Certificate in Biofuels Financing & Valuation
A biofuels-focused introduction to investment strategy, capital sourcing and business valuation
12—13 September 2012, London, United Kingdom
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Course highlights
- A clearly explained, experience-based course accessible for those without finance expertise
- Aligning financial investment strategy with business planning goals (expansion, sale, IPO etc.)
- Costs and sources of capital, from venture capital to project financing
- What investors and buyers look for and how they (and you) can value your company
Specifically designed to be accessible to non-experts, this course describes accepted investment techniques and processes, with the goal of improving the future commercial relationships between investment providers and clients. Designed specifically with the biofuels sector in mind, and using examples and experiences to illustrate key learning points, it will be of interest to attendees from across the biofuels supply chain - in particular those who arrive from technical, project development or other non-financial backgrounds.
Level & Style
Although the course includes financial terminology and jargon, this will all be clearly explained and we assume no prior investment knowledge – indeed a key aim is to demystify the language and concepts you will encounter within the biofuels investment industry.
The course runs in a friendly, informal manner, encouraging discussions and questions to ensure that participants get the most out of their time.
Approximate Timings
(include lunch plus morning and afternoon refreshment breaks):
Day 1: 09:00 - 17:00 // Day 2: 09:00 – 16.00
About your trainer
John Freeman (FCMA CGMA MSc) is a qualified accountant whose prime role currently is to identify funding for scaling up his company’s jatropha plantations and the financing of their industrial capacity. He advises on financial best practice with a prime focus on developing, producing and monetizing the business, creating financial models based on the business plan to demonstrate the potential ROI and to evaluate and mitigate the associated risks through scenarios. In simple terms his role is to de-risk investment wherever possible. In addition to banks he seeks and liaises with angel investors, venture capital providers and private equity funds.
John’s extensive experience is grounded in the palm oil industry, the UK public sector (financial lead in the Army’s Think Tank Budget of £6Bn) and as COO and CE in running all back office functions including finance of the London offices of international law firms.
“Very solid introduction from a very knowledgeable instructor”
“Rich in discussion”
“Good balance between theoretical and interactive”
Agenda Details
Investment Strategy Formulation
- Long-term and short-term objectives
- Business planning
- Financial controls
- Growth strategies through monetizing products and upstream investment in the bioenergy value chain
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Pricing
- Drive commercialization through differentiated technology, capital efficiency and strong partnerships
- Key Project Financing Perquisites / Considerations
- Financial Model (included)
Costs of Capital
- Investment decisions, financing decisions and the cost of capital
- The costs of different sources of finance
- Special problems
- The weighted average cost of capital
- The cost of capital, the NPV of new projects and the value of shares
- How to avoid key finance risks
The Project Finance Market
- Capital investment appraisal including payback and the return on investment
- The use of appraisal methods in practice including explaining NPV and IRR
- Allowing for inflation and taxation in DCF
- International investment appraisal
- What Investors Look for in a Sound Bioenergy Investment
- What project financing is available and what’s the best approach to access it?
- Price volatility in biofuels feedstocks and forecasting future trends
Scaling Up & IPO
- How VCs identify suitable targets for investment
- Examining internal processes and procedures to ensure they compliance with accepted practice required by VCs.
- Sustainability Accounting requirements
- Identifying Business Improvement
- Management compliance with accepted Ethics and Governance
- Implementing Change Management
- Improving internal decision making data
- Avoiding the growing trend for stock market flotations to become the subject of litigation
Company Valuation
- How much would someone pay to take over your company?
- Reasons for share valuations - including a detailed review of the accounts of a real biofuels company
- Asset valuation and earnings valuation bases
- Cash flow valuation methods
- Dividend bases
- Other valuation bases
- Competitor Analysis of other Biomass Producers