Big deals king who’d do it all over again – ‘only better’
JON Moulton is usually to be found where the action is. In a 40-year career, he has been one of the private equity industry’s highest profile names.
Born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1950, he read Chemistry at Lancaster University before becoming a chartered accountant, later joining the venture capital arm of US bank Citigroup.
After stints at Schroders and Apax he set up his own venture capital firm, Alchemy, in 1997.
Even before Alchemy he was involved in a buyout and rescue of the Parker Pen Company in the 1980s, which he now regards as his proudest moment.
‘It was a pleasure to be involved. It can be extremely rewarding when people realise their company does have a future.’
But while he does promote the benefits that private equity can bring, he is not uncritical.
When the industry came under attack in 2007, Moulton broke ranks with rivals to criticise the hugely advantageous tax breaks the sector enjoyed before a Treasury Select Committee. Although he has a home on Guernsey himself he insists: ‘I am still very much a substantial UK taxpayer.’
Moulton eventually fell out with his business partners at Alchemy over the firm’s strategy.
Quitting in 2009, he set up Better Capital – a name taken from his resignation letter, in which he told his colleagues: ‘I would do it all again – but better.’
Better Capital has snapped up several firms since the financial crisis, such as Fairline Boats in Northamptonshire, the UK arm of Reader’s Digest, which he failed to turn around, and of course most famously delivery firm City Link.