We advise business services companies and their owners on acquisitions, sales and financing, with a focus on customer relationships, people and delivery capacity.
Customer retention and revenue durability
A recurring invoice is only the starting point. Facilities management, professional services, outsourced processes and testing businesses have different renewal patterns and reasons for customer loyalty. The useful distinction is between revenue secured by a contract, work that repeats through habit, and projects that must be won again. Contract duration, notice periods, service obligations and exposure to procurement cycles help explain how much revenue can reasonably carry into the next ownership period.
Margins and delivery capacity
Revenue per employee means little without a view of the service being delivered. Billable utilisation, charge rates, wage inflation, subcontractor costs and staff turnover explain whether growth is profitable and repeatable. Contract-level margins can reveal loss-making relationships concealed by a strong group result. Cash collection also matters: unbilled work, disputed invoices and customer payment terms can absorb cash even as reported earnings rise. A buyer should distinguish temporary vacancies from a sustainable improvement in productivity.
Customer, contract and workforce review
Our review connects customer contracts, purchasing behaviour and the people responsible for service delivery. The purpose is to understand which relationships belong to the organisation and which still depend on an individual founder or account director. Evidence should be consistent across the commercial pipeline and financial reporting.
- Customer cohorts, renewals, lost contracts and price changes reconciled to revenue.
- Customer concentration, termination rights and change-of-control consents.
- Employee retention, specialist qualifications, succession cover and subcontractor dependence.
- Service failures, remediation costs, complaints and invoice collection times.
Acquisition rationale and integration
An acquisition may add specialist capability, geographic coverage or access to a different customer base. The integration case should explain how those benefits will reach customers. Cross-selling depends on account ownership, incentives and capacity; it rarely follows automatically from a shared logo. Consolidating systems or central functions may require investment before savings appear. Preserving local relationships and service responsiveness can be more valuable than imposing uniform processes immediately after completion.
Readiness for a change of ownership
For an owner considering a sale or succession, preparation often begins with delegated customer relationships and a management team able to explain performance independently. Monthly reporting should separate organic growth, acquisitions, pricing and changes in delivery mix. A clear record of contract profitability and working capital makes the business easier to assess. It also gives owners a stronger basis for comparing a strategic sale, management transition or continued independent growth.
