For founders · Investing
We invest in founders who make things.
If your business makes a physical product and you want to grow it, at home and abroad, above all in the United States, we would like to hear from you. We bring our own money, a seat on your board, and help from people who have built businesses like yours.
Need one of us in the business, without the investment? That's a different conversation.
Why physical products
AI still needs the machine.
Every new technology still runs on something real. Somebody has to design it, make it, ship it and look after it, and those are the businesses where we have spent our careers.
We know what it takes to grow one: getting the cost of making it right, the long sales cycles, and winning the first customers in a new country, usually in person. That is where we help most.
Who it's for
Founders with a product, and somewhere bigger to take it.
- A physical product
- Something real that customers buy. Any sector. Engineering, agri-tech, food and environmental are where we have the most experience.
- Growth at home and abroad
- You want to sell further afield, and in the United States most of all. That is where we have been building.
- Ideally already selling
- Paying customers are the best evidence there is. It isn't a rule, though. We have spent time with founders before they were trading.
- Built to last
- You want a business that lasts. So do we. We're not after a quick flip.
What we bring
Money, and people who have done it.
- Our own money
- We're not a fund. Usually up to £200k to start, and more for the right business.
- A seat on your board
- People who have run businesses and sat on boards, and a phone that gets answered.
- One of us in the business
- Where it fits, one of us works in the business with you, for example leading a new market.
- Marketing and sales
- Help finding the customers, and the message, that turn a good product into a growing business.
How it works
Our preferred deal, in three steps.
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01
We invest for a stake
We put our money in for a share of the business, at a value we agree together.
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02
Profits pay us back
The business pays us back from its profits until we have had our money back plus an agreed return. The faster it pays, the less it costs.
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03
We keep a smaller share
As it pays, our stake steps down to a smaller share that we keep, and we carry on helping.
If one of us works in the business, that is paid like any hire, separate from the investment. We will also consider straight equity where it suits the business better.
The principle
We're paid from profits, never by pushing for a sale.
So you never have to sell. If one day you want to, our advice on it is as objective as it gets, because our deal never needed a sale.
The small stake we keep is how we stay on your side for the long run. We want to help build businesses that last.
Who you deal with
New as investors, not new to building businesses.
Between us we have built a global environmental business from a concept, doubled an international engineering group's revenue to £132m, raised nine figures of private equity, and put $40m to work building a business in the United States from scratch.
We have raised money as founders ourselves, so we know what good backing feels like from your side of the table. You deal with one of the three of us, throughout.
Before you ask
The questions founders ask first.
How much do you invest?
Usually up to £200k to start, and more for the right business. It is our own money, so there is no fund behind it and no clock.
Will we have to sell one day?
No. We're paid from profits, never by pushing for a sale. Whether you ever sell is up to you.
Will you take over?
No. It stays your business. We take a seat on the board and help where we are useful. If one of us works in it, that is agreed with you first and paid like any hire.
Is it only the United States?
No. We help founders grow at home and abroad. The United States is where we have been building, and usually the biggest prize.
Will anyone know we have spoken?
No. It stays between you and the three of us, and nothing goes further without your say-so.
Start with an hour.
Tell us what you make and where you want to take it. One of the three of us replies personally.