Private equity is committed, long-term and risk sharing. It provides companies with personal experience and a stable financial base on which to make strategic decisions.

More often than not, when considering accepting private equity investment, company owners are concerned about how having a new partner will impact control, degrees of freedom to operate, core decision making and future employment. There are many stories of private equity firms swinging into companies and taking control, making decisions and eventually forcing management out. However, there are many more (often untold) stories where this is not the case. In fact, we would argue that we a private equity would not exist if this were the norm.

There is a much more practical middle ground - based upon the simple tenant that it is the CEO's company to run and it is the investors' job to provide the extra resources, connections and advice needed to succeed.

Often described as Principle-based Management, the partners need to agree expectations and key targets such as milestones, end results and other basic principles up front. Once agreed, it is the CEO's show. By being clear at the outset, it is easy to monitor progress and build trust.

There is no way any investor could be more knowledgeable than the entrepreneur when it comes to the specifics of a given company, industry dynamics or customer interactions. Furthermore, experience shows that investors take a hit if the CEO's role is usurped, and most avoid this scenario at all costs.

The other side of the coin is that the entrepreneur must also put trust in the knowledge and experience of the investor. While an investor might not be as experienced as the entrepreneur in that one business, they are much more experienced in the process of building businesses and in managing risks. Investors have seen a lot of successful and failed models.

The entrepreneur can either learn from this experience or learn by making the mistakes themselves. Some feel a need to be self-reliant and this could be a big mistake. It is surprising how similar different situations are across industries and companies.

Studies show that, on average, private equity backed companies' sales rise by more than three times the growth rate achieved by FTSE SmallCap companies. In fact, the vast majority of private equity backed entrepreneurs say that without funding their business would not have survived at all or would have developed less rapidly.

And, on the whole, private equity backed companies create jobs at a considerably faster rate than other more established firms. Private equity-backed companies increased their staff levels at a rate more than three times that of FTSE SmallCap companies. This is put down to investors providing financial advice, guidance on strategic matters and for management recruitment purposes as well as with their contacts and market information.

With the Fox's Lair, we are giving entrepreneurs and business owners a closed forum to interact with ourselves and our unique circle of top-ranking UK investors. We are confident that the Isle of Man is full of hidden jewels…companies that have the potential to become global leaders in their chosen markets. There are only three questions to ask yourself before applying;

• Does your company have high growth prospects and are you and your team ambitious to grow your company rapidly?
• Does your company have a product or service with a competitive edge or unique selling point (USP)?
• Are you willing to sell some of your company's shares to a private equity investor?

If your answers are 'yes', Fox's Lair is worth considering. There is nothing to lose but everything to gain! Visit www.foxeslair.strivepr.com for more info and an application

By Justin Martin, Director, Fox Capital