Reading about the business fortunes of that prodigy Euan Blair (supposedly worth £420m at one stage - but very much on paper, we must conclude), I felt transported back to the extremes of the dotcom bubble of 25 years ago:
Euan Blair’s apprenticeship company Multiverse has reported a near-tripling of pre-tax annual losses to £40.5m – its seventh straight year of losses since the son of the former prime minister Tony Blair set it up in 2016.
Seven straight years! Wonderful! There was a Doonesbury strip at that time, showing our hero Mike, by then in middle age, presenting his start-up business plan to an insufferable and very young exec at some private equity firm, who says something like: "Hmm - you project a loss this year, and more next year, and even more the year after: excellent! Frankly, Mr Doonesbury, we find that businessmen of your generation generally just don't get it."
Still, who's the fool? Last year, Blair Jnr ...
... was awarded an MBE for services to education. He also bought a five-storey townhouse in west London for a reported £22m. The seven-bedroom residence, which he shares with his wife, Suzanne Ashman, and their two children, features a two-storey “iceberg” basement with an indoor pool, gym and multicar garage.
Oh, but then he goes and spoils it all:
“I’ve always been clear that we believe a sustainable, profitable company is the best institution to deliver our mission, and I am accountable for building it,” he said. “And that’s why this decision needed to be taken.”
Well, well - he wants a sustainable, profitable company: who'd have guessed? What a hide-bound little conventionalist the man is. Careful, Euan, if you go setting expectations like that, somebody will conclude that maybe you ain't the one to build it after all. And that 'decision' of his? Why, sacking 44 of his staff, of course ... His very middle name is 'sustainable'.
ND
13 comments:
If I as a sole trader farmer showed losses for 7 straight years HMRC would declare my business to be a hobby, not a business. How is Mr Blair Jnr allowed to make losses virtually indefinitely and still be consider 'in business'?
"“I’ve always been clear that we believe a sustainable, profitable company is the best institution to deliver our mission, and I am accountable for building it,” he said. “And that’s why this decision needed to be taken.”"
To quote the ex Prime Moron, Gordon Brown, when about to enact some disaster for the economy, it was being done because it was "THE RIGHT THING TO DO".
As if he'd know right from wrong...
If you can get US venture capital interested, even if it is just for a few years, you're quids in.
The smart tech exit strategy is to have an idea that sounds good, ensure you're not dabbling into illegality (Theranos), ripping off people too obviously (cryptocurrency), and rope in the venture capitalists.
Take out a few million into your own accounts, move on after a couple of years. Fresh meat. Greener pastures. Whatever.
There may even be elevation to the Lords for you (Lane Fox) if you make the right friends.
And if all comes tumbling down, you've already converted imaginary worth into actual worth you can spend. Worst case scenario you have to bare faced lie through a Parliamentary commission.
If you can an idea in front of people, you don't have to like it or believe in it, you just need to make sure others with the big bank accounts do.
Just like when Michael Caine was asked if he'd watched the Jaws sequel he was in - "No, but I have the seen the house it paid for, and let me tell you, it's lovely"
"Still, who's the fool?"
Isn't the money put up by the investors simply another (((thank you payment))) to Tony for trashing Iraq and opening UK borders? The Blair family grew remarkably rich after he left office.
If the firm does well, all to the good, but that wasn't the point.
@sobers Check the accounts. They are sitting on £80mn of cash from investors. Plenty of room to grow without running out of cash.
Question is what do investors see that others don't.
PS Check his mother's investors and co-directors. Top drawer / global elite.
Michael Caine (again)
"I've been poor, and I've been rich. And I can tell you - rich is better"
@ anon: "Isn't the money put up by the investors simply another (((thank you payment))) to Tony for trashing Iraq and opening UK borders?"
Are you suggesting Junior's co is some kind of laundering operation? Does Cherie occupy the west wing of that London town house, like some mad old bat from a Victorian novel?
Of course, it is. The Blairs have been "owned" ever since Tony was talent-spotted at Oxford.
Jens Stoltenberg today:
"Russia is also becoming much more dependent on China. Year by year, Moscow is mortgaging its future to Beijing."
I guess you could have said that about the UK and US in WW2, and sadly it would have been true.
Hmm. Russia exports more to China than she imports, $4bn more in 2021.
US trade deficit with China - $364bn, nothing to see here...*
"The UK had a £39.1 billion trade deficit with China in 2021"
*However there are signs that despite Chinese industry and intelligence, they are not going to progress Japan style. This book is a little out of date but still fascinating (you can find it on libgen).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poorly_Made_in_China
Jeremy Poynton said...
To quote the ex Prime Moron, Gordon Brown, when about to enact some disaster for the economy, it was being done because it was "THE RIGHT THING TO DO".
As if he'd know right from wrong...
Or even, Right from Left.
On the subject of McBroon
the "That's why ..." formulation, as deployed here by E.Blair, is a Brown coinage: he'd answer questions by giving a long piece of motherhood-and-apple-pie, followed by "and that's why we're doing XYZ", as if there was some logical connection instead of the complete non sequitur
(T.May, by contrast - "I've always been very clear on this")
That Guardian link said Tony Blair had £60m - did he save that from his £100,000 PM salary?
And he apparently donated his £4.6m advance from his autobiography to soldier's charities, so how did he get that cash?
"@sobers Check the accounts. They are sitting on £80mn of cash from investors. Plenty of room to grow without running out of cash."
I can be sitting on a pile cash, and still HMRC will declare my farm to be a hobby if it doesn't make a trading profit one year in 6.
https://www.taxadvisermagazine.com/article/down-farm-0
Post a Comment