Who owns The Summit Group?
The Summit Group is a private company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brighthand. Brighthand is 100% owned by directors and staff of The Summit Group.

What is Summit Alpha?
Summit Alpha is a 41.5 % owned investment company managed by The Summit Group through which Summit makes investments.

Where is Summit based?
The Summit Group is based in the heart of the City of London, at The Pavilion, 3 Broadgate, London, EC2M 2QS

Who are the key management?
The management team consists of Kit Hunter Gordon who is Group Managing Director, Zac Barratt as Finance and Operations Director and Barry Sack who is a non-executive director.

What stage of a company’s development does Summit invest in?
Summit invests at the early stages of a company’s cycle, either at first round stage or seed funding. Companies that Summit invests in have generally started earning revenues, but are rarely at the stage of achieving consistent profitability.

What sectors does Summit invest in?
Summit invests in business activities of which the Directors have some knowledge or experience. Particular interest is shown in business services and outsourcing companies. Summit has a policy of not investing in retail or businesses whose customers are consumers.

What are the pre-requisites to investment?
Companies that Summit invests in must show a number of pre-requisites:
- A credible business plan which clearly defines the potential market
- Some identifiable barriers to entry
- A strong and able management team
- The business should be able to benefit from Summit’s contribution to the business in addition to funds

How much does Summit typically invest and what immediate interest in the company does Summit look for?
Summit typically invests between £500,000 to £1 million for a target interest of between 20% and 49% of the business, and a seat on the board. Summit believes in giving management freedom to run their business, subject to a few key financial controls.

What are the required returns on investment?
Summit is not IRR and exit driven. The objective is to build value over the medium term and to align our interests with management.

Over what time period does Summit expect its return on investment?
Because Summit is privately owned, we are not tied to a fund wind-up date which requires an exit strategy by that time. We generally realise our interest in a business at the same time as management wishes to do so, or an external event presents an opportunity to exit.

What geographical regions does Summit invest in?
Summit principally invests in UK based companies, though on occasion has invested in the USA and elsewhere under special circumstances.