This week Nick talks to Pedro Gonzalez de Cosio

Pedro Gonzalez de Cosio is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Pharmakon. Before co-founding the firm, he spent 14 years in structured finance, holding senior roles at Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan in New York. There, he specialized in structuring complex collateralized financing and derivative transactions for U.S. and international clients, including several years focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors.

Nick and Pedro discuss Pharmakon’s approach to providing non-dilutive debt financing to life sciences companies, how the firm supports biotech businesses through key growth stages, and what differentiates its investment strategy. They also explore successful investments, the role of non-dilutive capital in funding innovation and acquisitions, the competitive landscape for biotech financing, differences between U.S. and European capital markets, and emerging healthcare trends, including orphan diseases, oncology, GLP-1 therapies, AI in drug discovery, and the future of cancer treatment.

Pedro's Book Choices
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Pedro's Music Choices
Piano Man by Billy Joel
Pagliacci Opera

This content is issued by Zeus Capital Limited (“Zeus”) (Incorporated in England & Wales No. 4417845), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) for designated investment business, (Reg No. 224621) and is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange. This content is for information purposes only and neither the information contained, nor the opinions expressed within, constitute or are to be construed as an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities or other instruments mentioned in it. Zeus shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages, including lost profits arising in any way from the information contained in this material. This material is for the use of intended recipients only.

This week Nick talks to Chris McVey.

Chris McVey is Deputy Head of Octopus Quoted Companies at Octopus Investments, where he has worked since 2016 and is lead manager of the Octopus UK Multi Cap Income Fund. He has more than 20 years of experience in the UK quoted smaller companies market. Prior to joining Octopus, Chris was a UK small- and mid-cap equity research analyst at Citigroup, and before that spent seven years at Gartmore as an investment manager and analyst, building extensive expertise in UK smaller company investing.

Nick and Chris discuss the significant opportunity in the UK small and mid-cap market, where valuations remain near historic lows despite strong underlying company fundamentals. Chris argues that quality growth businesses, particularly on AIM, are trading at substantial discounts to their intrinsic value due to a lack of investor flows rather than operational weakness. He believes the sector is poised for a re-rating as sentiment improves, creating an attractive entry point for long-term investors.

Chris's Book Choice:
Financial Times Guide to the Financial Markets by Glen Arnold

Chris's Music Choice:
The Best of Ludovico Einaudi playlist

This content is issued by Zeus Capital Limited (“Zeus”) (Incorporated in England & Wales No. 4417845), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) for designated investment business, (Reg No. 224621) and is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange. This content is for information purposes only and neither the information contained, nor the opinions expressed within, constitute or are to be construed as an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities or other instruments mentioned in it. Zeus shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages, including lost profits arising in any way from the information contained in this material. This material is for the use of intended recipients only.

This week Nick talks to Alk Brand

Alk Brand is a global agribusiness leader and the Chief Executive Officer of Wynnstay Group PLC, one of the UK’s leading agricultural supplies businesses. With more than two decades of executive leadership experience, he has led major food, agriculture, and supply chain organisations across five continents, including serving as Global CEO of Westfalia Fruit and Hans Merensky Holdings, Managing Director of Richardson Milling, and CEO of Pioneer Foods UK.

Nick and Alk discuss Alk Brand’s lifelong connection to agriculture, from growing up on a farm in South Africa to leading major global agribusinesses and becoming CEO of Wynnstay Group. The conversation explores Wynnstay’s role in supporting UK food security through its feed, arable, grain trading, and retail operations, as well as the company’s growth strategy, investment priorities, and transformation programme, Project Genesis. They discuss the resilience of British farmers, the importance of rural communities, sustainability, innovation, logistics, and technology in modern agriculture, alongside the opportunities for expansion through organic growth and acquisitions. Alk also shares his leadership philosophy, his optimism for the future of UK agriculture, and his belief that Wynnstay can continue to grow by becoming an increasingly integrated and valuable partner to farmers across the UK.

Book Choice
The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt

Music Choice
Amazing Grace by Aretha Franklin

This content is issued by Zeus Capital Limited (“Zeus”) (Incorporated in England & Wales No. 4417845), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) for designated investment business, (Reg No. 224621) and is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange. This content is for information purposes only and neither the information contained, nor the opinions expressed within, constitute or are to be construed as an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities or other instruments mentioned in it. Zeus shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages, including lost profits arising in any way from the information contained in this material. This material is for the use of intended recipients only.