Angus Hartley

Europe’s VAT tech scene isn’t “emerging” anymore - it’s flourishing. Big US names (Thomson Reuters, Vertex, Avalara, Sovos) set the stage, but homegrown challengers have been bringing increased competition to the market. VC & PE money is flooding in. Global headcount is scaling fast. Products are expanding. And the Pagero and ecosio acquisitions proved one thing: e-invoicing is the prize most are now chasing. The US has always been the bedrock of tech startups. But in the small world of indirect tax, the complexity of VAT has created an opening for European startups to really compete. Emerging global players (alongside established tax software houses) are hungry to crack VAT & GST, with Europe firmly in their sights. At the same time, European providers are pushing hard to crack the US sales tax market. More competition has naturally expanded the market’s breadth. But interestingly, it's also pushed its depth. Software houses are no longer trying to be everything to everyone; they’re aligning with specific segments like mid-market, enterprise, marketplaces, or industries. Finding their identity and doubling down on it. And all of this is just what we're seeing in indirect tax.

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Great insight from Tom Howard in The Times this week on the growing appetite for self-employed contractors in the UK, driven in part by changes to employers’ NICs earlier this year. The shift towards contracting isn’t just tactical, it’s strategic. In today’s climate of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, organisations are navigating what we’re calling the ‘Great Hesitation’, where a slowdown in hiring and investment decisions is making employers and jobseekers alike weigh their next move carefully. As I shared with Tom, contractors and temp workers offer a flexible, cost-effective way to access critical skills without long-term commitments. For employers, this means agility, innovation, and resilience. For professionals, it’s a chance to accelerate their careers, broaden their experience, and increase their earning potential. This shouldn’t just be seen as a short-term fix, but a long-term opportunity. A well-managed contingent workforce can be a competitive advantage, enabling organisations to stay ahead in a fast-changing market. #WeAreHays #FutureOfWork #HiringTrends #WorkforceStrategy 

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Urgency, results, and precision: Why Interim Executives are the right fit for Private Equity Private Equity firms operate with tight timelines. There are ambitious growth targets, value creation strategies to execute, and exit goals that demand speed and precision. In my experience, Executive Interim Leaders excel in exactly this type of challenges. They are engaged when a portfolio company needs to shift course, navigate complexity, or achieve significant outcomes under pressure. That might involve stabilizing a weak finance function, driving international growth, or turn an underperforming division around. What sets these professionals apart is their approach: they’re not there to maintain the status quo, they’re catalysts for transformation. They know how to mobilize teams, make critical decisions, and generate measurable results fast, and they don't require on-boarding time. Executive Interim Managers operate independently, take full ownership, and are aligned with the organizations’ goals from day one. For PE-firms, this means injecting high-impact leadership into portfolio companies without delays or long-term commitments. It’s leadership as a value-creation tool, just when and where you need it. #PrivateEquity #transitionmanagement #Interimmanagement #InterimExecutive #CFO #CEO #Transformation

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Leaving PE: why so many turn to the independent sponsor route When experienced investors step away from a traditional fund, the next chapter often isn’t a straight line to another GP seat. Increasingly, people are exploring variations of the independent sponsor model - and many others are getting curious. I’m often asked how it works. The reality is it takes different forms, shaped by your background, risk appetite, finances, network, and values. 🔹 Search funds vs. independent sponsors A lot of the confusion comes from terminology: • Search funds (more common in the US) raise search capital first - enough to cover living and diligence costs for 2–3 years. Once an acquisition target is found and an LOI signed, they go back to investors to raise the acquisition equity. • Independent sponsors usually flip this around. They identify a deal first, then syndicate LP/investor capital around it. Some have anchor relationships or soft commitments, but it’s essentially a deal-first, capital-later model. 🔹 The mini-fund / platform route Another approach is raising capital or commitments for a mini-fund or company platform. Here, investors buy into a theme and approximate targets, committing capital to be drawn as needed. This addresses one of the biggest challenges of deal-by-deal - credibility and exclusivity - which are hard to secure without committed capital. 🔹 The family office path More senior professionals, especially those who’ve been co-investing alongside their careers, often set up a lean family office structure to deploy their own capital. The intent is to keep it small and flexible. The reality: deal flow, portfolio oversight, and value creation inevitably pull them toward building a team and infrastructure. —— These “non-fund” models are no longer temporary stop-gaps. They’re becoming credible alternatives to the traditional PE career path. The lines between investor, entrepreneur, and operator continue to blur - and many LPs are diversifying into select strategies of their own, rather than trusting GPs to do it all for them. That said, with the sheer scale of institutional capital, there remains strong appetite for the largest managers who can offer LPs size, products, and platforms under one roof. A lot of innovation (and opportunity) is happening in this middle ground. For those considering this path - happy to share notes #privateequity #independentsponsor #searchfirm

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For PE firms, driving value in their Portfolio Companies with AI has never been easier.........although it's still not easy. Here are some practical steps to follow for Operating Partners & Operators, featuring Tim Kiely from BayPine .

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