How much personal capital is needed to make a transaction happen?

The investment level you, as a private buyer, will need depends on a number of factors including:

• The funder’s view of the business and it’s sector
• The amount of capital you have available for investment
• The transaction value
• Whether the seller is willing to retain shares in the business, post sale
• A funder’s own lending parameters for the size and type of transaction in question

Ultimately, the amount of capital needed is a feature of the size of transaction but a base figure you might consider would be in the region of £100,000 minimum and on average, between £100,000 and £250,000 will give you a good fighting chance of success on the purchase of a UK based private company.