PE Value Creation Playbook:
The Operating Partner's Framework

Most PE value creation plans look the same on paper. Revenue growth, EBITDA margin expansion, working capital improvement. The difference between those that deliver and those that don't is almost entirely execution — not strategy.

If you want to quantify the value creation opportunity in your portfolio company, use the Diagnose execution gaps.

What Is PE Value Creation?

In PE-backed industrial businesses, value creation is the process of improving EBITDA and cash conversion — measurably, sustainably, and at a pace that supports the investment timeline and exit multiple. Use the Quantify margin leakage to quantify the EBITDA improvement available through pricing discipline alone.

The First 90 Days

Days 1–30: Diagnose

Build the real P&L. Run a price waterfall analysis. Conduct a working capital audit. Identify the top three EBITDA levers. By day 30, the highest-leverage interventions are clear.

Days 31–60: Execute

Implement pricing discipline. Reset working capital controls. Install the weekly commercial cadence. Hold the team accountable to weekly metrics — not monthly narratives.

Days 61–90: Compound

EBITDA improvement is visible in the numbers. Cash is converting faster. The board has commercial visibility. The scale plan is confirmed.

The Four Value Creation Levers

1. Pricing discipline — recover the 15–30% of revenue leaking through uncontrolled discounting
2. Working capital release — release cash trapped in debtors, inventory and creditors. Use the Identify trapped cash to model the opportunity.
3. Operational execution — install a weekly commercial cadence that keeps pricing, margin and working capital visible and accountable
4. Scale — network expansion, M&A, category extension. Growth on a sound base compounds. Growth on a weak base destroys value.

The value is in the execution. Every PE-backed business has a plan. The ones that create value are the ones where someone with operational credibility is in the room when the plan meets reality.