For investors and acquirers
A partner-led commercial diligence and voice of the customer practice for private equity and venture capital technology investors.
Commercial insight for technology investors before the decision is made
You have a technology investment or acquisition opportunity in front of you. The management story may be credible. The market may look attractive. The numbers may support the case.
But before you invest, you need to know whether the customers, market and competitive evidence support the thesis.
Lighthouse helps PE, VC and corporate acquirers make better commercial decisions in technology markets. We provide senior-led Voice of the Customer research, commercial due diligence and market insight to test customer conviction, revenue quality, competitive position and growth potential before investment or acquisition.
100+ deals and strategic projects
Technology markets only
Senior-led from start to finish
CDD, VoC, strategy and M&A in one view
The investor problem
Technology deals need evidence, not just a credible story.
Recurring revenue, a specialist product, a growing market - every deck makes the opportunity look compelling. The harder question is whether the customer, market and competitive evidence underneath the story holds.
Diligence chain
01
Are customers genuinely committed - or simply slow to switch?
02
Is pricing power real, or will it damage retention?
03
Is the competitive set correctly understood?
04
Can the growth plan be delivered with the current proposition?
05
Will the target still look attractive once customers have been independently referenced?
Where we help
Six situations.
One question underneath.
Investors come to Lighthouse before investment, during a live process, or as part of portfolio value creation. The brief differs; the question is always whether the commercial evidence supports the decision.
01
Customer evidence before IC
Management says customers love the product. Your committee needs independent proof that they do — and that they will stay.
02
Full commercial due diligence
For larger or more complex transactions: market, competitors, customers, revenue quality and growth plan — tested as one.
03
Validating the growth plan
New markets, cross-sell, pricing, international expansion. We test whether the plan is evidenced — or aspirational.
04
Assessing a bolt-on
Acquisitions can accelerate growth or consolidate a market. We test whether the commercial logic survives contact with customers.
05
Post-investment value creation
Customer and market evidence, used to pick the three or four initiatives that actually move enterprise value.
06
Before a sale, we find the commercial issues a buyer's advisor will find — while there is still time to address them.
WHERE WE GO DEEP
Commercial Due Diligence, built for the decision.
When a deal requires a deeper commercial view, Lighthouse tests the target's market, customers, competitors, revenue quality and growth plan — shaped around the specific questions your thesis depends on.
What we assess
i.
Pre-IC underwriting
iii.
Bid-stage thesis testing
ii.
Post-LOI confirmation
iv.
Bolt-on screening
How we report
We do not write generic market summaries. Outputs are IC-ready and take a view: what we found, what it means, where the evidence is strong, where it is weak - and what should be challenged before proceeding.
A report should change the decision - not decorate it.
PRIMARY WEDGE
Voice of the Customer: the fastest route to commercial truth.
For many investors, the most valuable diligence input is not another market report. It is direct, structured evidence from the customers who will determine whether the investment thesis holds.
HOW WE ENGAGE
i.
Standalone VoC, when customer evidence is the main issue.
ii.
Integrated VoC, when full CDD is required.
iii.
Senior-led calls, not outsourced call collection.
WHAT INVESTOR VOC CAN TEST
01
Why customers bought the produce/service
03
Customer perception of
pricing
05
Implementation, product and support experience
07
Where the product is strongest and weakest
02
How embedded the solution
is
04
Likelihood of renewal, expansion or churn
06
Competitor awareness and switching appetite
08
Whether management’s growth story is supported
When VoC is the right answer
VoC is particularly useful when the deal timetable is tight, the customer base is concentrated, retention or NRR is central to the thesis, pricing power needs testing, or full CDD is not proportionate but customer evidence is still required.
What the output should do
The work should not simply summarise customer interviews. It should translate customer evidence into clear commercial implications for the deal: what supports the thesis, what weakens it, and what needs to be reflected in IC, negotiation or post-investment planning.
Deeper diligence
Commercial Due Diligence for technology businesses.
When a deal requires a deeper commercial view, Lighthouse tests the target’s market, customers, competitors, revenue quality and growth plan.
Market size, structure and growth
Customer segmentation and buying behaviour
Competitive landscape and differentiation
Revenue quality and retention risk
Pricing, packaging and expansion potential
Go-to-market performance and scalability
Management growth plan assessment
Commercial risks and value creation priorities
IC ready outputs that take a view - what we found, what it means and what to challenge
Our track record
A practice built on volume, value and velocity.
100+
CDD & VoC engagements delivered
£2bn+
Aggregate EV diligenced
4 wks
From kick-off to IC-ready
100%
Partner-led, every engagement, every draft
Where we operate
A focused practice. UK technology, narrowly defined.
We say no to mandates outside our focus. The depth that produces a useful read-out is built on partners who have run businesses in these specific sub-sectors, not browsed them.
FOUNDER- & PE-BACKED
Horizontal SaaS
SCALE-UP & LATER STAGE
B2B & ENTERPRISE
Tech-enabled services
RECURRING REVENUE MODELS
UK, US & EUROPEAN
RECURRING / CONTRACTED
Thirty minutes with a partner. Tell us the target.
We will tell you wahat we would look for.
No deck. No pitch. A working conversation with a partner who has run businesses in the sub-sector, NDA signed in advance. If we are the wrong call for this deal, we will say so - and where possible, point you to who is right.