Paul joined the Adam Smith Business School as a Lecturer in Finance. He was previously a PhD researcher where his thesis investigated private equity buyouts and their impact on target firm performance. He holds further Finance (MSc) and Economics (BSc) degrees from the University of Glasgow.

His primary research interests are in the area of private equity, with a particular focus on assessing the impact of private equity buyouts on firm performance and firm behaviour. His work has been published in journals including the British Journal of Management and the Bank for International Settlements Working Paper Series. His research has also been featured on several media & policy outlets including Institutional Investor and SUERF. He is a research affiliate at the Centre for Private Equity and MBO Research (CMBOR) at the University of Nottingham, and at the UK Productivity Institute.

Paul previously worked in an investment bank and has worked with a UK private equity investor.

Paul's published and ongoing research can be found below, and on his SSRN page

Recent press coverage:

• https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1h9a5bcvrhfk0/The-Pandemic-Boosted-the-Case-for-PE
• https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1h92xmblf90xs/PE-Backed-Companies-Outperform-Peers-But-What-Happens-After-Sponsors-Leave
• https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/going-for-growth/investment/agenda
• https://www.suerf.org/suer-policy-brief/35293/private-equity-buyouts-and-firm-exports-evidence-from-uk-firms
• https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1rzqk4jpczpns/Here-s-One-Little-Known-Way-That-Private-Equity-Ownership-Adds-Value

Paul is a member of the School's Finance research cluster.

Areas of expertise:

• Private equity
• Venture capital

Paul's primary research interest is investigating the impact of private equity buyouts on firm performance & behaviour. He is a research affiliate of the Centre for Private Equity & MBO Research (CMBOR) at the University of Nottingham.

Paul’s other current line of work informs the research agenda of the newly established ESRC-funded Productivity Institute. This work, co-authored with the lead representative of the Institute in Scotland, Prof. John Tsoukalas, will deepen the understanding of the role of finance in business growth, productivity, reallocation and dynamism, building from the micro, regional, and macro levels.

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Supervisory interests

• Private equity
• Management buyouts
• Venture capital
• Empirical corporate finance with a focus on corporate transactions or firm-level outcomes

Paul is currently supervising one PhD student whose thesis examines the links between private capital investment and political uncertainty & political connections.

• Song, Huihui
  Princeling connections and corporate culture: a textual analysis

Current lecturing

• Corporate finance (UG & PG)
• Economics of banking (UG)

Links

• LinkedIn
• SSRN

Work in progress

• Private equity buyouts and firm exports: Evidence from UK firms (with Jose-Maria Serena, Marina-Eliza Spaliara & Serafeim Tsoukas)
• Buying High? Private equity buyout pricing, returns, and portfolio firm performance across UK regions (with Kevin Amess & Marina-Eliza Spaliara)
• Private equity & regional spillovers in the UK (with Kevin Amess & Marina-Eliza Spaliara)
• Private equity & access to credit during the COVID-19 pandemic (with Nick Wilson)
• Private equity & portfolio firm performance post-exit (with Nick Wilson)
• Private equity portfolio firm performance during the COVID-19 pandemic (with Nick Wilson)
• Firm size & productivity (with John Tsoukalas)