Craneware - Keith Neilson

Peter Harrison, Chief Executive of Bioventix PLC, joins Victoria Stevens for the latest episode of Stock Exchanges to discuss building a highly profitable biotechnology business from a management buyout over two decades ago. Peter explains how he transformed a failing therapeutic antibody company into a diagnostics business, why sheep monoclonal antibodies offer advantages over traditional mouse antibodies for blood tests, and how Bioventix is contributing to research efforts in early Alzheimer's detection through biomarker development.

Peter Brodnicki, CEO and co-founder of Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), joins Victoria Stevens for the latest episode of Stock Exchanges to discuss building one of the UK's leading mortgage networks from the ground up. From founding MAB at age 40 to creating a business supporting over 2,000 advisors and facilitating billions in mortgage lending annually, Peter explains how he spotted an opportunity when insurance companies pulled out of distribution in the early 2000s. He discusses why navigating the 2008 financial crisis became a defining moment, how technology and AI are transforming mortgage advice to hyper-personalise customer experiences, and why he chose to list publicly to reward his team while maintaining full autonomy over the business he built.

In the latest episode of Stock Exchanges, Victoria Stevens speaks with Keith Neilson, CEO and co-founder of Edinburgh-based Craneware, the healthcare software company serving 40% of US hospitals. Keith explains how a chance Thanksgiving conversation led to building one of the UK's most successful software export stories, why Craneware's proprietary data creates competitive advantage that AI can't replicate, and why the board rejected a near-billion-pound private equity offer to pursue long-term value creation.

Andrew Denton, CEO of FTSE 250-listed Alfa Financial Software, joins Victoria Stevens for a special live episode of Stock Exchanges, recorded at Liontrust's Annual Investment Conference. Andrew tells the story of rising from employee number 15 to leading a global platform used by Bank of America and Mercedes-Benz. He also gives his grounded take on artificial intelligence and discusses how hackathons and product development keep Alfa ahead.  Capital at risk. This should not be construed as investment advice.

Andrew Thomis, CEO of Cohort, joins Victoria Stevens for the latest episode of Stock Exchanges to explain how Cohort has scaled from an AIM-listed company to a group of seven specialist defence businesses and talk leadership and strategy. He also discusses the impact of the UK and its allies increasing defence spending in response to the War in Ukraine and Trump's second terms as President and innovation in warfare, including AI and other technology. Capital at risk. This should not be construed as investment advice.

What happens after you step back from the company you built from the ground up? Morgan Tillbrook, Founder and former CEO of Alpha Group, joins Victoria Stevens for a candid conversation for the latest Stock Exchanges episode about building a company worth over £1 billion, a journey in which the business went from an initial foreign exchange risk management provider to a broad alternative banking offering. Morgan reflects on how he scaled a consultancy-led startup into a global platform, why decentralised ownership and culture were central to Alpha's success, and what led him to gift £28 million of his own shares to management after stepping down. Capital at risk. This should not be construed as investment advice.  

Fever-Tree has been an extraordinary growth story over the past two decades, having started with the idea of creating premium mixers to complement premium spirits. The company has now branched out to more than 90 countries, being the number one mixer brand by value in the UK and the market leader in tonic water and ginger beer in the US.  In this episode of the Stock Exchanges podcast, Victoria Stevens talks to Tim Warrillow, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Fever-Tree Drinks, about the fascinating journey, from sourcing miraculous quinine in the depths of the Democratic Republic of Congo (literally staring down the wrong end of a Kalashnikov), through Fever-Tree being included in one of the dishes on El Bulli's world famous tasting menu, to the strategic partnership with Molson Coors. Capital at risk. This should not be construed as investment advice.

Nadeem Raza, CEO of Microlise – a provider of vehicle fleet management technology – tells Victoria about his 35-year journey with the company. A background in mathematics and computing gave Nadeem a problem-solving mindset which he has applied from his first role as software engineer in the late-80s all the way through to taking on the position of CEO after leading a management buyout in 2008 and listing the company on the London stock market in 2021.

Debbie Bestwick MBE started playing games aged 7, beginning with Pak-Man and then Space Invaders. It was when aged 12 that Debbie started entering programming codes as she got into Football Manager and became determined to work in the industry. In the latest episode of the Stock Exchange podcast series, Debbie, who is now Non-Executive Director, tells Victoria Stevens how she not only got into the industry but was one of the founders of Team17 and later became its CEO. Debbie explains the amazing success of the business, including launching the famous Worms game, creating a company with sustainable growth and what it takes to make great games.  

Having started with just a van and a band and then working as Led Zeppelin's touring soundman in 1970, Phil Dudderidge OBE has successfully built two companies – Soundcraft Electronics and Focusrite. Using its equipment to record this second episode of the Stock Exchange series, Phil, who is now Non-executive Chairman, tells Victoria Stevens how Focusrite's growth has been achieved and the challenges of being an entrepreneur. This includes reinventing Focusrite Plc along the way, product innovation, creating a diverse portfolio of brands and catering for both amateur and professional musicians.