Portal
Portal

Services, Management Consultancy

Management Consultancy

Growth creates its own problems. The structure that worked at ten people rarely works at fifty, and the decisions that felt straightforward early on get harder once there's more at stake. We work alongside leadership teams on strategy, organisation, and the operating decisions that come with scaling.

This is advisory work, not investment advice. We help founders and leadership teams think clearly about where the business is going and how it should be organised to get there. Most of the time we do this for the companies we've backed, because we already know them well and have a stake in their success. Occasionally we take on a mandate with a team outside our portfolio, when there's a specific strategic question we're well placed to help with.

Situations where this tends to help

A few patterns come up often enough that they're worth naming plainly:

  • A founder has scaled past what their current management structure can handle, and needs to rethink how the company is organised: who owns what, how decisions get made, and where the gaps are.
  • A business is preparing for an important strategic decision (entering a new market, restructuring a division, managing a leadership transition) and wants an outside perspective before committing.
  • A company is growing quickly and needs help professionalising its operations: clearer processes, better resourcing decisions, a leadership team that matches the size of the business it's now running.

What we help with

✓ Strategy and market positioning: clarifying where the business competes and why.
✓ Organisational design: reporting lines, decision rights, and how the company is structured internally.
✓ Operating model and process: how the business actually runs day to day, and where it's slowing itself down.
✓ Leadership team structure: the roles, gaps, and hiring priorities that come with scaling a team.
✓ Preparing for a transaction or a funding round: getting the organisation into shape before outside scrutiny arrives.

Typical engagement types

Engagement type Typical focus Usual length
Organisational review Structure, reporting lines, and decision-making bottlenecks 3–5 weeks
Strategic sounding board A specific decision: new market, pivot, restructuring 2–4 weeks
Growth readiness Operating model and process ahead of a scaling phase 4–8 weeks
Transaction or funding-round preparation Leadership structure and operational story ahead of a raise or sale 4–6 weeks

How a typical engagement runs

1

Initial diagnostic

We spend time with the leadership team and, where useful, with people a level or two down. The goal is an honest read of where the organisation is straining and why, not a generic framework applied from outside.

2

Recommendations

We come back with a small number of clear, prioritised recommendations (on structure, roles, process, or strategic direction) rather than a long document that's hard to act on.

3

Implementation support

Where it's useful, we stay involved as changes are put into practice: checking in, adjusting the plan, and helping the team work through the parts that are harder in reality than on paper.

Frequently asked

Mostly, yes: the majority of this work is with companies we've backed, since we already understand the business and have a long-term interest in how it develops. We do occasionally take on a mandate outside our portfolio when there's a specific strategic question we're well suited to help with.
No. Consultancy engagements are advisory work, structured and billed separately from any investment we may or may not hold in a company. The two are kept distinct.
This is strategic and organisational advisory, not financial management, financial planning, or investment advice. If what you need is help managing money rather than managing the business, this isn't the right service.

Thinking through a strategic or organisational question?

Tell us where things stand and what you're weighing up, and we'll let you know if it's something we can help with.

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