Week ending 30th Nov 07

Hi all,

The last two weeks have been very hectic. In my last blog, I mentioned the Integrated Finance (IF) team was in the latter stages of a deal. We were successful with our offer and have subsequently entered into exclusivity. As a result, there has been a lot of work involved with finalising details. Transactional teams have to comply with strict deadlines, consequently, working hours during the height of a deal can be quite long. As the level of contribution I can make is limited, I have not had to stay back very late (so far). However, I still managed a 10.30pm finish on Thursday. It wasn’t too bad and sort of reminded me of late nights finishing assignments at University, especially when the team ordered essential brain food aka pizza to keep us going. We hope to complete the deal very soon and I will keep you updated with progress.

On Tuesday 20th November, the IF Scotland team held a voluntary day. We spent the day helping out at the Solstice Project in Aberdeen. This is a gardening project which offers training and employment opportunities for people with mental health problems. The opportunities that Solstice offers vary from growing plants to administrative work. The organisation also enables individuals to gain formal qualifications in horticulture. We worked alongside members/employees at Solstice to plant different types of heather. The heather will later be sold on a wholesale basis to gardening centres. The attached photo is of a very tired IF Scotland team after we planted 11,000 plants! The day was extremely rewarding as our efforts equate to a days work for the project. It was also a very good team bonding session for us.

I'm going to leave the blog here as I am currently snowed under with work.

Regards,

Vish.

Week ending 09th Nov 07

Hi all,

It's been a while since I completed a blog, in fact I think I have disappeared off the radar since commencing my new placement in Integrated Finance (IF)! Though I would like to claim it is because I have been extremely busy, the real reason is that I have been away on exam leave followed by annual leave.

My move up to Edinburgh was drama free, although it took me a while to figure out the unusual heating system I have in my flat. I have been settling in to my surroundings well. I expected the weather in Edinburgh to be horrific, but it has actually been quite pleasant…hope it stays this way!

Everyone in my new team has been fantastic at welcoming me. There is a good mix of people from varying backgrounds including some who were on the graduate programme in previous years. It is always inspiring to see former grads in significant positions within Corporate. The IF Scotland team is split across two locations, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The Edinburgh office concentrates on mid market deals, of all types, throughout Scotland. The Aberdeen office focuses on deals relating to mid market businesses involved in the oil and gas services sector throughout the UK. I am currently based in Edinburgh but I am hoping to spend some time up in Aberdeen over the course of the placement. This will enable me to learn more about the oil and gas sector, in which Bank of Scotland is a leading financer.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the work in IF so far and have fortunately joined the team at a great time as we are in the latter stages of a deal. Consequently, I have been involved in reading various due diligence reports on the target business i.e. commercial, insurance, environmental etc and have contributed to querying the diligence which has been supplied. This is an important part of the deal process as it is vital that the bank fully understands the business it is proposing to invest in. As I am new to the team, I haven’t been able to get involved in preparing a financial model or credit report for the deal. However, another key requirement of the team is to continue looking for other deal opportunities and I have been active in this area. As part of the IF origination effort, I have spent time preparing short reports on businesses of interest. Preparing the report entails researching:
•The nature of trade of the business
•The market
•Key risks
•Competitors
•The company's outlook on social and environmental responsibility.
•Financial performance

Once a report is prepared, it is circulated amongst the team and discussed in order to establish whether the opportunity is one which IF wishes to pursue further.

The Bank of Scotland office in Edinburgh is substantial compared to previous offices I have worked at in my last two placements. There are numerous departments in the building and as a result, a number of grads. It has been nice to meet for lunch and after work drinks. Speaking of lunch, that's where I am off to now – Regards Vish.