Operating relationships
We develop and license. Operators operate.
The company does not run consumer services itself. It develops technology and licenses it to businesses that operate commercially in their own right.
The division of responsibility
An operating partner is a separate business with its own management, its own customers and its own commercial risk. It licenses technology from this company and operates it under its own name and on its own account.
This company’s responsibilities are development, maintenance and the grant of rights. It does not direct an operator’s business, and an operator does not direct its development priorities beyond what the licence provides for.
Each relationship rests on a written agreement between two separate legal entities. We do not describe any operating partner as a parent, a subsidiary or a member of a group, and we do not name counterparties on this website.
- Separate legal entities
- Written licence agreements
- Defined term and renewal
- Recurring contractual income
- Independent commercial risk
- Confidential commercial terms
Why it is structured this way
Development and operation want different things.
Focus
A development business is judged on the quality and durability of what it builds. An operating business is judged on how it trades. Keeping them separate lets each be run properly.
Clarity of rights
When rights are held by the party that created them and licensed onward in writing, the position is legible to an auditor, a lender or a buyer.
Continuity
A licence with a stated term and renewal gives both sides a horizon longer than a single project, which is what long-term development needs.
Enquiries about a relationship
Businesses interested in licensing technology from the company, and advisers acting for a counterparty, should write to us directly. We will explain the basis on which we work and what documentation we can provide, and on what terms.