The Bottom Line

Starting a business is often compared to bringing up a baby, and with good reason: it's costly, gives you sleepless nights and requires your attention during every waking moment. But what happens when it is time sell the business you have nurtured? Three successful entrepreneurs talk to Evan Davis about the feelings of relief and regret which can accompany selling off a business.GUESTSLiz Earle, Co-founder of Liz Earle Naturally Active SkincareWilliam Kendall, Chairman, Cawston PressJules Coleman, Co-founder of Hassle.com.

Are activist investors good or bad for the firms they target? They hunt down companies they think are underperforming. They buy a stake in the business, then lobby for change. Critics say activists want to make a fast buck and then head for the exit. But you could regard these investors as doing a valuable service - challenging poorly performing company boards and making more profit for shareholders. Top UK names like Rolls Royce and John Menzies have been affected. Explore the world of activist investors with Evan Davis. Joining him will be: activist investor, Harlan Zimmerman, senior partner at Cevian Capital; Chris Walton, a company chairman and non-executive director; and Sacha Sadan, director of corporate governance at Legal and General Investment Management. Producer: Lesley McAlpine.

Why are more top employers offering school leavers a fast track career without the need to go to university? Applicants for the top Degree Apprenticeships need to get good A level grades and pass a rigorous selection process. Their reward is the opportunity to earn a living while they gain a degree and qualify as a professional. Evan Davis discusses the pros and cons of such schemes with a high flying apprentice and two employers who are competing with universities for the brightest and best school leavers.

How do you do business when you can't see into the future? This may be what businesses always have to do, but Brexit has undeniably made the future even harder to discern than usual. When will it happen, what relationship with Europe will follow, and how will the rest of the world react? For now we don't know, but the answers to those questions will affect every business in Britain. So how are companies planning for an uncertain future while at the same time trying to ensure that whichever model of Brexit emerges is one that suits their needs. Joining Evan Davis are:Karen Briggs: Head of Brexit - KPMG Gerald Mason: SVP - Tate & Lyle Sugars Gavin Williams: Partner - Herbert Smith Freehills Producer: Joe Kent.

Theresa May has promised a bigger role for the state in business. The previously unfashionable concept of a comprehensive industrial strategy is back on the agenda. There is a new wariness about foreign investment in strategic industries such as electricity generation. Mrs May also wants to see employee representatives on company boards. Presenter Evan Davis discusses "Theresanomics" with a panel of entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. Guests include:Elizabeth Corley, vice-chair of Allianz Global Investors David Pitt-Watson, former Chair of Hermes Focus Funds and co-author of The New CapitalistsProducer: Julie Ball.

The Olympics Games is the biggest sporting event on earth. But the road to a successful Olympics can be more gruelling than a marathon. With less than two weeks to go until the opening ceremony in Rio, Evan Davis and guests discuss the difficulties of managing the money, the politics and the people. GUESTS:Neil Wood MBE, Partner, Deloitte and former CFO of London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) Gerhard Heiberg, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and President and CEO of Lillehammer Winter Olympic,s 1994Professor Andrew Zimbalist, Sports Economist, Smith College Massachusetts, Consultant and AuthorProducer: Julie BallEditor: Innes Bowen.

Is escaping the rat race always a good idea? Many people dream of giving up the day job to start their own business - and we often hear about the success stories. But does everyone have what it takes? Evan Davis and guests compare the dream and the reality. GUESTS:Luke Johnson, Entrepreneur and Founder of Risk Capital PartnersPaula Fry, former Director, Fashion Seeker UK Sarah Meredith, Sole Trader, Rock CakesDeirdre Critchley, former Director, Jammy Cow Producer: Elizabeth Cassin.

