Finance made available to young companies that have already launched products on to the market but need more cash to realise their full potential.

Many successful entrepreneurs build up a business then sell it, either because of an offer they can't refuse or, occasionally, because they have itchy feet and want to look for another challenge. Institutional investors often like to back second (or third, or fourth) time entrepreneurs, because they have a track record.

Also known as a "buy-out of a buy-out". Where the original MBO managers will sell the company to the next generation of managers.

Another name for private placing.

Early funding which enables a project or idea to develop into a business.

This is the element of a financial package that consists of bank lending. It is senior because, if things go wrong, the lender has a higher priority than those who provided equity or mezzanine finance.

See second time entrepreneur.

The mechanism whereby a company buys-in part of its issued share capital - a straightforward process for dealing with some shareholder issues or, in the case of large plcs, often a way of using up spare cash in the business!

See options.

The sale of shares to a number of investors but not to the general public.

A management and investment philosophy which puts the interests of the shareholder first - in terms of earnings and asset growth.

The stock markets are often accused of short-termism with the result, allegedly, that directors of quoted companies cannot plan intelligently because stock market investors insist on performance in the short-term. Some look for an early exit. Others believe it can be in everybody's financial interest to take a longer view.

An investor who is not involved in the running or strategic direction of a company of which he or she is a shareholder.

See lead investor.

When a division of a company becomes independent, either because it has been taken over or through an MBO. The term is usually applied to a high-tech division that the parent company does not regard as fitting into its core business.

A well-known character in modern business, who loves analysing performance figures for the sake or it, but his spreadsheets don't really add much to the sum of human knowledge.

A very successful investment.

A new business. It can be on any scale, but in fact most start-ups are small. Their critical phase often comes later when they may need significant amounts of capital to enter their chosen market. See emerging business.

Ideally, what investors want to see in the businesses they back is not just moderate growth but a rate of growth that takes the business into a different dimension. See quantum leap.

A term to describe a mixture of all the institutional elements of a transaction - equity, preference shares, mezzanine and debt.

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A word, often overused, to describe how two businesses would fit well together - the aim of mergers and acquisitions.