Engagement example
Project Anvil
A precision-engineering and contract-manufacturing business, taken from a first exit-readiness review to a confidential go-to-market.
An illustrative engagement. Identifying details have been changed and figures are representative — this is a picture of how the work runs, not a named client.
- £3.1m
- Turnover (FY25)
- 17.4%
- Adjusted EBITDA margin
- 1991
- Established
- 28
- Employees, incl. 2 senior managers
The situation
A business with more than thirty years’ trading history, supplying machined components and sub-assemblies to blue-chip customers across aerospace, automotive and industrial sectors. The owner was planning retirement and wanted a handover that protected the staff, the customers and the price.
Profitable and well regarded — but, like most owner-managed businesses, some way from being ready to hand to a buyer.
What was already strong
- Blue-chip customer base — top five accounts across three sectors, none above ~22% of turnover
- High repeat revenue — 85%+ of turnover from customers trading five years or more
- An experienced second tier running production, quality and commercial day to day
What the review flagged
- Owner still central to key customer relationships and pricing decisions
- Management information solid but not to the standard a diligence team expects
- Several long-standing supply agreements informal or out of date
- AS9100 accreditation in progress but not yet complete
- Growth headroom real — spare capacity, live pipeline — but not evidenced on paper
The preparation
Roughly eighteen months of focused work before anything went near a buyer:
- Ran a full diligence rehearsal across contracts, financials, employment and property
- Moved the owner out of day-to-day pricing and key-account contact over ~12 months
- Documented and renewed supplier agreements; resolved outstanding IP questions
- Built the management pack and data room to buyer standard
- Packaged the growth story with pipeline evidence behind it
Going to market
With the business ready, it was taken out confidentially and deliberately anonymised — no trading name, exact location or detailed accounts released without a signed NDA and buyer qualification. Approaches went beyond the obvious trade names to adjacent and strategic buyers, run as a process to keep competitive tension in play through to offers.
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