The Challenge

Our client has developed a leading market position providing specialist estate administration services to law firms and financial institutions.  The management team invited A4e Insight to support them in completing a strategic review to identify and prioritise diversification options including through acquisition.

What we did

We conducted a detailed review of the driving forces and trends affecting the legal services landscape with particular reference to the changes in the regulatory framework and the implications for legal services providers over the next five to ten years.  We completed commercial due diligence on an identified diversification acquisition that provides a platform for further bolt-ons and positions the business to capitalise on growth opportunities in a related area of specialised legal process outsourcing.  In parallel, we supported the acquisition related fund raising process through introductions to potential investors.

The Challenge

LDC engaged A4e Insight to support its management buy out of JHP by providing commercial due diligence. Based in Coventry, JHP is one of the leading private sector providers of government-funded learning and skills in the UK. It is also an increasingly important provider of employability and welfare to work services.

LDC engaged A4e Insight to analyse JHP’s positioning and growth prospects in both these key markets in the light not only of current government policy but also of possible future change. In particular, we were asked to consider the impact of a change of government and of likely reductions  in public spending, whatever the outcome of the next election.

What we did

Our team was able to draw on in-depth understanding of both the employability and skills markets, and used its knowledge and experience to provide detailed insight into the likely prospects for JHP. In addition to analysis of the markets and JHP’s competitive positioning within them, we carried out an organisational assessment of JHP so that we could give a rounded view on the achievability of the company’s business plan,. We were also able to provide a unique insight into JHP’s positioning as an integrated provider of both employability and skills, an area of increasing importance to policy makers in all parties.

LDC successfully completed its planned  investment in JHP in early January 2010.

The Challenge

Sovereign Capital, the private equity buy and build specialist, engaged A4e Insight to undertake commercial due diligence of London Care plc. London Care is a leading provider of domiciliary care services in London, the South East of England and the West Midlands.

Sovereign needed rapid but thorough analysis of the domiciliary care market and London Care’s position within it, in the light of both current market conditions and likely prospects as demand for social care rises while growth in public spending starts to slow.

What we did

Our experienced team carried out detailed analysis of the social and domiciliary care macro-market and its prospects to 2014, analysis of London Care’s competitive positioning, and a detailed assessment of London Care’s business plan forecasts in the light of its contract pipeline and sales forecasts. We took particular account of changing market conditions in social care, including growing demand for care in all forms, the shift in provision from residential to domiciliary care and changes in the way local authorities are procuring social care services.

We were able to contribute both our general knowledge of the public sector and in-depth understanding of the social care market, and our experience of service delivery in the home care sector across A4e as a whole.

Partly as a result of our support Sovereign was able to complete successfully its planned  investment in London Care, giving it a solid platform for its buy and build strategy in the domiciliary care sector.

The challenge

Our client was a leading supplier of risk management software to the UK health sector.  The background and experience of the business means that its software is well adapted to health sector requirements.  As a result, it enjoys a dominant market position in the UK and has recently entered the North American market.

The company was reviewing its future growth options and had identified a long list of potential new markets.  The challenge was to narrow down the list and identify the markets that offered the greatest opportunities with the lowest investment in product development and sales capacity.

What we did

We started by working with the management team to identify the unique selling points (USPs) that might be applicable across new markets, and the criteria we should apply when evaluating the attractiveness of new markets.  We then analysed the macro-market for the company’s products in three potential new markets, assessed the competitive landscape and potential competitors and drew conclusions about the main opportunities in each.  Our findings and recommendations were accepted in full by the Board.  These helped the business to focus and prioritise its development activities on the best opportunities.

The challenge

Our client is the country’s leading provider of civil enforcement services and has significant contracts with both central and local government. The company needed to sharpen its sales and bid management performance, especially in relation to major central government contracts, and engaged the A4e Insight Team to help it improve both the quality of its tenders and, ultimately, its overall win rate.

What we did

Our team has worked with the company on a number of major central and local government bids in two ways. First, we have helped the company improve the content of its responses through Red Team reviews, ensuring that the customer’s requirements and specific questions are fully addressed. Second, we have helped the company improve the quality of its written responses, ensuring that they have high impact and sell the company’s strengths. This involved authoring or rewriting specific sections within the proposal response.

The Challenge

Our client is a specialist provider of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software. Its highly sophisticated products are leaders in a niche market - the designers and manufacturers of machine tools, moulds and dies.

The company needed a brief but thorough review of its market positioning to support discussions with potential investors. The challenge was to complete the study quickly and explain the company’s positioning and prospects in a way that could be easily understood, given the complexity of what the company’s software does and the niche markets in which it operates.

What we did

We analysed the macro-market for the company’s products and identified key drivers of future growth. We also conducted a focused qualitative survey of current customers to identify their views on the product set. Taken together this work identified that the market for the company’s products was buoyant and driven by a number of key factors that made it resilient to downturn and overall end-market conditions. We produced a succinct report which was well received and praised for the way it had explained clearly and in lay terms the nature of the company’s products and markets.