You should write a book about this

An encounter with a stalwart of the corporate finance world, Jeremy Cole

Hi,

We’re experimenting with the landing times of our longer reads this week, and timing this one to come to you at lunchtime.

We’re really pleased with the way Rainmakers has landed. We’re up to 500 subscribers, which is encouraging. Please spread the word, please like our stories and please share on LinkedIn.

The calling of the General Election will ripple through the business and finance world, so next week I’ll be sharing some political insights into the changes to private equity, capital gains tax and carried interest. I’ll also delve into the Labour front bench a bit and tell you what I know about their recent interactions, and how one of them in particular knows all about this world from his time as a lawyer at Addleshaws.

If you’ve been involved in talks with Labour, or the Conservatives, I’d love to hear about it.

But first, I wanted to share some thoughts from a really fascinating chat I had with Jeremy Cole.

I’d like to do a few more of these around the North, in order to tap in to the wisdom and experience of some of the people who’ve been around a while.

Enjoy.

After half an hour of talking to Jeremy Cole over lemonades (we’d both had too many coffees already), and as he explains trends that he’s seen come and go, and has proudly seen his now adult children transition into modern commercial life, I proffered the view, “you could write a book on this stuff.”

“Funny you should mention it,” he says, slightly shyly. 

The corporate financier and adviser, owner of his own boutique practice, Cole Associates, is indeed writing a book on everything you ever wanted to know about buying and selling a business but were afraid to ask.

I’ve known him for almost 25 years, but not well. In all that time he’s been involved in the membership group pro Manchester and we always say hello to one another and have a handshake if we pass each other in the street, but probably haven’t spent enough time together. 

I recall that he was working for Stockport accountancy firm Hurst when I first met him, and he spent a short period at TMG, which he didn’t enjoy quite as much, and set up Cole Associates in 2002.

It’s primarily a sell-side firm, advising owner managed businesses on disposals, or on growth capital and refinancing.