Investment review
Every transaction is assessed against defined criteria before commitment. Opportunities that cannot demonstrate a repayment source or exit are declined.
About
Built for the private market.
SAWYERR is a private markets investment company focused on private businesses, productive assets and infrastructure.
Overview
Capital and opportunity rarely find each other safely.
Private businesses in Nigeria need working capital, transaction financing, acquisition capital, growth capital and equipment. Traditional financing does not always fit the transaction, and the businesses that need capital most are frequently the ones least able to present themselves in a form capital can assess.
On the other side, private capital providers want access to productive businesses, cash-flowing assets and structured private transactions. What they need is origination, underwriting, structuring, execution and monitoring.
SAWYERR provides that capability. We identify opportunities, underwrite them, structure the transaction and deploy capital.
Investment philosophy
Five principles that govern every transaction.
01Productive capital
We prefer capital deployed into assets and businesses that produce economic output. An asset that only appreciates is a position, not an investment.
02Downside first
Return matters, but preservation of capital begins with understanding the downside. We assess what happens when the thesis fails before we assess what happens when it works.
03Structure matters
A good opportunity can become a bad investment through poor structuring. The instrument is chosen after the economics are understood, never before.
04Alignment
Capital providers, operators and SAWYERR should have clearly defined economics and responsibilities. Where our economics rank behind our partners', we say so.
05Ownership when appropriate
Where ownership provides the strongest risk-adjusted opportunity, SAWYERR invests directly in equity rather than simply providing debt.
Approach
The opportunity determines the structure.
We do not operate a single financing product and fit every opportunity to it. A business that needs working capital against a confirmed contract is a credit transaction. The same business, where the owner wants to exit and the economics are strong, is an equity transaction. Where the productive asset matters more than the company, we acquire the asset.
This is the discipline that distinguishes an investment firm from a lender. The instrument follows the analysis.
Governance
Investment review before capital deployment.
SAWYERR applies an investment review process designed to assess commercial, financial, legal, operational and transaction-specific risks before capital is deployed.
Risk and due diligence
Financial, commercial, legal, operational and counterparty diligence proportionate to the size and structure of the transaction.
Monitoring and reporting
Active transactions are monitored through their term. Capital partners receive written reporting on an agreed schedule.
As the firm develops formal committees and written policies, this section will be expanded to reflect them.
Have a transaction?
Tell us what you are building, acquiring, financing or selling.