Our Business Model

An Image of the Time To ACT plc business model

Strategy & Business Model:

  • Time To ACT (TTA) is an aggregator platform listed on Aquis.
  • We operate a blended strategy of organic development and acquisition/buy-and-build.
  • We have built a small but growing portfolio of businesses within a model where capable business-level management teams are responsible for executing their own strategy.
  • The Time To ACT parent organisation comprises a thin corporate overhead capable of delivering significant amounts of value

Fledgling businesses are incubated through their early stages by a Chairman provided by Time To ACT.

What makes our business model unique?

  • Our “Best Owner” principle means that we deploy patient-to-permanent, capital – being in perpetuity or until such time as a new best-owner may emerge. We are stepping into a market space left vacant by the VCT industry, which has failed to capitalise on the funding opportunity in SME Cleantech & Renewables engineering
  • We are an operator and not a fund or fund-manager. Our target businesses are early and later-stage SMEs.
  • Our operational expertise comprises:
    o Strategic planning assistance
    o Commercialisation advice
    o Financial and financing expertise, including capital allocation
    o Technology support (through our Technology Advisory Panel, benchmarking against TRL and MRL scales)

Our multi-faceted Board of Directors helps SMEs to “punch above their weight”

  • We combine a conventional plc Board, but where each Non-Executive Director has the skillsets to undertake specific executive projects if required, with an Executive Board.
  • Our Independent Non-Executive Directors fulfil the required governance roles.
  • The Board and our businesses are supported by our Technology Advisory Panel, which includes mechanical, electro-mechanical, electro-magnetic, chemical and metallurgical engineering skills.
  • Each new technology, whether evolved through in-house development or brought in through acquisition, has a “Technology Champion”.
  • The Technology Advisory Panel is both our R&D support and our acquisition hopper.

Board oversight focuses on three important matters:

  1. Business performance against plan – via a monthly reporting template/KPIs
  2. Risk assessments – identified in IPO process and regularly reviewed
  3. Challenge and evaluate strategy – 1x per year/calendar Q1 JFM (AMJ = business planning, budgeting, revalidation)

Business model role-models:

  • IP Group plc – early-stage businesses, IP-rich, ESG governance criteria (but non-control shareholdings and only part-Cleantech)
  • Melrose plc – thin corporate overhead, empowerment of businesses, (but mature businesses and Buy/Improve/Sell modality)
  • Halma plc – organic and acquired growth, long-term portfolio management, strong corporate culture