INVESTMENT PROCESS

To qualify for consideration you must send us a 2-page Executive Summary that demonstrates that your business –

is in a growth sector, driven by economic, demographic, environmental or legislative change;
has a well defined strategy including a sustainable competitive advantage and barriers to entry;
has a management team with a strong and relevant track record;
has a product that delights its customers;
is robust to economic downturn.

During the due diligence process you should be prepared to demonstrate that you -

have credible financial projections, validated and sensitised;
have made a commitment to relentlessly fight costs;
are prepared to sell part of your business at a price that will provide for a satisfactory return for ARC, given the risk we are taking;
have a business that has goodwill value to trade purchasers even in extremis;
have the ability to realize the full potential of the business and to wisely employ its cash flows;
can be counted on to channel the reward from the business to the shareholders rather than to yourself.

A typical process and timescale prior to investment is as follows:

Initial Contact (week 1)

Initial contact will be made by sending us your 2 page Executive Summary.
Once received, if we are interested in taking matters further we will make contact with you within 1 week.

Assessment (weeks 1-6)

If your application meets our criteria, we will arrange a meeting with you and review your business plan.
We will then decide whether to undertake initial due diligence.

Negotiating an Investment (weeks 6-9)

If we wish to proceed, we will provide you with details of the terms of a possible investment. If you agree with this, we will seek approval for an investment from our investment committee.

Formal Offer Letter (weeks 9-10)

Once the investment is approved, we will make you a formal offer.
This will be subject to various terms and conditions that need to be satisfied prior to completion.

Legal Process (weeks 9-14)

If you accept our offer we will produce legal documentation including a Shareholders’ Agreement and any amendments to the Articles of Association

Due Diligence (weeks 9-14)

We will undertake further due diligence including references, an accounting investigation and market reports if appropriate.

Completion (week 14)

Legal completion with funds invested.

No investment is the same and in some cases may take more or less time to complete than indicated. We will keep you informed as to where you are in our process. If, at any stage, we decide not to proceed then we will let you know as soon as we can.