ahead of year-end reviews?
Where does this fit within the broader market cycle?
Often the value is less about a definitive answer and more about pressure-testing assumptions with someone outside the day-to-day.
Another frequent theme is capital planning. Should we be thinking about a raise before year-end? Can it wait until 2026? What runway do investors expect to see?
These are not questions you want to tackle for the first time in a formal setting. A conversation now can surface the options without the pressure.
Then there’s sentiment. We’re in constant dialogue with funds, strategics, and other scale-ups. Markets move quickly, and management teams don’t always have the bandwidth to track them closely. Translating what we hear into practical implications for you is often the missing piece.
So here’s the point: before the year closes out, do you have someone outside the business who can give you that perspective? If not — you do now.
Don’t be shy. A quick conversation only helps you, and it strengthens the relationship.
Let’s make sure what you’re building aligns with where the market is going. I’m in London throughout September and October if you’d like to discuss more.
Securities Offered through Wellesley Hills Securities. Member FINRA/SIPC