Capabilities, reach or scale
Organic growth takes patience. A well-executed acquisition can fast-forward your ambitions.
Arrow brings the discipline that makes the difference: screening, the business case and focused diligence, and a straight answer on whether to proceed. If you proceed, Arrow can negotiate terms assertively, both commercial terms and warranties.
The strongest case for acquisition is a capability that cannot be grown in time; the return follows from deploying it across the whole business.
Arrow’s experience includes corporate development inside a leading UK grocer, where a stake in a customer data science business brought the capability in-house. This guaranteed the retailer’s access to a competency which had become central to its core business. It also opened new revenue lines selling to FMCG and CPG manufacturers and to international retailers. The investment returned 50x.
The full story →Clear criteria for what qualifies: brands with individual scale potential, not a long tail of small ones.
At a PE-backed brand licensing business, a systematic roll-up deployed $20M in acquisitions at a 40% IRR hurdle, guided by a clear rule for what qualified.
The full story →Clear criteria for what qualifies: unique market-leading reach in London and nationally.
The same corporate development experience includes an end-to-end convenience acquisition and a larger estate transaction that together built a standalone convenience business of around 900 stores, leading the sector.
The full story →Commercial due diligence should challenge the deal upwards and downwards, not just confirm it. Should you even offer? Were other prospective buyers right to pass?
As part of a due diligence team examining a £2B general merchandise retailer, we identified existential challenges and recommended an abort; the target went into administration within three years, citing the same issues.
The full story →The vendor of a TV rentals business priced it as a sunset asset on 30% annual attrition. Diligence work with the sponsor found a loyal core declining at nearer 10%. There was value that everyone else had missed, with a double effect: revenues were more durable, and the cost side enjoyed efficient scale for much longer.
The full story →Some capabilities are better rented, partnered or built organically, especially when scale is low, so the new capability is firmly non-core. Experience includes market entries built on fulfilment partnerships in cars, energy and mobile. The buy, build or partner judgement takes place before starting to screen acquisition targets.
The method in full, in our investment lifecycle articles: Deal Foundations and Maximum Impact Levers.
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