About Quilam
We are pro-active investors, taking a unique, hands-on approach to help businesses reach their potential
Engaged
We are partners, not funders. We invest in enterprises with real potential, run by ambitious people, helping them overcome challenges and develop their business.
Plain Speaking
We are straight talking, saying no when we need to and yes when we want to. Our no-nonsense approach ensures clarity at all times and helps position clients for future success.
Adaptive
Every business opportunity is different. We are fast and flexible in our response, structuring transactions with bespoke features that will meet the needs of entrepreneurs and management teams.
Obsessive
We’re forensic with data, combining our deep experience and obsession with detail to identify risks and opportunities ahead of others.
Our Values
At Quilam, we provide flexible investment for ventures that excite us. Combining targeted financial solutions with expert guidance and advice, we work alongside our clients, helping them overcome challenges and accelerate their business performance.
Our core team has over 80 years’ combined sector experience, encompassing Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, NatWest, Shawbrook and EY, and a leading track-record of investment, making us the go-to speciality finance partner. We’ve completed over 150 transactions across the investment spectrum.
The team are proud to have built two market-leading lending franchises from scratch, deploying capital at both senior and mezzanine levels and we’ve executed transactions across eight countries and multiple asset classes. Our wider management team also offers corporate finance, marketing, balance sheet optimisation and operational expertise to provide a full range of private equity services and executive support.
With a focus on long-term relationships, we only get involved with businesses in which we see great potential. Client chemistry is critical, and we actively seek out those ventures where we see an opportunity for collaboration, understanding, and shared success.
At Quilam we recognise that each funding requirement is different and so by providing tailored capital solutions we aim to offer a unique package to businesses we support.
Finding The One
Experts With Entrepreneurial Flair
A business is fundamentally its people and so above all else we want to work with strong management teams with entrepreneurial flair who ideally have a track-record in their chosen sector. Understanding their strengths but also where the gaps are (which we can hopefully fill) is critical as well as Quilam being culturally a good fit for them and vice versa.
Alignment And Impact
Alignment is key. We seek to back businesses in order to share in their success but we are also with them through the challenges and of course potential failures. Therefore being aligned economically to this on all sides is crucial meaning we want to see management retaining a material upside but also having “skin in the game” in relation to any downside. The business should also have core values which aim to make a difference through a considered ESG policy approach.
A Plan That Works
The plan should demonstrate a compelling business model in sectors with attractive metrics and product characteristics to support sustainable, profitable growth. Sustainability for us is very important; can the business achieve break even and profitability using up a reasonable level of resources in terms of capital, people and time? We see many business plans with j-curve type growth plans and we welcome that ambition, however having a lower growth plan that also works effectively is important.
Paving New Paths
We like differentiation through technology, product design and/or service proposition. We see a number of “me too” type proposals where there is limited or no differentiation from the options and choices which are already available. Importantly though we strongly believe in not always reinventing the wheel so enhancing or improving on older models can make for a great business if executed correctly.
Risk Management At The Core
A strong focus on, understanding and appreciation of risk is important to us. Anybody can lend money but getting it back is the real skill and so being able to demonstrate through using technology, filters, scorecards and even gut feel how risk is being managed is a key part of the proposition for us.
Market-leading Compliance
An ambition for operational excellence and a market-leading approach to compliance is important. Understanding how the single unit economics of a business works and how this can be improved through strong technology led operations/automation is a vital component of our assessment and building this facilitates an ability to have a robust governance framework.