ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the nature of the survey which forms the substance and identifies the pertinent characteristics of the bought-out companies. It is evident that the sample contains a very diverse group of companies in terms of size, industry and regional location. Management buy-outs differ from new small firms in that they do not face the problem of starting a business totally from scratch. The relatively low level of buy-out occurrence in the remaining regions may be partly attributable to the London-based location of the majority of the financial institutions. The main product areas where buy-outs are more likely to occur are in metal goods and other manufacturing industries - in particular in mechanical engineering and printing and publishing. It is interesting to observe that buy-outs occur with some frequency in heavier metal industries such as foundrying as well as in industries concerned with the manufacture of electronic and computer equipment and the provision of computer services.
