We help transform
good businesses
into stellar Private Equity investments
We design value creation strategies for investors.
We focus on the AI-enablement and technology-enablement of operations in portfolio companies to boost EBITDA and deliver higher multiples at exit beyond the original investment thesis.
We are specialists in the use of third-party solutions to drive operational performance and investor returns, and expert in the development of proprietary hardware, software and AI technology.
And to ensure that the value is actually realised, we also provide interim transformation specialists to drive implementation.
Our services
01.
Pre-deal value creation
Pre deal, we author value creation strategies for mid-cap PE targets to increase Enterprise Value beyond the proposed investment thesis.
Working during exclusivity (and sometimes before), we combine technology and operations due diligence to identify additional opportunities to increase EBITDA – and then author realistic implementation plans to ensure the value can actually be realised.
We typically identify an additional 10-15% EBITDA uplift, and in many investments we are also shifting the valuation multiple.
02.
Opportunity value check
Want to know if you can fix an underperforming portfolio company – without spending huge sums of money investigating the asset?
We offer a rapid, light-touch assessment of existing portfolio companies that identifies the operations, technology and AI-enablement levers you can pull to turn around the IRR of your investment.
Our assessments are standardised so that you can compare across the portfolio, but tailored to each asset to account for critical factors in the original investment thesis, such as capital commitments, investment timeline and expected exit routes.
03.
Extended hold and post-deal transformation strategies to create star investments
We create operational technology and AI strategies to transform middling portfolio companies into fund leaders, for recent acquisitions and when extending the hold.
We focus on businesses with a solid operational history - typically a few years into your ownership, with a positive but underperforming IRR. With minimal additional investment that can be justified by the increased returns, these businesses usually have the potential to become star performers in the fund still within the original investment timeline.
04.
Implementation support
The efficacy of any strategy depends upon the quality of implementation.
We provide interim transformation leaders, with deep experience of the portfolio company's industry and technologies, to drive value creation from day one after completion.
Their role is to set up the internal processes and infrastructure to maximise the value creation opportunity, lead and take ownership immediately, and embed expert knowledge so that the business continues to increase enterprise value when their contribution is complete.
Expertise
Industry sectors
Cybersecurity.
Edtech (content development and SaaS platform).
Energy (managed services, renewable generation, industrial efficiency).
ESG managed services.
Healthcare services.
HealthTech (including medical device certification).
Industrial IOT services.
Life Sciences.
Satellite communications and satcoms equipment.
Telecoms (fixed and mobile).
Cross-sector expertise
Technology-enabled Managed Services.
Digital transformation of operational processes.
Operation of SaaS services.
Specification and implementation of CRM and ERP systems.
Optimisation of technology-enabled service delivery.
Data management for cross-border regulatory compliance.
Adoption of AI for cost reduction.
Adoption of AI for service improvement.
Recent work
Pre-deal value creation: cost reduction, tech-enabled service operations
£14.8m cost reduction and 18% EBITDA uplift
In the second acquisition of a business services M&A strategy, the investment thesis was based on revenue growth, a small component of operational synergies, and a partial integration of proprietary technology systems. By analysing the technology, operations and staffing of both target and portfolio company (pre-deal) we designed a value creation strategy that reduced costs by a further £14.8m over three years, and delivered an additional 18% uplift in EBITDA in the years preceding exit. We also identified additional technology investments that would shift the valuation multiple.
To ensure that value could actually be realised, we authored an implementation plan with timings, roles, KPIs, governance and measures of success, which was designed to minimised revenue risk.
Technology strategy
Support for USD$100m equity raise for a global satcoms equipment manufacturer
We developed the technology business case that helped a global satellite communications hardware manufacturer raise $100m growth capital. By defining a core technical architecture, pricing models & approach to market, we developed an enterprise-wide product strategy to capitalise upon emerging global market demands. Our strategy reversed $261m of declining revenues, increased market share and delivered a sustained increase in EBITDA.
Services & product portfolio strategy
+9% EBITBA for a $1.4bn global telecoms operator
We rationalised the product portfolio of a $1.4bn global telecoms operator across mobile voice and data services for civilian, military and blue light customers.
To achieve implementation we designed product retirement plans and product feature migration plans, frameworks to renegotiate contractual terms with suppliers and customers, and the architecture of customer outreach plans to drive market adoption.
Cost reduction
Cloud migration of on-premises technology
As part of a technology due diligence we identified an opportunity to reduce costs in the operation of a proprietary service delivery platform - by migrating the on-premises system into the cloud and then transforming the architecture to cloud-native.
We designed the cloud-native architecture and costed its development, and created a high-level migration plan with costs, resource requirements and risk register.
Our team
Meet a few members of our team...