It's hard to put a value on a human life. When you're well, perhaps you don't think about it. But if you're ill, getting access to the right drugs, whatever the cost, is a priority. But the NHS does not have a bottomless pit of money. And some medicines are judged too expensive to be freely available, so patients miss out on treatments that could save or extend their lives. There are usually two villains of the piece: The drugs companies for charging too much; the NHS for not stumping up the cash. In this edition, Evan Davis and guests explore how pharmaceutical companies price their drugs, the role of the NHS in deciding how much the medicines are worth and, in the case of generic or non-branded drugs, they'll ask whether competition is working properly to keep down the NHS medicines bill. Guests: Erik Nordkamp, Managing Director, Pfizer UKCarole Longson, Director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Warwick Smith, Director-General, Bri

How will the vote to leave the EU affect big and small businesses in the UK? Evan Davis and guests discuss trade deals, tariffs and 'passporting' rights that allow UK-based firms to sell financial products and services from Britain to EU customers. They'll also explore how companies can turn the current economic uncertainty into business opportunities. Guests:Anne Richards, CEO, M & G Investments Juergen Maier, CEO Siemens UKJulia Gash, Founder and CEO, BIDBI Jan Atteslander, EconomieSuisseProducer: Sally Abrahams.

Most of us negotiate in some form or other every day - whether it's about who walks the dog, how much screen-time the kids can have or when to visit the in-laws. But too often we treat it like a competitive sport, with only one aim: to win. Which can backfire, especially when you need co-operation later on. It's much the same in business - negotiating to win at all costs is unlikely to result in a long-term, sustainable business relationship. So how to achieve a win-win situation when both sides leave satisfied and ready to do business with each other again? Evan Davis and guests explore the skills that can help settle disputes between individuals, companies and even nations. They'll discuss when to walk away from the negotiating table and they'll find out what happens when doing a deal is literally a matter of life and death. Guests: Tim Cullen, Director, Oxford Programme on Negotiation, Said Business SchoolBridie Warner-Adsetts, COO, Naylor IndustriesSue Williams, Hostage Negotiator Producer: Sally Abrahams

The business of film. Evan Davis follows the money trail from script to screen. With the help of a top independent film producer, a film distributor and the head of a top cinema chain, Evan discovers who takes the risks and who makes the money behind the scenes. GuestsAlex Hamilton, Managing Director, Entertainment One UKElizabeth Karlsen, Producer and co-founder, Number9 FilmsTim Richards, CEO, Vue International.

It is not easy to teach new tricks to the business world's old dogs. The latest fashionable solution for big corporations slowed down by bureaucracy and traditional ways of thinking is to incubate tech start-ups. The idea is that the big corporation benefits from the creativity and "can do" attitude of the start-up. In return the start-up gets funding, professional advice and help navigating the corporate world to reach the top decision makers. The model is known as "corporate acceleration" and it is growing in popularity. Evan Davis hears how it works. GUESTS: Jess Williamson, Director, Techstars with Barclays FinTech AcceleratorDavid Fogel, Head of Accelerator & Deputy Director at Wayra UKEmily Forbes, Founder, SeenitProducer: Julie Ball.

Asset management - or asset stripping? This week Evan Davis asks when making a profit from running a business becomes simple plundering.In business, things go wrong at the best of times ... mistakes are made, luck turns bad. But sometimes things can also go wrong not because of bad luck, but because someone makes money out of failure.The "profit or plunder" question has been raised by events at BHS. It was struggling, facing intense competition in a tough retail environment. But the owner took quite a bit of money out of the company. And the staff pension fund went into deficit. Sir Phillip Green, who was then in charge, sold the business to an inexperienced former bankrupt who didn't make it work and it is now in administration.This has made a lot of people angry - but aside from BHS, how do we distinguish between a case that is bad luck, a bad apple, or a system that is badly designed?Joining Evan Davis in the Bottom Line studio this week are Bruce Davis of peer-to-peer lender Abundance, Breffni Walsh of Br

What does EU membership mean for UK business and how might that change if Britain votes to leave? Business leaders join Evan Davis to discuss how trade agreements and red tape can both help and hinder corporate success. What can Switzerland teach us about trading with Europe and beyond, despite being outside the EU? Guests:Jan Atteslander, EconomieSuisse Julia Gash, CEO, BidbiChristopher Nieper, Managing Director, David NieperJayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO, Virgin Money Jon Moynihan, Chairman, Ipex Capital Producer: Sally Abrahams.

