02

CASE STUDY

Building and Exiting a Procurement Advisory Business: £10 million increase in Value

At a Glance

  • Company: Construction dispute resolution and procurement advisory business (20 → 45 employees)
  • Strategy: Expansion into healthcare and education sectors, including major UK public programmes
  • Intervention: Management Buyout (MBO) in 2005 using founder equity and HSBC funding
  • Result: Rapid growth and strategic positioning leading to sale in 2007 for $16.2 million
  • Value Created: Over £10 million in net financial value
  • Impact: Methodology formed the foundation of ValueStep 

The Situation

A specialist construction dispute resolution business with 20 employees had developed a growing healthcare advisory capability.


An opportunity emerged to expand into education through the UK’s Building Schools for the Future programme, requiring strategic repositioning and leadership alignment.

The Challenge

  • Transition from niche advisory to scalable consultancy model
  • Entering new public sector markets (education and large programmes)
  • Securing high-value contracts to drive growth
  • Structuring ownership and incentives for long-term value creation
Group of diverse people in a meeting, looking at laptops and papers, discussing ideas at a table.

Results


The business scaled from 20 to 45 employees and achieved a successful exit in June 2007 through sale to a NYSE-listed global consultancy for $16.2 million.


Post-acquisition, leadership supported integration and expansion within a 90-person Public Services practice.

Value Created


  • Over £10 million in net financial value generated
  • Wealth creation for founders, leadership, and employees
  • Scalable growth model leading to a successful exit


Strategic Impact


The phases of growth, repositioning, and exit formed the foundation of the ValueStep methodology, now applied across advisory engagements.

OTHER CASE STUDIES

Strategic Intervention

James Leng and Robert Osborne led and financed a Management Buyout (MBO) in 2005 using personal equity and HSBC debt.


The business was repositioned to target major public sector programmes, supported by strong commercial strategy and contract acquisition.


An EMI share option scheme was implemented, aligning staff incentives with long-term value creation.

Key ValueSteps


  • Procurement advisory contracts for the London 2012 Olympics
  • Ongoing advisory role within the NHS Independent Sector Treatment Centre programme
  • Strategic advisory to a consortium on the Building Schools for the Future programme
  • Implementation of EMI scheme distributing 20% of sale proceeds to staff
Woman points to a sketch on a whiteboard, explaining a design concept.