FAQ’s

Every sector, every size. What matters to us is the opportunity, not the industry or the size of the deal. We’ve helped to unlock potential in businesses from a budding coffee company to an Apple service provider to a producer of rail maintenance equipment.

In order for Arkle to move swiftly we did not want to be restricted by having a fund, fund managers, FCA authorisation, a credit committee or needing to use third-party funders. With Arkle’s financial reserves, Mark decided to launch his own independent invoice finance company, Torus Industrial Finance Ltd. On the back of Torus’s early success, Permaquip Machine Tools Ltd and Arkle Estates Ltd were formed to further enhance the speed and simplicity with which Arkle can conclude an acquisition.

Typically, an acquisition will take anywhere between eight to ten weeks. However, when required, we have completed acquisitions in the day or two following an initial meeting.

Yes. We see beyond the numbers to look for the true potential of a business and in doing so have acquired some truly great companies. To see how Arkle has helped return problematic companies to profitability please take a look at our track record page.

Neither. Private equity and venture capital firms provide funding for fixed periods, after which businesses have to be sold. We take a different approach: there is no fixed period for our investment. We commit ourselves to achieving growth and security in our businesses for as long as it takes. This is what we mean when we describe ourselves as long-term custodians.

No. We’ve got as much to do with asset stripping as we have with paint stripping. Our whole raison d’être is to find opportunities and invest in them, for the long term. We have a track record of delivering stability, growth and success to the businesses that we buy and the people and communities behind them. In fact, we often acquire new firms that complement the operations of our businesses and combine them as part of a growth strategy.

Arkle was a famous racehorse; for many, he was the greatest steeplechaser of all time. So successful was he in the mid-1960s that he reshaped his sport and its structures. And in his native Ireland, where he was often referred to simply as ‘Himself’, he formed an extraordinary bond with the public. We won’t win many Cheltenham Gold Cups, but our brand of ethical, community-centred entrepreneurialism will, like Arkle, achieve both great success and widespread support.