Case studies
Selected mandates.
Case studies reflect selected experience from prior advisory and principal-side mandates across corporate, buy-and-build, and private equity clients.
Corporate
DFM capability acquired in 7 months. 3 years of organic build avoided.
A global wealth management group needed to establish a Discretionary Fund Management capability without building the team, permissions, investment process, and client base from scratch. Organic build was estimated at three years. The board committed to acquisition – but cultural fit, adviser retention, and client continuity were non-negotiable. Speed and discretion were equally critical.
The mandate required
Off-market approach only – no formal sale process
Cultural fit as a hard filter, not a soft consideration
Adviser retention secured before completion
Client continuity plan confirmed pre-close
Acquisition completed in 7 months from mandate. DFM capability established without the three-year organic build timeline or the regulatory and recruitment risk that comes with it.
7
Months
Mandate to completion
3
Years saved
Organic build time avoided
£6m
Enterprise value
Off-market transaction
14
Investment professionals
Acquired with the business
Buy-and-build
Two European bolt-ons completed in 14 months. Platform positioned for exit.
A UK buy-and-build investor needed two Continental European bolt-on acquisitions within 18 months to demonstrate platform momentum and build the scale required for a trade exit at a target multiple of 9-11x. Family-owned targets only. Off-market outreach only. Conventional broker routes were ruled out – the investor had already exhausted that channel without result.
The mandate required
Two completions within 18 months – platform momentum was time-critical
Family-owned targets only – messaging had to speak to legacy, not extraction
Off-market exclusively – broker routes had already failed
Geographic reach across four European markets
First completion at 5 months from mandate. Second at 14 months. Combined enterprise value across both transactions. Platform positioned for trade exit at target multiple range.
5
Months
Mandate to first completion
14
Months
Mandate to second completion
83
Targets mapped
Across 4 European markets
11
Markets reached
Post-acquisition geographic coverage
Private equity
European SaaS acquisition completed at 5.2x ARR. 24 months of roadmap acceleration delivered.
A PE-backed US SaaS platform needed European market entry. The IC had underwritten £15m of European ARR within three years. Organic build would take 18-24 months. The brief: a profitable, founder-led UK or European workflow automation SaaS with a clean enterprise customer base – found off-market before it reached a formal process. Gross revenue retention and enterprise customer quality were non-negotiable filters.
The mandate required
Off-market approach – target must not yet be in a formal process
Gross revenue retention above 90% – hard filter
Enterprise customer base only – no SMB-weighted ARR
Founder-led, cultural fit with US acquirer confirmed pre-close
Acquisition completed at 5.2x ARR. 67 enterprise customers and £7.4m ARR acquired. European roadmap accelerated by an estimated 24 months versus organic build.
5.2x
ARR multiple
Enterprise value at close
£7.4m
ARR acquired
European revenue base
94%
Gross retention
Enterprise customer base quality
24
Months
Roadmap acceleration vs organic
Private equity
Two regional bolt-ons completed in 19 months. Third acquisition in due diligence.
A PE-backed infrastructure services group needed 3-5 regional construction testing and inspection bolt-ons over 30 months to consolidate a fragmented sector and position for trade exit. Technical founder-led businesses. No broker market existed for targets at this scale. Messaging had to speak to legacy and continuity – not financial extraction. Founder motivation to protect the business they had built was the primary qualification filter.
The mandate required
No broker market – all targets required direct off-market approach
Messaging built around legacy and continuity, not extraction
Technical founder assessment as a hard qualification step
Multiple completions within PE hold period timeline
Two bolt-ons completed, third in due diligence at mandate review. Combined enterprise value and revenue added on track for hold period exit. Sector consolidation thesis materially advanced.
8
Months
Mandate to first completion
19
Months
Mandate to second completion
112
Targets researched
Full sector mapping conducted
£1.2m
EBITDA acquired
Combined across two completions
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