Pre-Exit GaaS: Exit-Aligned Governance

The Pre-Exit Governance Gap

Most PE exit preparation focuses on financial, tax, and operational due diligence. Governance is historically an afterthought, until it surfaces in buyer diligence as a risk, a negotiation point, or a valuation reduction.

Pre-Exit GaaS addresses this directly. We work with the portfolio company 12–18 months before the planned exit date to harden governance, build the evidence base, and ensure the buyer sees a framework that inspires confidence rather than questions.

We run a buyer’s due diligence before the buyer does. Then we fix what we find.

Four-Phase Delivery

Phase 1: Rapid Diagnostic (Weeks 1–4) Governance maturity assessment benchmarked against buyer expectations. Board composition review. Risk framework gap analysis against post-exit regulatory obligations. Delivered as a confidential executive report.

Phase 2: Framework Design (Weeks 5–12) Risk framework uplift. Board reporting suite development. Governance operating manual. Policy and control matrix redesign to buyer-ready standard.

Phase 3: Implementation & Testing (Weeks 13–24) Framework deployment. Control testing. Regulatory readiness verification. Board and management governance rehearsal.

Phase 4: Buyer Preparation & Data Room (Weeks 25–36+) Due diligence data room organised and populated. Governance narrative development. Exit-readiness certification. Buyer question anticipation and response preparation.

Gain-Sharing

Pre-Exit GaaS includes an optional gain-sharing arrangement on exit value uplift attributable to governance improvements. Governance maturity is increasingly recognised by buyers as a direct value driver: better governance reduces integration risk, supports premium pricing, and accelerates deal close.

The gain-share is capped, structured at engagement kick-off, and paid post-close. It aligns our incentives directly with yours: we only participate in the upside if the exit delivers.

Owen’s Credential Match

Every element of Pre-Exit GaaS draws directly on Owen’s experience: exit process navigation across 8+ PE-backed governance initiatives, governance framework design tested under FCA and regulatory scrutiny, board-level stakeholder management across 100+ board engagements, and due diligence data room experience from both buy-side and sell-side processes.