How we work
Seven phases. You own the decisions in every one.
A named method, applied the same way on every mandate, so you always know what has been done, what is next, and what is waiting on you.
( The phases )
01
Strategic framework
We define the acquisition strategy against your corporate objectives, market position, and growth trajectory: investment thesis, screening criteria, valuation parameters, and an honest assessment of how much integration your organisation can absorb at once.
- We do
- Build the thesis, the criteria, and the capacity assessment
- You do
- Approve the strategy and set the mandate
02
Market mapping and screening
We map the market against your criteria and screen it down to the businesses worth your attention, scored on strategic fit, financial performance, and operational compatibility. You decide which of them to approach, and you make the approach.
- We do
- Build and screen the target map, and tell you what we find
- You do
- Choose who to approach, and contact them
03
Due diligence
Financial, operational, technological, and organisational assessment in one file. Founder dependency and revenue quality are run as named, scored workstreams rather than paragraphs in a risk section, because most failed acquisitions trace back to one of the two and both are usually found too late.
- We do
- Run the diligence and quantify what we find
- You do
- Set the scope and decide what the findings mean for your bid
04
Structuring analysis and negotiation support
We model the structures available to you and quantify the trade-offs: tax efficiency, risk allocation, transition periods, retention of named individuals, and the terms that decide whether integration is actually feasible. You negotiate from that analysis, or your licensed M&A advisor does.
We do not negotiate on your behalf and we do not charge a fee on completion.
A buyer who wins on price and loses on transition terms has bought a harder business to own.
- We do
- Model the structures, quantify the trade-offs, prepare the materials
- You do
- Negotiate, or instruct a licensed advisor to
05
Integration planning
The integration blueprint is drafted during diligence, against what diligence finds, and revised as terms settle. Organisational structure, systems, technology, and cultural alignment, with Day 1 readiness sequenced before close rather than after it.
- We do
- Draft and revise the blueprint as a deliverable of the deal
- You do
- Name the owners and commit the resources
06
Value realization
A profitability roadmap targeting the same three lines the thesis was approved on, tracked monthly after close, with the task list kept underneath them rather than in place of them.
- We do
- Build the roadmap and the reporting
- You do
- Run the business against it
07
Transfer
Standing counsel on integration issues and performance deviations, on a defined path to your own team taking it over. Every engagement, from a single deal to a standing CFO retainer, ends in your independence.
- We do
- Advise, monitor, and hand over
- You do
- Take it
We work alongside your team. Not reports that sit on a shelf.