Exit Strategies

Executing a slick full exit takes preparation, thick skin and bags of raw cunning. Nick Britton finds out how to avoid the pitfalls and get the best price.

Entrepreneurs

Passion matters. It is why entrepreneurs start businesses. It is what persuades others to get involved, as employees, customers or suppliers. It is a sustaining force during bad times. But it is not necessarily inexhaustible. Successful growth creates plenty of ways that can diminish its force.

News

Keronite, the developer of new metal-coating process that hardens the surface of aluminium and magnesium alloys, has concluded a £10 million funding round backed by hi-tech VCT firm Quester (£1.3 million) and private investor network Hotbed (£2.7 million) among others.

Entrepreneurs

Paul Woodmansterne inherited the family business with his sister and Watford-based Woodmansterne Publications has become a leading publisher of fine-art and culturally-inspired greetings cards in the UK. Founded originally in 1953 as a publisher of colourslides, the company introduced its first greetings cards in 1987.

Alternative Finance for Business

Looking for private equity backing? With the current market providing such rich pickings there is all the more reason to be discerning and the question is: what makes one private equity funder better than another for a particular management team?

Growth Planning

Simon Rogan is in the enviable position of having founded and grown his company, Sirocom, without ever having to seek external financing. However, relying on its own resources is a limiting factor for growth, so the group is facing the dilemma of whether or not to seek external financing to expand more rapidly.