124th Business Lunch: Rejections, Reflections and Projections – Innholders’ Hall

Rejections, Reflections and Projections

Our 124th Business lunch will be held at Innholders’ Hall on Wednesday 25th February 2026 with guest speaker and one of the UK’s leading IT analysts, Richard Holway MBE.

Innholders’ Hall

Hidden just behind the bustle of Lower Thames Street in the heart of the City, Innholders’ Hall stands on a site used by the Worshipful Company of Innholders for over 500 years.

From its first Royal Charter in 1514, awarded by Henry VIII, to its present-day splendour, the Hall has witnessed centuries of London’s evolving history. Despite destruction in the Great Fire of 1666 and damage during the Blitz of 1941, it has been faithfully restored, preserving its distinguished oak-panelled Great Hall and the exquisite 1670 plaster ceiling of the Old Court Room.

About Guest Speaker:

Richard Holway MBE has long been considered to be one of the UK’s leading IT analysts.

Richard started as a computer programmer 60 years ago and progressed to become Group Marketing Director at Hoskyns (now CapGemini) before starting his own research company in 1986. The Holway Report became the bible of the financial performance of the UK tech sector. Hotnews, launched in 1996, was one of the first tech blogs – and is still going to this day.

After selling to Ovum in 2000 – where he served as a director until  their IPO and sale in 2006 – he joined the boards of many private and public companies including the Allianz Technology Trust which he helped to grow from a valuation of £50m in 2007 to over £1.4b when he stepped down in Dec 2019.

In 2002 he was  a co-founder of the Prince’s Trust Technology Leadership Group (which has todate raised over £80m) and went on to serve on the Trust’s Advisory Board until 2016. He was awarded an MBE in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours. The citation read ‘for services to young people’.

In 2009 Richard co-founded TechMarketView and served as its Chairman until the MBO in 2023.

Richard is a Partner of ScaleUP Group and his often outspoken views on the tech sector are still very widely read.

Richard is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, a Patron of Eikon – the Charity for Children in Surrey – and the King’s Trust.