Finding the right investor
Discussion
Hello hive mind,
Could do with some guidance if anyone can help.
My employer (£70m t/o) has been really struggling and is going into administration, leaving around 200 unemployed and without wages. Not great.
I am a senior manager there and for the past year I’ve been responsible for a separate new product which we’ve launched and is actually doing really well. It’s a small percentage of the main company and was never going to be enough to save it.
I’m considering setting up on my own offering this product as we have a sales pipeline of over £2m. The margins are good (50%). I’d need to buy the manufacturing kit from the administrators and the raw material. I estimate somewhere in the region of £250k would be enough to set it up.
Loans are out of the question as it wouldn’t have any trading history and as I’ve just remortgaged I can’t get any cash out of the house.
What is the best way of finding someone who could fund such an enterprise in exchange for equity or alternatively a healthy return on the investment. I forecast we could do £700k in sales for the remaining of 2026.
Sorry for the rant. Any guidance would be much appreciated
Thanks
Could do with some guidance if anyone can help.
My employer (£70m t/o) has been really struggling and is going into administration, leaving around 200 unemployed and without wages. Not great.
I am a senior manager there and for the past year I’ve been responsible for a separate new product which we’ve launched and is actually doing really well. It’s a small percentage of the main company and was never going to be enough to save it.
I’m considering setting up on my own offering this product as we have a sales pipeline of over £2m. The margins are good (50%). I’d need to buy the manufacturing kit from the administrators and the raw material. I estimate somewhere in the region of £250k would be enough to set it up.
Loans are out of the question as it wouldn’t have any trading history and as I’ve just remortgaged I can’t get any cash out of the house.
What is the best way of finding someone who could fund such an enterprise in exchange for equity or alternatively a healthy return on the investment. I forecast we could do £700k in sales for the remaining of 2026.
Sorry for the rant. Any guidance would be much appreciated
Thanks
Forgive my cynicism but I always find is suspicious when someone who's only made one contribution on PH over the past couple of years suddenly drops something like this.... but I'm feeling benevolent this evening, so....
The product is not yours to sell.
If the company goes into administration, then the rights to the product are transferred to the administrator.
You will be able to buy the manufacturing gear from them but buying the rights to the product will be another.
Regardless of your involvement in the development of the product, if it were developed as part of your employment you have no claim to it (look up the guy who invented Post-It notes).
The administrator will of course be keen to sell the rights to the product. Any investor will want ownership equating to the percentage of the price that they pay. So if they stump up everything, the best you can hope for is a job working for the investor - perhaps a few percentage points of ownership on top. If you want any significant level of ownership, you will have to put your own skin in the game.
The product is not yours to sell.
If the company goes into administration, then the rights to the product are transferred to the administrator.
You will be able to buy the manufacturing gear from them but buying the rights to the product will be another.
Regardless of your involvement in the development of the product, if it were developed as part of your employment you have no claim to it (look up the guy who invented Post-It notes).
The administrator will of course be keen to sell the rights to the product. Any investor will want ownership equating to the percentage of the price that they pay. So if they stump up everything, the best you can hope for is a job working for the investor - perhaps a few percentage points of ownership on top. If you want any significant level of ownership, you will have to put your own skin in the game.
I tend not to contribute on PistonHeads but I enjoy reading various threads.
Administrator won’t be arsed about this bit. It’s a very small part of the mess they’ll be sorting out.
It’s not a unique product as such but there is a patent on it. Indications suggest they would be willing to offload the equipment, brand name and an IP for a very small amount of £.
Planning on putting some cash in obviously, just couldn’t manage the full amount. Was just wondering how people go about getting in touch with the right people
Administrator won’t be arsed about this bit. It’s a very small part of the mess they’ll be sorting out.
It’s not a unique product as such but there is a patent on it. Indications suggest they would be willing to offload the equipment, brand name and an IP for a very small amount of £.
Planning on putting some cash in obviously, just couldn’t manage the full amount. Was just wondering how people go about getting in touch with the right people
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