With a tinge of yellow showing in the leaves, it reminds us how quickly this year is going by. The team at Axial Capital hopes it’s been a good Summer for all of our clients and associates!
 

Onto business, and whilst increased volumes of funding flowed into businesses and real estate in the recent weeks, it’s worth noting where that money actually went. Plenty of growing businesses benefited of course, but within the investment industry substantial sums also changed hands between VC/PE houses as stakes in investee companies were traded and portfolios were rebalanced. This is effectively an investment neutral position for the marketplace, but the positive take from this is the sharpened focus of investment houses, and the willingness to continue to support growing businesses. 
 

 We have been involved in this continued flow of capital across the corporate and real estate space this past month, overseeing placement of credit lines to property lending and vehicle leasing companies, and completing private equity transactions into residential and hotel operations. If you are considering your finance needs, the headlines of what you should think about when raising capital can be seen on our Getting Funded page. We like to share a highline overview of transactions and industry news each month, and here’s what we’ve seen over the recent weeks:

 

•  Growth by acquisition is a good approach to expansion when a company can manage the commercial and cultural integration that comes with it. Presently we are advising 2 firms on post-Covid rollups, negotiating terms on the purchase and contracts, and providing effective capital to ensure successful completion. For clients looking at this approach to growth, our team can answer your questions on financing and transacting on buyouts, including protecting your downside on earn-out performance risk.   
•  With the bricks & mortar market creaking back into action, co-investment equity and operational growth finance is once again readily available for well structured property projects, generally at £500k+. Two current clients include a hotel that we’re assisting through an expansion and refinance, and; a residential development for 20 dwellings in the Midlands which requires both bank lending and additional equity on a value of £8.4m. Additionally, a £25m credit line for a property lender is being finalised as the market reinvigorates at all levels. 

 Funding rounds continue with success across the market, with notable completions in July including:

• A London-based sex therapy app has raised £1m in their seed round!
• Tandem has secured £4.7m for expaning its digital language training
• Lockdown increased our awareness of mental health in the UK, and MyHelp has secured additional funding to support its digital solution

As part of ongoing dialogue with clients on how to raise capital, whether as VC investment or institutional credit, we often come back to the points of preparedness and market traction. To petition an investor for funds, the starting point is a succinct deck or business appraisal that illustrates how you’ve proven concept and how you’ve secured revenue streams – and off the back of that discussions can be much more positively focused on how the investment will be structured and transacted. We continue to work with clients to create their investment proposition, and to work alongside them where necessary in achieving revenue targets and successful capital raises.  You can contact us directly if you’d like us to do the same for you.