International Dinner

In November we held the second in a series of dinners focused on how mid-market companies can best grow outside the UK. Guests included founders and CEOs of ambitious British headquartered companies from various sectors, all sharing the excitement and challenge of adapting their businesses to deal with customers overseas.

The discussion was led by the heads of Inflexion’s international teams which are based in Bangalore, Sao Paolo and Shanghai who were able to provide evidence of how Inflexion had supported its portfolio companies with their growth outside the UK in the past.

One common theme was how important it was to prioritise where to place your bets. The most attractive markets might be tougher to crack than smaller, but more easily penetrable ones. Along with “where,” CEOs also had to consider “how.” In some markets joint ventures would enable early scaling with less risk, in others companies might want to deal with established and highly motivated distributors moving to a direct model only over time.

An ability to access large, growing global markets is a recurring theme in our investment criteria here at Inflexion. Backing ambitious managers that can identify and execute plans which embrace language and cultural differences also means we share the intellectual challenge and satisfaction this brings. The evening allowed a group of similarly minded senior business leaders to share experiences and see how working with Inflexion in time might advance their ambition.