The UK’s economic resilience depends on energy, infrastructure, logistics, and manufacturing. But too often, the businesses powering these essential Backbone Sectors are starved of the capital they need to grow. At Alderway, we exist to fix that.
Bridging the Equity Gap
What is an Equity Gap?
What we mean when we say Equity Gap is the disparity in access to investment.
At Alderway, we are addressing the Equity Gap defined by the lack of investment in established businesses operating in the critical but often overlooked backbone sectors, especially for retiring business owners. This gap is even more severe outside of London and the South East.
Supporting Overlooked & Underappreciated Innovators
We address the critical equity gap faced by a number of businesses including:
Established businesses for whom raising growth capital from traditional routes like high street banks, Venture Capital or typical Private Equity is either not possible or unsuitable.
Those operating in key but often underappreciated sectors like Downstream Healthcare, Construction and Engineering, Logistics, Automotive, Agriculture, Energy Transition and sustainability.
Those that are based outside of London and the South East so, like so many regional
UK businesses, are being
overlooked.
More About Alderway's Focus
We focus on a critical blind spot in the investment landscape: established, profitable businesses in the real economy that are too big for venture capital and too independent for traditional private equity.
These are the companies that keep the lights on, the data flowing, and the supply chains moving, yet they face a structural failure in funding.
Outside London and the South East, the challenge is even starker. According to the Social Market Foundation, over two-thirds of UK equity investment is concentrated in the capital region - leaving high-potential businesses elsewhere overlooked. We’re changing that.
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Alderway provides long-term capital and hands-on support to Backbone Businesses across the UK. We help owners de-risk personally, invest in growth, and strengthen operations.
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Equity with empathy. Investment with intent. Partnership with purpose.
The Regional Challenge
As highlighted in a recent report by the Social Market Foundation, "Equity across the regions: The case for a British Regional Investment Bank" (May 2023), over two-thirds of British equity investment occurs in London and the South East. This is concerning because equity investors identify and develop firms with high growth potential – the sort of firms needed to drive regional economies. The report further emphasises the challenge of attracting investment to other regions, creating a "catch-22" situation.