Supporting every stage of the deal
Private equity work moves in bursts. A teaser arrives, a process letter follows, and suddenly the team needs to understand a niche industrial market in three countries before the first-round bid.
We support that rhythm in stages. Early on, a handful of calls with former industry executives helps you decide whether to spend more time on the opportunity. During confirmatory work, we widen the net to customers, distributors and competitors' former staff. After signing, we help operating partners find advisers who have run similar businesses or functions. One account manager follows the whole journey, so context is never lost between phases.
Customer and channel diligence
Management presentations tell one side of the story. Speaking with customers, former customers and channel partners gives you the other. We typically combine:
- Customer interviews on switching costs, satisfaction and buying criteria
- Structured surveys across a wider customer or prospect base to test what interviews suggest
- Distributor and installer calls where the route to market matters
- Former employee calls screened carefully to exclude confidential information
Our local recruiters approach respondents in their own language, which tends to help when you need frank views from smaller businesses. Findings from the first few calls also help us refine who to approach next.
Operating partners and value creation
Once the deal is done, the questions change. Operating partners want to know how peers organise procurement, what a realistic pricing uplift looks like or how others have handled a carve-out.
We can source advisory panels of seasoned operators for recurring input, or arrange one-off sessions on a single topic. Where you need an interim leader rather than an adviser, our executive search practice can step in under the same contract. Tell us what your portfolio company is facing and we will suggest the right mix of calls, panels or people.