How Alchemy
began.
In 1988, Michael Cumming left a large accounting firm to build his own practice in Johannesburg. The decision was not unusual; the focus was. From the outset the practice concentrated on owner-managed businesses - the kind of companies that large firms found too small to care about properly and small firms lacked the depth to serve well.
What differentiated it was the combination of financial rigour and direct principal involvement. Every client worked with Michael directly. Every assignment was treated as if it were the only one.
Over time, the practice evolved. The accounting work gave way to corporate finance advisory as clients' needs became more complex - buying and selling businesses, raising capital, navigating transactions that had no obvious precedent. The principals who had helped owners understand their numbers began helping them make the most consequential decisions of their commercial lives.
Alchemy Management Group was formally incorporated in 1999, formalising what the practice had already become: a corporate finance advisory firm with a track record across South African mid-market transactions in mining, water, chemicals, plastics, logistics, energy and property.
In 1998, Alchemy Capital was established as the private equity arm of the group - the vehicle through which the principals would invest alongside the businesses they believed in, not just advise them. It was the moment the group moved from advisor to principal, with its own capital at stake alongside its clients.
Today, Alchemy Management Group provides corporate finance and M&A advisory services across the South African mid-market. Alchemy Capital Investments holds stakes in Hychem and Schooldays, with the principals actively involved in both. The founder chairs both.