Nothing like a timeline to focus the mind

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In his 1952 book, Relativity and the Problem of Space, Albert Einstein introduced the concept of ‘happening and becoming, not being suspended, ’ and that ‘the only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once’. This isn’t strictly true of the private equity (PE) industry, but it does have a different notion of time from many public limited companies (PLCs) that shapes its culture and gives it the ability to operate with a freedom many trade owners would die for.  

Why is the model different? Rather than raising investment on the stock market, as PLCs do, PE firms raise funds from institutional investors, such as pension funds, insurance companies, endowments and high-net-worth individuals. The aim is to provide a return to investors within, typically, a three- to five-year timeline. No sooner has PE acquired a business than the new owners are thinking about an accelerated growth plan, typically doubling the size of the ...