Bianca Coulter's key takeaways from the Jefferies Conference

In general, especially with the mid to large caps, we saw a more positive atmosphere, which was a significant shift in sentiment. We also heard about, and are working with, several small caps who have raised substantial new rounds, and there was a lot of talk about late-stage pipelines looking very promising. Several companies that paused IPO plans in 2021 are gearing up again, thoroughly encouraged by the banks, though all expressed concerns about unknowns ahead.

Even though the overall environment is far more optimistic it is still tough to raise finance, particularly for platform and early stage, pre POC companies. We are supporting and encouraging some great management teams who are still experiencing real difficulties.

The majority we met predicted that next year will be exciting but there were concerns around the policy direction of the new US administration.

All in all, this was a fantastic event with London looking at its best, and the celebrations in the evenings were fabulous opportunities to network and share perspectives.

We thoroughly enjoyed our own party, in partnership with Goodwin and co-sponsors Citi, CFGI, LEK, Toppan Merrill, putting on a great show!

We were thrilled to see so many familiar faces and make new connections! Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the success of the event!

Looking forward to speaking with you soon and meanwhile we wish you all the very best for the last few weeks of this turbulent year and a great start to 2025!