17 | Q1 2021 Dec21367 Most Empowering Business Funding Solutions Provider 2021 Duke Royalty is a long-term, flexible capital partner to SMEs in the UK, North America and continental Europe and specialises in providing SMEs with a lump sum of capital in return for a percentage of revenue on a term of 30+ years, akin to a ‘corporate mortgage’. We find out more from CEO, Neil Johnson, in the wake of the firm being named in the SME News Awards. Duke Royalty’s (Duke) mission is to support profitable, well-established SMEs to reach their full growth potential and it aims to bridge the significant funding gap being faced by SMEs with a royalty financing solution, a method of financing which is proven to withstand multiple economic cycles. Unlike other lending options, Duke’s royalty finance model empowers business owners to realise their long-term business goals without compromising owner control or adding debt re-financing risk to the business. The distribution payable to Duke is reset annually either up or down, subject to a ceiling and a floor, according to the revenue performance of its partners. This aligns the firm’s return with the performance of the royalty partner over the long term, which appeals to business owners when the short-term economic outlook is so uncertain. “From an investor’s point of view, our model provides them with a high yielding quarterly dividend,” elaborates Neil Johnson, CEO of Duke. “This is achieved due to the robust, predictable and long-term cash flows of Duke’s royalty finance model. This type of solution was first popularised in North America and has been proven to withstand economic cycles. We are the first company to bring the corporate royalty model to UK investors and are proud to say that we are the leading royalty finance provider in the UK and Europe, a region that is experiencing robust demand for a flexible, long term capital solution.” This ambition to bring an even better royalty model to the European stage was the brainchild of two Canadian businessmen with more than 15 years’ worth of experience, and Duke Royalty was officially established in 2015. Whilst the team is small, the corporate culture at Duke is very important. Neil tells us that everyone is encouraged to celebrate each other and be supportive of colleagues in order to keep getting better every day – as a firm, as a capital provider for entrepreneurs, and as human beings. “We believe treating people with respect goes a long way to creating a high-performance environment,” he states. “But we need to remember respect is a two-way street, it needs to be earned as well as given. We believe in being good corporate citizens in the communities we operate in as well as giving back to charities and good causes. We have re-started an iconic cancer fundraising event in London in the name of a Canadian hero, the Terry Fox Run UK, as an example of how we give back to our communities. We believe all these things contribute to people not only wanting to work for Duke Royalty, but to invest emotionally in the success of the company.” Whilst the firm’s core values of transparency, accountability, creativity, focus and teamwork have not changed since Duke’s inception, the extraordinary impact of the pandemic provided an opportunity to reinforce Duke’s supportive model and culture. Covid-19 created a strengthened market opportunity for Duke Royalty and demonstrated the resilience of its model during an extraordinary period. Indeed, its full year results to 31 March 2021 show that the firm exited the year in good health and has recorded record revenues ahead of those pre-pandemic and a strong cash dividend. Most recently, Duke produced its half year results for the six months ended 30 September 2021, which showed substantial cashflow growth and accelerating investment deployment. This strong trading performance provided the Board with confidence that Duke will exceed the market’s expectations for the 12 months ended 31 March 2022. With regards to this, Neil elaborates, “As with many businesses faced with unpreceded challenges last year, we made the decision to stop new investments as the pandemic hit. Within six months later, however, the opportunity that had been created was clear, and we once again began prospecting for new deals. We have secured five new royalty partners during 2021 and undertaken a range of follow-on investments, as demand for our capital grows.” Recently, Duke was recognised in the SME News Awards and bestowed with the prestigious accolade of Most Empowering Business Funding Solutions Provider 2021. Regarding the future, Duke’s plans are to continue building the firm so more and more business owners can take this form of capital and keep control of their business if they are not ready to sell. “This form of financing has been mainly the domain of North America for decades, and it’s exciting for us to be the leaders in Europe,” Neil finalises. “But there is much more to do and winning awards like the SME Finance award allows us to bring our solution to your readers and more businesses.” Contact: Neil Johnson Company: Duke Royalty Limited Web Address: www.dukeroyalty.com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQxNTg3MQ==