Paul Canning, an investment manager for Gresham Trust, which put 50m into backing the Busy Bees group in February 2000, said, 'There's nothing mysterious about the way we assess a business opportunity. The right chemistry is all-important - you have to be willing to let us in to your business. We see our investment as the start of a long-term partnership: we need openness, honesty, and trust.
'There has to be a "no surprises" culture - we have to share good and bad news. And we have to have "goal alignment" - are we both looking for the same thing?'
John Woodward, managing director of Busy Bees, said the group had gone through a failed investment before its involvement with Gresham, which had left it extremely wary. Now it had finally found a successful partnership. 'We are now comfortable with Gresham, but it took time. None of it's easy, it's about working at it. It's about listening and learning from each other. We've worked well together because we've got a single aim.'
He stressed that the company had put a finance director in place before starting to talk to investors again, and warned, 'When people start talking about big numbers, it's quite seductive.' Busy Bees had also carried out a number of checks on Gresham, including its usual length of investment - about eight and a half years - and how people involved in other businesses that had been backed by Gresham felt about the experience. A potential investor's staff turnover was also important, he said. 'You may do a deal and then everybody walks off and all you're left with is a piece of paper.'
