Transaction Advisory

Acquisition Due Diligence

due dilligence icon

Our Service

Digital is no longer a ‘nice to have’. Businesses that do not have a compelling and competitive digital capability will not survive whether they operate within B2C or B2B markets.

Our Acquisition Due Diligence service provides a comprehensive picture of the organisation and its current digital maturity. We highlight key opportunities and risks in critical business areas, measured against business model, customer needs, competition and industry best practice as required. We also provide a market evaluation and identify actions and investments needed to access opportunities or resolve weaknesses.

The service delivers a clear picture of the organisation’s ability to meet its goals from a digital context and recommendations on actions, resources and timescales required to achieve these goals. Outcomes are typically delivered in a 4 to 5 week period.

What We Do and Cover

We design the diligence to meet your needs and evaluate the critical features of the business, the market and its competitors.

Only doing what is needed and working alongside other diligence providers as required, our reports provide specific recommendations, timescales and costs to ‘digitally’ resolve issues in key areas. Any ‘red flag’ issues are raised immediately and weekly verbal updates provide routes to early feedback and where issues can be addressed.

Typical diligence covers the following key areas:

1. Market
Evaluation

  • Analysis of critical market characteristics in regions and sectors influencing future growth and risks.

  • Review of the company’s positioning verses competition.

  • Clarity on the company’s capabilities influencing ability to scale and at what rate.

2. Customer Experience
Review

  • End-to-end evaluation of the company’s customer experience. Measured against:

    • Target customer groups and needs.
    • Business model – highlighting impacts and benefits to revenues and costs.
    • Competition and best-practice to show positioning and maturity.

3. Customer &
Go-to-Market Analysis

  • Review of go-to-market approach and trading capabilities – key indicators of growth and ROI effectiveness.

  • Proposition analysis:

    • Competitive uniqueness and defensibility.
    • Fit to target customer need.

4. Technology &
Data Capabilities

  • Analysis of the target’s critical technical and data environment – platforms, solution partners, costs, skills, processes, and regulative compliance.

  • Indicating strategic flexibility, cost reduction opportunities, production speed and agility, and structural risks.

5. Organisational &
Leadership Insight

  • Assessment of the target company’s human capital in terms of organisation, size, skills and culture. Measured against strategic objectives and market best practices. To assess strengths, weaknesses and risk.

  • Insights on the leadership quality and fit for the next stage.

6. Partner &
Supplier Ecosystem

  • Review of key customer, partner and supply relationships to understand scaling flexibility, income defensibility, cost structures, strategic adaptability and risks.

7. Operational Process
Review

  • Insight on the operational strengths and weaknesses of the business.

  • Highlighting opportunities for costs savings, margin benefit and scaling, and operational flexibility improvements.

What is Delivered
(+ Sample Analysis)

Each area reviewed provides outputs that are clear and concise, with an indication of strengths, risks and opportunities. Highlighting positive and negative impacts on the business model, positioning versus competitors and customer needs and industry best practice. Backed up by full analysis.

With recommendations and likely investment levels needed to resolve weaknesses, unlock opportunities and grow the ‘digital index’ of the organisation.

How it is Delivered

To provide the outcomes, full access is required to stakeholders, analytics, reporting and other sources of insight in the target organisation. This is supported by desk-based research and remote analysis techniques as required.

Where possible, digital interviews are conducted with stakeholders, to alleviate restriction issues and allow for rapid progress.

Conducted flexibility, iteratively and with regular verbal updates to communicate urgent findings quickly.

Where We Have Done This Before

iprism logo

Evaluation of this Insurtech business for its Private Equity owners, in core areas of ‘customer experience’ and ‘technology’.

Was used to inform the decision to invest in the turnaround of the organisation.

Conducted for Lonsdale Partners.

pxp logo

Analysis of value proposition, technology and operational environment of this mid-tier payments business.

This led to the successful acquisition by Kalixa Payments Group.

Meet Some of Our Experts

DWG is the UK’s most experienced digital transformation consultancy. A team of 50+ senior digital experts, diverse and internationally experienced, meet some of them:

Why DWG

DWG has compelling characteristics to deliver clear and meaningful insights and solutions.

1.

Proven Digital
Change Expertise

All of our 50+ team members have 15+ years of senior digital change experience. From real-world, market-leading client and agency delivery backgrounds. Supported by an extensive ecosystem of associates and industry leading technology solution partners.

2.

A Think + Do
Approach

Our strategy team of domain experts help clients to think through the right approaches for their needs. While our optimisation and delivery team can assist with successful execution.

3.

Outcome
Focused

We are laser-focused on delivering business benefits. With a mantra of producing value and change through delivery.

4.

Successful
Methodologies

Using tried and tested methodologies to de-risk and deliver better outcomes.

5.

Delivered in the
Right Spirit

A team of committed, collaborative, innovative and trusted practical experts.

6.

Outstanding
Value

Using our innovative business model we are able to offer clients industry-leading value.

PDF Download + Our Other Private Equity Solutions

dwg private equity acquisition due diligence download

Rapid Digital
Evaluation

A fast assessment of
an organisation’s
digital capabilities

Leadership Team
Profiling

Fast assessment of
leadership team capability,
skills gaps and potential

Digital
Turnaround

Quickly solving critical
business issues via
digital solutions

Digital
Transformation

Comprehensively improving
an organisation’s value
through digital
digital positioning

Digital
Positioning

Strengthening the
organisation’s digital
position at exit

Contact

andrew salmon

Andrew Salmon

Managing
Partner

Call +44 (0)7801 439011

Will Barribal

Senior Partner – Strategy, Leadership & Innovation

Call +44 (0)7584 205613