Alternative Finance for Business

Financing deals with asset-based lending

Asset-based lending (ABL) is increasingly being used as part of the funding mix and now effectiveness post-deal is also attracting deal makers.

Venture Capital Funding

Ten steps to a successful buy-out

Spectacular returns can be achieved through an MBO. Nevertheless, some of the deals currently under consideration could well end in failure due to basic errors in judgement.

Insurance

Planning for disaster

Industrial accidents, acts of terrorism and natural disasters are never out of the headlines, so it's more important than ever to have contingency plans in place. Oliver Haill talks to companies who learned important lessons when disaster struck.

Financial Management

Blood from a stone – Credit Management Strategies that work

Debt is a perennial problem for businesses in the UK and many find their cash flow crippled by unpaid invoices. Oliver Haill investigates the choice of credit management strategies companies can take.

News

Ingenious backs The Invisible Band

Media-industry investment business Ingenious has signed its second deal with record label Independiente, having agreed to invest an initial £2 million in the production of melodic Scottish pop-rock outfit Travis’ fifth album. Both of Ingenious’ Music VCTs are involved in the deal.

Mergers & Acquisitions

YFM secures £4m ORE deal

Private equity group YFM has supported a £4 million management buy-in at hair care and beauty products manufacturer ORE.an, in a deal that installs industry stalwart Richard Mears as chief executive of the £3 million annual turnover business.

News

Just Trays attracts Gresham

Leeds-based shower tray manufacturer Just Trays has undergone a management buyout, backed by Gresham Private Equity for an undisclosed sum. The group, which now has an estimated 20 per cent share of the UK shower tray market, boasts a range of high-end products with several more designs in the pipeline.

News

Dixons founder lured by Acorn

Lord Kalms of Edgware, the founder and now life president of Dixons, has joined the board of European soft drinks start-up Acorn Brands as chairman, while Fleming Family & Partners has made €100 million (£69 million) available to fund expansion.

Growth Planning

Outsourcing IT: Your path to strategic freedom?

Outsourcing increasingly complex IT tasks to the experts can leave you free to focus on your core business goals, as GrowthBusiness reports. But how do you decide who to entrust with such tasks.

Company Flotations

Work Group targets AIM

Recruitment specialist Work Group, founded by executive chairman Simon Howard and colleagues with £1 million in 2000, intends to raise £7 million through an AIM float in March.

PR and Marketing Strategy

Create the perfect business card

Egotistical, gimmicky and grim! That is the description of the millions of business cards creating a bad impression on prospective clients, according to research from Lancaster University and print group The Entwistle Group.

Growth Planning

UK business expansion hotspot locations

Some areas of the UK are bending over backwards to encourage business growth, be it relocation or expansion. GrowthBusiness investigates ten hotspots your company should consider.