THE ARK
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do, which is why we work closely with The Ark.
The Ark has an abundance of experience within the financial world. With an established network of investors at the ready, who have an eye for selecting high growth opportunities.
Together, Oakwood and The Ark provide funding and advice that cements long term strategic value. We can maximise your business potential and help your business grow.
The Ark Strategy
To foster collaboration and support between entrepreneurs, support agencies, funders and experienced individuals so that your business can thrive.
To nurture business with direct support and co-investment alongside The Arks strategic partners
The Ark | Innovating investment in the Midlands (arkhub.co.uk)
Rupert Lyle
Chief Executive Officer, The ARK
Oakwood have a longstanding business relationship with Rupert Lyle, who founded The Ark.
Rupert has managed investments in High Growth Businesses for 3i, West Midlands Enterprise, The Baring English Growth Fund and Barclays Ventures and Catapult Venture Managers in the Midlands.
As well as a skilled professional investor and advisor, Rupert also has a strong entrepreneurial streak. Having personally acquired, developed and then sold an ‘Outstanding’ graded, children’s day nursery; and created and launched @pizza,– a unique pizza restaurant concept which has risen rapidly to become the Number 1 ranked restaurant in Birmingham on TripAdvisor since opening in Feb 2019.
This blend of professionalism and entrepreneurialism, means Rupert has always had a strong affinity with the Founders and/or CEO’s of High Growth Businesses. However, whilst sitting on the Advisory Committee of the London Co-Investment Fund, he realised that due to the fragmented nature of support and funding in the Midlands the entrepreneurial talent running High Growth Businesses were being poorly served. With a vision to address this by fostering a spirit of cooperation amongst the existing fragmented ecosystem he formulated the idea that culminated in the launch of The Ark.
Find Rupert on LinkedIn.
Meet the rest of the ARK team here
Find The Ark on LinkedIn
Oakwood provide commercial insights – not just support. The Oakwood team really understood our business and were able to give options that translated to profitability and bottom-line growth
Oakwood helped us create a 5-year strategy to take our business up to $10 million from just over $1million, becoming a market leader. This strategy focused on making our proposition more compelling and how we would communicate and then deliver this to the end user. Oakwood have a wealth of experience and real-life examples which is a refreshing change from other businesses used in the past. I would not hesitate in recommending the Oakwood team
Establishing the right strategy often remains the key delta between business success and failure, particularly when you are evaluating new markets and targeting strategic growth. Partnering with Oakwood enabled us to prioritise and focus our efforts and to ensure the sustainability of our key goals. I have recommended Oakwood to several colleagues within my network as a first-class partner for strategic assessment and support.
Oakwood gave us an excellent insight into our capacity for growth, the sustainability of our business model, the opportunity for efficiency improvement and the capability of our management