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About Capital For Colleagues

Overview

Capital for Colleagues (C4C) specialises in advising, investing in and supporting the growth of existing or aspiring employee owned businesses (EOBs). Following thorough investment analysis, C4C may undertake equity and debt investments in such companies, using our own patient capital.

We have a proven management team with over fifty years combined experience in the employee owned business sector. We have a wide network of contacts and associates, as well as established access to investment opportunities. This enables us to identify and make strategic investment decisions – exclusively in employee owned businesses.

The EOB sector currently accounts for a combined annual turnover in excess of £30 billion in the UK, representing a significant contribution to the nation’s GDP. This sector continues to  grow and now accounts for over 1,300 such businesses. In spite of this growth, British EOBs traditionally suffer from limited funding options and support, as established providers of equity capital and debt have not fully embraced the opportunity, nor do they fully understand the needs of this growing sector. Consequently, Capital for Colleagues introduced a new asset class for investors by backing employee owned businesses and is now the leading provider of alternatives to debt and vendor financing.

Strategy

Capital for Colleagues plc (C4C) has a clearly defined strategy of advising, investing in and supporting the growth of mainly UK companies that either have an existing structure of employee ownership or are looking to establish one.

Becoming an employee owned business is now recognised as an attractive succession option for SME businesses in particular. Capital for Colleagues can advise companies on all aspects of becoming employee owned, including helping to project manage the transition. If funding is needed, Capital for Colleagues will look closely at the investment opportunity and provided our criteria are met, consider undertaking an initial equity investment. This may be supported by debt funding to support the growth of the business.

Investing in Capital for Colleagues provides investors with exposure to an alternative, distinct and strongly performing asset class.  C4C has made over 25 investments and we maintain an active growth strategy, in order to maintain our leading position within the EOB sector.

Our experience over the past 10 years has led us to focus on the hybrid share ownership structure as the model of choice. We believe this blends the best of indirect and direct ownership for employees.

Notably, we are one of the very few specialists advising and investing in the EOB sector and quite naturally we have developed a strong relationship with the leading industry body, the Employee Ownership Association. This well-established link provides us with access to one important pool of potential businesses to work with, whilst also offering an additional service and resource to members of the EOA.