Your business.
Your legacy.
Our backing.
You built it. We help you grow it, protect it, and one day realise it.
Who we partner with.
Founders, and the management teams building alongside them. Most come to us for growth capital, a path to succession, or a partner to assist in scaling your business to reach its potential.
Founders
A partner with scaling experience and connections, and, in some cases, a considered path to succession.
Management teams
Including buy-outs, where we acquire passive shareholder stakes alongside the team, and buy-ins, where we provide the capital to acquire a business and transition in new management.
What we look for.
Businesses that have:
Strong markets
Secular growth or structural tailwinds behind them.
Competitive advantage
Demonstrated advantage through above-market growth, margins, or quality of service or product.
A strong team
Aligned, sharing our values, and able to execute on a growth plan.
The real reasons founders start the conversation.
Growth capital
Funding to accelerate, without over-extending yourself or the balance sheet.
Succession
A considered path to step back, de-risk, and secure the future for your people.
Governance
Stronger boards, reporting and structure as the business scales.
Acquisitions
Backing and know-how to grow by acquisition, not just organically.
Eventual exit
A partner who helps you realise the value you have built, on your terms.
A true partner
Someone in your corner with experience to assist in building a business of scale and making strong strategic choices.
In their words.
"You did everything you said you would do, even when the ride got a little wobbly on occasion."
"You should never feel that private equity is going to hamper what you love. They're going to enhance what you love. That's what they've done here at TEN."
And from the people running the businesses we back, in their own words:
"Will I lose control
of my business
and my legacy?"
It is the question every founder asks. Our answer is simple: we do not see ourselves as operators of your business. We partner with you to build the team and the proposition, and to protect the legacy you developed.
What partnering with Fortitude looks like.
An honest conversation
Confidential, no obligation. We listen first.
A partnership, not a takeover
A structure that keeps you in the business and aligned.
Building together
Team, proposition, governance and growth, with leaders in place to maximise long-term value. This drives toward a collective realisation event at the end of a hold period appropriate to the business.
What to expect:
forming the partnership.
Alignment before investing
We seek to agree the growth plan together: priorities, the numbers that matter, and how we work with you and your team.
The first 100 days
Governance and reporting established, first hires secured, executives and non-executives as required, and an early focus on growth initiatives that is clear to everyone.
Throughout the investment
Growing and transforming the business to maximise value, through consistent working rhythms, support on strategy, and support with identifying and managing people, with exit pathways planned from the beginning and reviewed quarterly.
The questions founders ask.
Straight answers, in our own words, to the questions founders raise before they take on a partner. Each one has its own page.
How we add value.
The same three levers in every partnership: capital to move with confidence, strategy and market insight, and the people and governance to carry the business at a larger scale. What that looks like in practice differs every time.
Building a national platform
A six-clinic group grown into a national primary care platform through a dedicated acquisition capability, a professional management team and a clinical advisory board.
Read the story →
Scaling a premium manufacturer
A chef-quality food manufacturer taking share from global incumbents, with investment in people and manufacturing capability, and a bolt-on acquisition integrated inside twelve months.
Read the story →
Consolidating a fragmented market
A regional distributor turned consolidator, with a new purpose-built facility, a strengthened finance function and a repeatable acquisition process.
Read the story →Thinking about a partner for the next chapter?
Whether you are seeking additional capital, assistance with leadership succession, governance or acquisitions, or preparedness for an eventual exit, if we may be a fit for your business we would love to have a conversation.