24 SEPTEMBER 2021
Christopher Mills, CEO, Harwood Capital Management, is fundamentally a value investor with a strategy to extract that value so avoiding value traps. Often, an activist investor who will place management or himself on the board to ensure alignment with shareholders, as is seen in his success with EKF, MJ Gleeson, and Augean, which he discusses. As an early entrant to Life Sciences, he tells us what he likes about the sector, including a deep dive into Circassia, and an update on Sourebio following the lifting of CV19 testing for certain travel. He covers some of his investments that he’s excited about, with each, we can hear his strategic thinking, for example with AssetCo where Martin Gilbert, ex Aberdeen Asset Management has joined as Chairman, who is starting to build another leading asset management company; likewise those building blocks with Frenkel Topping and Polar Capital. A very engaging interview that gives us a sense of Christopher, his razor sharp mind, and why he’s such a successful investor.
00:49 Christopher’s career and Harwood Capital
03:33 What are you looking for in the companies in which you invest?
05:30 What about life sciences do you like?
08:03 Circassia (LON:CIR)
12:45 Sourcebio International (LON:SBI)
16:58 Clinigen (LON:CLIN)
18:14 Polar Capital Holdings (LON:POLR)
20:07 Assetco (LON:ASTO)
21:34 Frenkel Topping (LON:FEN)
29:15 Successes: how do you find the right strategy & management? Mj Gleeson (LON:GLE) (29:40), Ekf Diagnostics Holdings (LON:EKF) (30:24) & Augean (LON:AUG) (33:48)
35:50 When it goes wrong
39:03 Why is the discount to NAV so wide for the North Atlantic Smaller Companies IT (NASCIT)?
44:10 Remaining ambitions
Harwood Capital Management: https://www.harwoodcapital.co.uk/
