Operational Support for M&A Advisers
And Transaction Teams
The operating story matters as much as the financial story. Buyers who can't underwrite the EBITDA assumptions don't pay for them. Operational weakness discovered in diligence becomes a price chip — or a deal failure.
A strong financial story built on a weak operating foundation will not survive diligence.
Corporate finance advisers know this. The businesses that get the best outcomes from a transaction process are the ones where the EBITDA is genuinely defensible — where margin assumptions are backed by commercial discipline, working capital is visible and controlled, and management can present operational confidence rather than founder dependency.
The businesses that underperform in a process are usually not mispriced. They are operationally exposed — in ways that skilled buyers identify quickly and translate directly into price adjustment or deal risk.
The window for fixing this is before the process, not inside it. Operational changes take 6–18 months to appear credibly in the numbers. The work needs to start before the information memorandum.
Unsupported EBITDA Normalisation
Add-backs that are commercially legitimate but operationally unsupported. Buyers challenge normalisation when they can't see the underlying commercial discipline. Pricing governance and margin visibility are what make normalisation defensible.
Working Capital Assumptions
Completion cashflow disputes are almost always a working capital issue. Buyers who find inventory quality problems, debtor aging issues or creditor term vulnerabilities in working capital due diligence will quantify and price them.
Management Reporting Depth
Buyers need to develop operational confidence in management — not just in the founder. Weak reporting cadence, limited KPI visibility and absence of formal review structures signal to buyers that performance depends on the person leaving.
Founder Concentration Risk
Customers, supplier relationships and institutional knowledge concentrated in the founder. Every operational measure of founder dependency translates directly into buyer risk assessment. The operational due diligence process surfaces all of it.
"The transactions that work cleanly are the ones where the operating story and the financial story say the same thing. When they don't — buyers notice. And they price for it."Scott Foster — Operator, ShapeExec
Operational support at every stage of the transaction cycle.
Pre-Process Preparation
12–24 months before a formal sale process. Identifying and closing the operational gaps that will surface in diligence — pricing defensibility, working capital normalisation, reporting depth, management capability. The work that protects the valuation before the process starts.
In-Process Operational Support
Strengthening the operating story during a live process. Preparing operational evidence, supporting management presentations, addressing buyer concerns about EBITDA quality and execution capability. Not replacing the financial advisers — working alongside them operationally.
Post-Transaction Performance
When the business needs to perform under new ownership expectations — immediately and consistently. Post-acquisition operating support for the period where execution credibility is established or destroyed.
What buyers test. What ShapeExec builds.
What Buyers Test In Diligence
- Margin consistency and pricing defensibility
- Working capital normalisation and quality
- Management independence from founder
- Reporting depth and KPI visibility
- Customer concentration and relationship risk
What ShapeExec Builds Before They Look
- Pricing governance and margin systems
- Working capital visibility and control
- Management cadence and capability depth
- Operational reporting and KPI structure
- Customer base risk reduction
Improve Operational
Defensibility
Enterprise value rarely improves sustainably without operational clarity underneath it. Buyers pay multiples for EBITDA they can trust — and trust comes from operating systems, not financial presentation.