Whether it's creating Angry Birds, the best-selling mobile app, or developing the best-selling Alzheimer's drug or discovering one of the world's biggest oil fields in recent years, every company dreams of blockbuster success. But what happens after you hit the jackpot? How do you sustain that level of success? And what's needed to adapt from small start-up to big business? Evan Davis and guests share the secrets of success and explore their experiences of trying to maintain their market position. Guests:Kati Levoranta, CEO, Rovio Entertainment (creators of Angry Birds) Dr David Jefferys, Global Senior Vice President, Eisai PharmaceuticalsJón Ferrier, CEO, Gulf Keystone Petroleum Producer: Sally Abrahams.

Many senior executives now employ personal coaches to help them through their toughest business challenges. Coaches can provide confidential, independent support for senior managers who find life lonely at the top. But shouldn't the boss be capable of making decisions on his or her own? And are coaches sometimes the hidden power behind the senior executive throne?Guests:Gavin Patterson, CEO of BT GroupMelanie Richards, Vice Chairman and Partner of KPMG UKJonathan Bowman-Perks, Coach and MentorProducer: Ruth Edwards.

Horse racing is the second most popular spectator sport in the UK but it is also a business. Presenter Evan Davis and guests discuss who makes the money: the horse owners, the jockeys, the race courses or the bookmakers?Guests:Simon Bazalgette, Chief Executive, The Jockey ClubRachel Hood, Director, The Horsemen's GroupCiaran O'Brien, Group Communications Director, William Hill bookmakersProducer: Julie Ball.

Global firms like Amazon, Google and Starbucks have been criticised for using clever accounting tricks to reduce their tax bills in the UK. But how much tax should they be paying? Evan Davis and guests discuss the whys and wherefores of the international tax regime, including the role of tax havens. Along the way, they'll digest the "Dutch sandwich" and the "double Irish" tax avoidance devices used by some multinationals. And given the widespread perception that many firms don't pay their fair share of tax, they'll assess efforts by the world's major economies to rewrite the rules on corporate tax.Guests:Heather Self, Tax Partner, Pinsent MasonRolf Rothuizen, Partner, RPS Legal, AmsterdamAnthony Travers, Chairman, Cayman Islands Stock ExchangeProducer: Sally Abrahams.

The Bottom Line first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2006. At the time, Tony Blair was Prime Minister, interest rates were 4.5%, petrol was 90 pence a litre and a first class stamp cost 32p (half today's price). In a special edition, to mark ten years since the programme came on air, Evan Davis and guests discuss some of the big changes that have happened in the past decade, including: the global recession, record high and record low oil prices, a technology boom and China's extraordinary economic growth. How have businesses adapted to the changing world? Guests: Nicola Horlick, CEO, Money & CoSir Ian Cheshire, Chairman, DebenhamsNicola Shaw, CEO, HS1Ken Olisa, Founder and Chairman, Restoration Partners Producer: Sally Abrahams.

When you enter personal details onto any website or smartphone app, what happens to it? Where does it get stored, who owns it and who has access to it? These questions are becoming more relevant to ask as we put more details about every facet of our lives onto the internet. With a new piece of legislation passed in the EU dealing with this precise issue, businesses need to be up to speed with their knowledge on effective privacy managementEvan Davis and guests discuss why personal data is so valuable to business, and how the individual can also benefit from sharing this information.Guests: Mike Gordon, CEO, Callcredit Information GroupLiz Brandt, CEO, Ctrl ShiftEduardo Ustaran, Data Privacy expert and Partner, Hogan Lovells.