-I’ve had experience with venture capitalists >
I’ve had experience with venture capitalists, and those experiences have been good. Putting Tanfield together originally used up loads of development capital; they put up about a million pounds for me to do the deal. Within a space of two years they walked away with over £3m so they were very happy.
I think it’s all about recognising that you’ve got to stay in touch with people; you’ve got to be prepared to go and make contact with them and see them on a regular basis, keep them in touch with the story. For us, there hasn’t been a lot of issues with control; there’s been no interference in the business or anything like that.
I think there’s a misconception that people have about venture capitalists, that view of Big Brother looking over your shoulder making sure the business is operating in certain ways. I’ve found that that isn’t the case at all.
Roy StanleyTanfield Group Plc
