Commercial due diligence
Sitting on the investor side of the table, interrogating the concept, the operating model and the scalability thesis — so investors know exactly what they’re buying before capital moves.
Commercial due diligence for restaurant, pub, café-bar and multi-unit food & beverage groups ahead of an acquisition, investment or refinancing. We provide investors with an independent, sector-specialist assessment of the investment thesis across five dimensions:
We deliberately front-load independent research before engaging the target’s leadership — forming evidence-based hypotheses on key risks and opportunities, pressure-testing them against industry benchmarks and expert perspectives, and arriving at management interviews with a more nuanced line of inquiry.
Review of the investment memorandum, brand digital presence, trade press and sector commentary. Full market and trends analysis of the relevant segments, competitive landscape mapping and price benchmarking against regional and national concepts. Baseline P&L review, technology stack audit across POS, inventory, delivery, loyalty, staffing, back-of-house automation and business intelligence. Customer analysis including review mining, sentiment analysis and reputation trends.
Mystery visits across a broad geographic spread of the estate — legacy locations, newer units and direct competitors in the same catchments. Assessment covers guest experience, food and drink quality, value perception, service levels, operational efficiency and consistency across sites. Qualitative real estate assessment evaluating location quality, visibility, fit-out condition and alignment with site selection standards.
Structured interviews with senior figures who have direct experience of scaling multi-unit F&B businesses: former operators and executives from comparable chains, commercial property agents active in target geographies, and food and hospitality technology companies operating across ordering, kitchen automation, labour optimisation and data platforms.
One-on-one interviews with founders, CFO and senior leaders covering strategic vision and operational detail. Targeted deep dives with leadership and selected unit-level employees on specific hypothesis areas. We often function as a facilitator between management and investors, particularly when developing or evaluating the post-completion value creation plan.
A commercial due diligence report covering trading performance, brand strength, site-level economics, market position and the key risks and opportunities for a potential acquirer.
Most run four to six weeks from kick-off to final report, depending on portfolio size and how many sites need visiting. We front-load independent research before management engagement, so findings are evidence-based rather than led by the target’s narrative.
Yes. Most of our due diligence work is commissioned directly by the investor or their advisers ahead of an acquisition, refinancing or growth equity decision. We also support the target’s leadership through an external perspective on their business and opportunities.
We visit a broad geographic spread of the estate — legacy locations, newer units and direct competitors in the same catchments — assessing guest experience, food and drink quality, value perception, service levels, operational efficiency and consistency across sites of varied vintages and geographies.
Yes. We audit the existing technology stack across POS, reservations, inventory, delivery, customer loyalty, staffing, back-of-house automation and business intelligence — identifying blind spots and untapped opportunities in how the business captures and utilises data from guests and operations.
Yes. Our team is based across the UK, USA, UAE, Estonia, Denmark, Brazil and Poland, and we’ve delivered due diligence work in more than 20 countries.