One example is when you look at fixed-cost industries – it is difficult for a small-scale business to generate sufficient returns, as the cost base is spread across too few customers.
What is the solution? Often the business owners look to grow their way to bigger scale, and the next question is, can we do that ourselves, or do we need to buy another business?
Investing in people and capacity to make the next step leads to a financing challenge that I regularly consider. Sometimes the ambition is greater than the debt availability, requiring new equity or a scaled-back plan.
The other alternative is to acquire or merge with another business, which is usually easier to finance.
My primary role in these growth-focused transactions is to assess the deliverable financing structure, and then execute a debt funding mandate to bring a project to a successful conclusion.
Along the way there is always the need for professional support, and I am grateful to my network of contacts who have a key role to play – bringing people together is one of the enjoyable by-products of my business activity.
I know that speaking to professionals in the market, that this resonates with many of you, and in these more uncertain times, sticking to industrial logic is a good touchstone for all of us.