Family Affair

For anyone interested in the changing dynamic of how companies in search of growth capital will access funds in a time of mounting financial pain, there is an interesting piece in the second half of the BBC World Service's Business Daily show today (UPDATE NOTE on 9 September 2008: originally this link pointed to the specific program in question, but as far as I can see, the BBC posts links to this show on a seven-day rolling basis, meaning that old content apparently just disappears - STUPID. If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know, but I can't find the original broadcast.) focusing on the growing numbers of foreign family offices setting up in London. Coupled with the sovereign fund wild-card and those hedge funds with both dry powder and imagination, I assume these investors are going to disproportionately reap the rewards of what's happening now. Presumably, if anyone were interested (which I think is questionable), there's more than enough raw material out there now to build a brand new investment banking franchise from scratch...