Be bold to go where others won’t

In March 2020 – an “unprecedented” time we can all remember clearly – rather than bracing ourselves for the uncertainty, we underwent our biggest transformation yet: listing with AIM on the London Stock Exchange. Taking this step just as the world entered total lockdown might have seemed offbeat – in fact, we were the first (and one of the only) companies to do so during the pandemic – but challenging convention has always been at the core of Elixirr. 

Our firm was born in the midst of the financial crisis in 2009 and it isn’t the first chance I’ve taken in my career (I had three businesses fail previously). So, the resolve to IPO during lockdown seemed fitting. From initially planning to raise £10m – £15m, to a week of 49 virtual roadshow meetings with investors, introducing Elixirr to the market, we ended up with an oversubscribed placing of £25m on admission. And look where it’s taken us now…

Why an IPO?

Let me remind you why we decided to go down the route of an IPO (Initial Public Offering). Of course, we explored many different growth options before finalising on this decision (including private equity and trade), but for me as founder, shaking up this industry and ultimately creating a legacy has always been my main goal with Elixirr. From the funding potential to drive growth, to being able to keep the very best people at the heart of the business, I knew that listing was the right choice.

The IPO also gave us the chance to solidify our entrepreneurial culture and risk-reward mentality by creating a whole firm of investors – all accountable for Elixirr’s success. Two years into it, I’m proud to say that we offer a best-in-market equity participation scheme to every single member of our team, from analyst to partner, spanning each of the businesses we acquire.

Reaching new heights

Our IPO signalled a new chapter in our story, helping us make our mark as those who challenge the big players in consulting. Alongside the ESPP and Share Options Scheme, it enabled us to strengthen our position in international markets, raise our profile and continue to expand our capability offering. Over the past two years, we have been able to grow further into new industries, strengthening our expertise and experience. We’ve expanded the type of work we’re doing alongside our core strategy consulting – from end-to-end digital transformation to deep data insights and tools, ensuring our clients stay at the very top of their game in the face of challenging market conditions and changing consumer needs.

A key way we’ve done this is through acquisitions, something that the IPO enabled us to prioritise. Supported by the capital from our listing, we acquired an additional three businesses, strengthening and expanding our expertise in digital, procurement, transformation and technology and data – and growing our global footprint.

Alongside this, our public profile has increased substantially over the past two years, supported by our marketing efforts and recent 2022 ‘Con-sultant’ campaign. This campaign was built around our challenger ethos. Its controversial and unafraid messaging put us in the spotlight, with press pick-ups complimenting our bold and unconventional style. We want the consulting industry to sit up and take notice – and when it comes to putting Elixirr on the map, we’re only just getting started.

The maturity of Elixirr since the IPO is really highlighted in the kind of investors who have joined us on our journey, including, most recently, the UK’s second biggest investor. We have more than doubled our institutional investors since 2020, and our three biggest investors at the time of IPO are still with us today. People are committed to us for the long game as they see the special qualities in our business, and they know that we have so much more to achieve.

Just the beginning…

There is no slowing down for us. As we scale our company, we continue to scale our ambitions. 

We plan to achieve market-leading status, across the board, so that we are market-leading for our clients. And we will continue to expand our team with creative, entrepreneurial people who enable us to deliver the very best. 

As the saying goes, if you don’t risk something, you’ll never gain anything. And we have surely seen the benefits of this decision so far!