Your equity, explained
Plain-English guides to the equity terms PE-backed managers, LTIP participants and founders actually face — written for people who aren't financial professionals. Educational information, not advice: every guide explains the concept and the questions worth asking, never what you personally should do.
Sweet equity, explained
What sweet equity actually is, why private equity firms offer it to management, and the terms that decide whether yours is generous or tough.
3 min readGood leaver, bad leaver — what the clauses really mean
The leaver provisions in your equity documents decide what you keep if you leave. Here's how the definitions work and where the traps sit.
3 min readEMI vs unapproved options — why the label changes everything
Two option grants can look identical and be taxed completely differently. What EMI status means, who qualifies, and what "unapproved" costs.
3 min readGrowth shares — equity that starts from zero
How growth shares work, why the hurdle matters, and what to check before accepting a growth-share award in a private company.
3 min readVesting and cliffs — how equity is actually earned
Vesting schedules, cliffs, acceleration and what "vested" does and doesn't protect. The mechanics behind the single most-quoted equity term.
3 min readExit waterfalls — where the sale price actually goes
A £100m headline can mean very different things for management. How proceeds flow through debt, loan notes and share classes before reaching you.
3 min readMoM and IRR, translated for management
The two numbers your investors live by — money multiple and internal rate of return — and how each one shapes decisions that affect your equity.
3 min readWhat happens to your options when you leave
Exercise windows, lapse dates, leaver categories and the tax clock — the moving parts to check before (or immediately after) handing in notice.
3 min readBusiness Asset Disposal Relief for managers
What BADR does to the tax on selling your shares, the qualifying conditions that trip people up, and why EMI holders get a special route in.
3 min readRatchets — how management's share can grow (or shrink)
Performance ratchets shift equity between investors and management depending on the exit outcome. How the mechanics work and what to check in yours.
3 min readDrag-along and tag-along rights, explained
The two clauses that decide whether you can be made to sell — and whether you can insist on selling. What they mean for minority shareholders.
3 min readIs my equity package fair? How to actually tell
Percentages alone say little. The five dimensions that determine whether a management equity package is generous, standard or tough — and how benchmarking works.
3 min readRollover at exit — cash now versus equity again
Being asked to roll part of your proceeds into the buyer's deal is normal in PE exits. What rollover means, the tax deferral question, and how to weigh it.
3 min readPrefer to learn by playing?
The PEVestIQ hold simulator walks a PE investment from entry to exit — twenty quarters, real trade-offs, six endings. (Requires a free account.)