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Nick Young

Managing Director

John B. Cowper, FCA

Associate Director

Zack Louw

Associate

Sean Wood

Associate

Bob Sneesby

Associate

Michael Morley-Smith

Senior Associate

Nigel Wright

Associate

Terry Wells

Associate

Ellie Donegan

Admin and Marketing Manager

David Rich

Associate

Ash Hussain

Associate

Nick Young

Managing Director

Nick is the founder and managing director of Beer & Young Ltd having established the business in 1998. B&Y are best known for raising equity capital, predominantly from their network of private investors, for trading SMEs that are seeking to grow or experiencing financial pressures.As a trusted member of the business finance community Nick has been privileged to participate in the Angel Expert Group Roundtable at 10 Downing Street, a panel chaired by Lord Young of Graffham, lending his experience to their meetings on raising awareness and understanding of the market for business angel investing in the UK.As we move through 2021, Nick will say that, on a business front, he is most proud of B&Y’s track record for delivering finance to business owners quickly, whether for growth, project work or to save jobs. A worthy example of this was the Seas of Red Poppy exhibition at the Tower of London – a project B&Y raised all the capital for in just three weeks.

Phone

07957 367 783

John B. Cowper, FCA

Associate Director

John qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young joining B&Y in 2009 after a 20 year financial brokering career spanning the globe from the City of London, Isle of Man, Detroit, Bangkok, Beijing to Harare.John has completed many notable high-end turnarounds and various rescue financing. His achievements include 11th hour rescues of two historic UK manufacturers. He raised funds for the UK’s first water drilling manufacturer on the South Coast and one of the UK’s oldest lighting companies in the Midlands. Both of these transactions ran into £millions, saved hundreds of jobs, enabled future business growth and high returns for investors.John has numerous other funding successes - his primary strength is his intuition for the interaction of the personalities involved in a deal. He travels anywhere in the UK providing his expertise to business owners at whatever stage of the funding cycle they are at.

Phone

07827 768 493

Zack Louw

Associate

Zack joins B&Y with a background in International Partnerships, Client and Investor Relations. He has spent most of his career in international corporate projects for new market expansion and strategic project management. Recently he led investor relations and early-stage investment fundraising within the Envestors and Envestry ecosystem through angel network partners. He has also recently partnered with a US based VC scout agency and a “post incubator” community to support early-stage start-ups through various stages of growth. Zack now breaks into the SME market with an eagerness to help a wider variety of companies to grow through investment and partnerships. 

Phone

07377 264 221

Sean Wood

Associate

With over 25 years corporate banking experience Sean has been working closely with SMEs and Corporates across the UK helping them to achieve long-term success.He has strong deal origination and execution experience across all industry sectors but particular success in technology, media, financial services, manufacturing, recruitment, transport, retail and leisure.Using the skills and experience he has gained as both a senior relationship manager and business development director, Sean maintains a common sense approach and can do attitude to the funding needs of businesses providing simple solutions to complex problems.Being able to identify the right mix of capital and debt funding enables a tailored solution to be delivered, whether it be to finance growth, working capital, acquisitions or property purchase.Through close collaboration with his professional contacts, entrepreneur groups and other business communities Sean is able to leverage the power of these networks for the benefit of all involved.

Phone

07557 474654

Bob Sneesby

Associate

Bob joined Beer & Young after many years in the industry, having previously worked with Nick Young. He is a Fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute (ICSA), and acts as a business adviser and consultant to SMEs alongside his role at B&Y.He has extensive experience as managing director in the hospitality, manufacturing and distribution sectors. He has led the negotiation, financing and management of over 40 acquisitions from sellers ranging from independent operators through to administrators and major plc’s - raising funds from business angels, private equity houses and stock market investors.Possessing comprehensive business restructuring, turnaround and growth experience Bob enjoys helping entrepreneurs devise and implement strategies for the survival and growth of their businesses and with raising finance for the execution of their plans.

Phone

07790 011 491

Michael Morley-Smith

Senior Associate

Trained as an accountant, Michael spent 10 years with a public company, finally in the position of Group Company Secretary. Since then he has run various small businesses and undertaken management consultancy assignments with a particular emphasis on turnaround finance and corporate recovery situations, gaining particular experience working with Insolvency Practitioners.Michael has intimate knowledge of small business practice as well as company insolvency rules. He is therefore able to understand the difficulties many entrepreneurs are faced with and expertly able to assist with company recovery.

Phone

07845 017 498

Nigel Wright

Associate

Based in London, Nigel is a Chartered Accountant and holds an INSEAD MBA qualification. He is an investor, adviser and has senior roles in early stage businesses in the UK.He was a founder of Industrial Technology Securities, a BES manager that raised £3.4M for early stage technology companies. Other roles have involved preparing companies for fundraising and raising investment, strategic advice, turnarounds, voluntary liquidations, mentorships and senior management.Nigel is a strategic thinker with extensive experience and ability to deliver value to clients, particularly in critical circumstances. He is passionate about choosing the right approach for each business in our everchanging economy.

Phone

07719 614342

Terry Wells

Associate

With over 25 years of Sales & Marketing experience Terry has also recently concluded two years with KPMG working on a specialist project where his blend of experience and skill sets added value to the group.Historically based in print, Terry is a generalist across all areas of sales and marketing strategies, brand protection and finance. He has enjoyed working in Europe and the USA too. Terry says “One of the key areas that brought me to Beer & Young was their ability to deal with business owners and investors, understanding the challenges faced by growing pains and/or cashflow difficulties. Cash is King, and where B&Y score highly in their reputation is their focus on serving clients’ needs and delivering solutions.

Phone

07881 824 410

Ellie Donegan

Admin and Marketing Manager

Phone

07585 508 640

David Rich

Associate

Based in East Anglia David has 15 years experience in raising debt and equity funding for businesses.After 14 years as a litigation lawyer David moved onto creating his own businesses and a successful career in helping other businesses to raise funding and achieve growth. He also has experience of turn around situations and understands the challenges faced by those in such a position.He has built and sold businesses in the software, catering and financial service sectors and holds board positions in a variety of businesses ranging from 3D rich media, retirement planning and academy schools. David works closely with the regulators in the Pensions, asset management and Insurance industries and is passionate about using collaboration and creativity to drive positive outcomes.

Phone

07919 918623

Ash Hussain

Associate

Ash is a veteran of the software industry, with two decades of leadership experience working for small (private) and large quoted software and solutions providers. He has led geographically dispersed teams of up to 100, and worked with clients across many verticals, spanning the EMEA region. Having had full P&L responsibility for both high growth and more established concerns, Ash has developed and refined his skills at the sharp end in managing revenue and profitability, whilst delighting and expanding his customer base.Ash enjoys analysing business fundamentals to help understand areas that need attention, and then to help devise solutions (including any funding needs) to help the business move forward. As a businessman, he also understands the value that external investors can bring to the table, whilst being cognisant of the rewards that a serious investor shall seek even if the risks (perceived or real) are backed up by detailed mitigation plans to make it an attractive proposition.Ash is a graduate of Bristol University, with a degree in Engineering Maths. He is keen to work with any businesses that require growth acceleration.

Phone

07837 367 864

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