In our fourth episode of Beyond the Capital, we sat down with Ray Stenton, Managing Partner of NorthEdge.

After graduating university with a degree in Business Economics, Ray joined an accountancy firm working in audit where he enjoyed connecting with and influencing people at all levels of the organisations he worked with.

After a few years he took a keen interest in corporate finance, and moved into a new role to begin supporting businesses and entrepreneurs with their value realisation strategies and advising private equity firms on new investments. During this time Ray began working closely with LDC and after supporting them on several deals, he was invited to join their Manchester office, which was headed up by Andy Ball and Grant Berry.

Ray was impressed by Grant and Andy’s people-first approach, something which is at the heart of NorthEdge’s culture and values, and he continued to work closely with the pair for many years – including taking on the role of leading the Manchester office. Following a further eight successful years with LDC, Grant and Andy left to start their own business, NorthEdge, with Ray joining the business soon after. During the early years of NorthEdge Ray’s role was to manage the new investment team, with him progressing to be joint Managing Partner alongside Grant in 2018.

From building a strong culture, differentiating ourselves through our people, his pride in the progress NorthEdge has made on diversity and inclusion, and why a healthy competitive streak combined with integrity has helped him to win business the right way, our conversation with Ray is packed full of useful insights, stories and reflections spanning across his career. In the episode he also shares his valuable advice on how businesses can get ready for private equity investment.

Click here to get to know Ray and access our other episodes.