KCP Blog

If your relationship’s gone stale, maybe it’s time for a new partner?

Thu, 31/03/2011 - 3:00pm

To say that the last few years have been challenging for owner-managed businesses would be the understatement of the decade. For many, the prospect of an exit has been but a distant dream as the focus has turned to maintaining a healthy cash flow, let alone a profit margin.

In our Opinion

Tue, 27/07/2010 - 2:25pm

A banker is someone who will lend you his umbrella when the sun is out, but ask for it back when it starts to rain.

Quite clearly, as far as the average banker is concerned, it has been pouring with rain in the UK for some time.

Key Capital Partners on the emergency budget

Tue, 22/06/2010 - 1:00pm

With a roll of drums, George Osborne sets off on his tightrope walk, treading the fine line between successfully cutting the deficit and plunging the country back into recession. And it looks as if he may have pulled it off. The VAT hike was unwelcome but not unexpected, and the changes to CGT, although not ideal, will do a lot to protect wealth creators.

Key Capital Partners on the public spending cuts

Wed, 26/05/2010 - 12:00am

We are not wholly convinced that the regional development agencies in their current form provide the best way of delivering business support, but indiscriminate spending cuts made on the back of limited regional knowledge are not the answer. There has long been a lack of regional focus in government policy, and it would appear, following Tuesday’s Queen’s speech, that that is set to continue under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

Key Capital Partners on the Budget 2010

Wed, 24/03/2010 - 9:00am

We were pleasantly surprised by the Budget which was unexpectedly pro-business. The measures to support SMEs and entrepreneurs, including the doubling of capital gains tax relief, appear to have slipped under Gordon Brown’s radar.

Alistair Darling may emerge as an unsung hero, amid a jaded Labour cabinet, as he has taken concrete measures to support business in driving forward economic recovery.

Dinosaurs

Wed, 24/02/2010 - 9:00am

In the new economy, the existing private equity model is unsustainable and outdated, relying as it does on excessive leverage, financial engineering and balance sheet magic. But at present, the majority of the private equity industry is struggling to adjust to this new financial and economic landscape. Left too long, they will face the fate of the dinosaurs, extinction.

Austerity Chic?

Tue, 24/02/2009 - 1:00am

Frugality is the new craze sweeping the nation; or at least it seems to be.

Asda CEO Andy Bond has reported a 40 per cent increase in sales of cooking ingredients, alongside a similar drop in the sale of certain ready meals. The Daily Telegraph is printing recipe ideas to help its readers make the most of their leftovers.

Is spending really going to save us?

Tue, 24/02/2009 - 1:00am

It’s pretty much accepted now that the UK economy is headed for tough times. Even Alastair Darling, whose glasses must be so rosy that he has trouble telling red from green, expects negative economic growth in 2009, with all the misery of business failures and redundancies that this will bring.

In Search of a Silver Lining ...?

Mon, 23/02/2009 - 1:00am

“The bigger the boom, the bigger the bust,” so the saying goes; it’s 18 years since the UK economy last recorded negative growth so the boom looks pretty big in retrospect. The bust has so far lived up to this billing with banking bailouts, stock market crashes and a housing market in freefall.