Private Equity Experience – Ducalian EIS Pub Portfolio
History
I was a relatively small investor — though the second largest by holding — in an EIS-compliant investment arranged through the Ducalian IFA, alongside more than 255 other investors. The £30 million raised was invested across six freehold London pubs, each structured as a separate company to qualify individually for EIS relief. The investment was marketed as a stable, tax-efficient diversification, but it later became clear that the management team lacked experience, concealed poor trading results, and mortgaged the pubs (previously owned outright) to cover mounting operational losses. These issues were exacerbated by weak governance and the impact of COVID-19.
Formation of Investor Activists
When concerns emerged, Ducalian resisted transparency and attempted to suppress investor involvement. A group of six investors, including myself, formed an activist consortium to recover control and protect the underlying assets. I played a leading role in analysing the legal rights of shareholders, identifying breaches of duty, and coordinating potential claims for wrongful trading and insolvency. Through sustained legal and strategic pressure — including the threat of formal action — we compelled the management to engage and ultimately reclaimed over £1 million in misused fees.
Actions
To mobilise the wider investor base, I built a website to crowdsource contact information, share verified updates, and coordinate voting. This enabled us to call an emergency EGM, remove the incumbent management, and appoint a seasoned operator (formerly of The Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich) following a structured interview process.
We raised £5 million of new capital to stabilise operations and avoid a forced sale. Managing six distinct operating companies required careful handling of separate EIS applications, ensuring compliance and avoiding connected-party rules, while balancing the differing interests of multiple investor groups. The pubs were successfully stabilised and sold individually between 2021 and 2022, each transaction negotiated to reflect the specific ownership and investor composition of the underlying entity.
Lessons Learnt
This experience provided deep, hands-on exposure to governance, restructuring, and multi-stakeholder management. I learned how to lead collective action among fragmented investors, manage near-insolvent businesses through legal and operational recovery, and navigate the complexities of multi-entity structures under EIS rules. It reinforced that governance and transparency are fundamental to capital preservation — and that effective leadership, not tax incentives, determines investment resilience.
Although the financial outcome was mixed, it created lasting professional relationships across the City and offered enduring lessons in strategic recovery, negotiation, and responsible ownership.