Mark Aitchison, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of EIGHTClouds says that he found a gap in the market when he was expanding his own enterprise, Chaps & Co, and couldn’t find suitable investment that was enough to scale his business. This is when he investigated private equity and realised that there was room to change the way this service was offered to homegrown ideas. “Private equity with a difference” he calls it. He says that coming in from the side of somebody who has built businesses gives him the ability to work with the founders instead of just merely taking a stake in the business. “We are not trying to take over their business, we are looking to go in and work with really talented founders and scale their businesses with them.” Says Mark. EIGHTClouds provides founders and entrepreneurs with access to capital, resources strategic expertise, and intellectual capital. Witnessing the booming F&B industry within the region, the firm’s portfolio includes a newly opened MORE at One Central, Dubai World Trade Centre, serving global culinary favourites with signature local touches for a warm and relaxed casual dining experience. “The MORE café was a no brainer for me, I was a frequent visitor and always wondered why they weren’t everywhere.” EIGHTClouds Private Equity plans to open 10 new locations by 2026. When looking for businesses to partner with, Mark looks for proof of concept, ideally a brand with multiple locations, good data, and a very good product. So, when you’re considering to scale or not to scale could “private equity with a difference” be an option to consider? EIGHTClouds Private Equity believes it very well may be.