Corporate Strategy
Rebuilding a portfolio around two businesses that could compound.
A founder-led industrial group with eleven operating units had grown by acquisition for two decades. Revenue was flat, returns were diluted and the board could not articulate which businesses deserved capital.
- Service
- Corporate Strategy
- Sector
- Industrial Group
- Engagement
- 14 weeks
The Problem
What stood in the way.
- Eleven units competed for the same balance sheet with no shared measure of merit.
- Group-level margin masked three businesses earning below their cost of capital.
- Succession planning had stalled because no one agreed on the shape of the future group.
Our Approach
How we worked.
- 01
Rebuilt unit-level economics on a common invested-capital basis, stripping out group allocations.
- 02
Tested each business against structural demand, competitive position and reinvestment runway.
- 03
Ran a board series to convert the analysis into a portfolio decision rather than a debate.
Outcomes
What the work produced.
- 2
- core platforms retained
- +410bps
- group operating margin
- 18 months
- to full portfolio reset
Three units were divested and two were merged. Capital concentrated behind the two platforms with genuine reinvestment runway, and the board adopted a standing allocation framework that survived the founder's transition.
Next Case Study
Growth Strategy