HgCapital Trust

Private equity is the term given to the provision of equity and equity type risk capital to unlisted companies. It is normally used to finance beneficial change in businesses.

The changes that require equity finance are manifold and ever present. They include a change in the scale of a business (through fast growth or acquisitions), a change in ownership, often in conjunction with management (the management buyout), a change in the strategic direction of a company, a significant change in the structure and operations of a business or financing the commercialisation of new technologies.

Healthy economies require constant change in their corporate sector, otherwise they stultify. Private equity is probably the best form of finance to pay for this change as it is patient, welcomes considered risk taking, and participates directly in outcomes.
In return for their investment, private equity investors receive a share of the equity in the businesses they finance and do so with the objective of making a significant capital gain over holding periods from three to seven years.

Private equity investors like HgCapital aim to deliver their clients higher returns than may be obtained from a portfolio of public equity investments over any rolling period of five to ten years. Attractive returns can be garnered if the private equity manager exploits the inherent advantages private equity investors have over investors in public markets.