Think about how a business raises money. It can invite people to become part‑owners, promise them a fixed return before anyone else, or simply borrow with a promise to pay interest and the principal later. These three building blocks — ordinary shares, preference shares, and loan notes — make up the capital structure. But the story doesn’t stop there: companies also have smart ways to issue new shares (rights issues and bonus issues), strict rules about which profits can be paid out as dividends, and a measure called gearing that reveals just how much debt is in the mix. Let’s see how all these pieces fit together.