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Foundry Capital

How we intend to structure capital for succession transitions.

Foundry Capital is the name used for Steward Foundry’s acquisition-capital activities. This page is general information about our intended approach.

01 — The thesis

A succession needs three things at once, and the third is where it usually fails.

It needs an owner who can genuinely run the company. It needs funding that is not in a hurry. And it needs a structure that leaves the business stronger than it found it. Remove any one and the transition does not fail loudly; it fails slowly.

Most attention in this market goes to finding companies, and most capital goes to buying them. Comparatively little goes to the question of who is going to run the business on the Monday.

That is the question we are organised around.
02 — Intended alignment

How the interests are intended to line up.

Hover a participant to see what they contribute and what they carry.

Participant 01
Investors
Long-dated capital, without an obligation to force a sale on a date.
Participant 02
Owner-steward
Personal equity, daily accountability, presence in the business.
Participant 03
Steward Foundry
Selection, preparation and oversight, with our reputation attached to each placement.
Alignment
The company itself
Returns are intended to come from the company trading well over a long period rather than from refinancing or reselling it quickly.
The steward's own capital is at risk in the same instrument, on the same timetable, as the investors'.
We are paid for transitions that hold, not for transactions that close. A failed handover costs us the next ten owners.
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03 — Intended selection standards

The owner matters as much as the asset.

A good company under the wrong owner becomes a poor investment, so we intend to underwrite the person as rigorously as the accounts.

01Profitable trading history through at least one downturn
02Customer base that is broad rather than concentrated
03Work that requires real skill to reproduce
04A steward whose experience matches the operating reality
05Borrowing the company can carry through a bad year
04 — Current position

Where this actually stands today.

Steward Foundry has not completed an acquisition and does not hold committed capital. The legal and regulatory structure for these activities is being established with UK advisers, and this page will be updated to reflect it once that work is complete.

We do not present hypothetical investments or illustrative case studies as completed transactions.

Important

Nothing on this page is an offer to sell or issue any investment, a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment, investment advice, a personal recommendation, a guarantee of return, or an indication that any investment is suitable for any person. Foundry Capital is not a fund, is not a regulated collective investment scheme, and is not an authorised person. Steward Foundry is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Capital of the kind described would be illiquid, long-dated and high risk. See the full investment disclaimer.