Our services
Advisory services for technology companies and their investors
Lighthouse works only with technology companies and the people who invest in them. Our main services are growth strategy and buy-side M&A. Commercial due diligence and customer research give investors and acquirers the evidence behind a deal, and we help owners get ready to sell. A partner leads every project.
Our services
What we do and how long it takes
Growth strategy and buy-side M&A are our main services and take the large tiles. The others support them: commercial due diligence and customer research before a deal, AI readiness, and getting a business ready to sell.
Core service
Growth strategy
Where will the next stage of growth come from?
A growth plan short enough for the board to read and specific enough to act on. It starts with the Business X-Ray of your market, customers, competitors, product, go-to-market and numbers.
Scope and timetable agreed before work starts
Where AI pays
AI readiness
Where will AI make a commercial difference in our business?
We listen to your teams, test where AI would pay its way, and agree the first moves with you. We have used AI inside our own firm since 2020.
Four to six weeks
Evidence for a deal
Commercial due diligence
Does the investment case hold up?
A report your investment committee can rely on. It covers the business, its market and competitors, revenue, AI exposure and the risks, with open questions for management.
Typically four weeks from kick-off to report
Evidence for a deal
Voice of the Customer
What do customers really think, and will they stay?
Ten or more customer interviews run by a partner, with the main themes, a Net Promoter Score, anonymised quotes and a view on churn risk. A 90-day action plan is optional.
Two to three weeks, depending on customer availability
Core service
Buy-side M&A
Should we buy, and which business?
The whole deal run for you, from strategy and target list to completion, or the part you need. We help you plan the integration and your team runs it.
Around three months is typical
Preparing to sell
Exit strategy
What is the business worth today, and what holds the value down?
A baseline of value, the gaps a buyer would find, and a roadmap to close them. Some clients keep us on to review progress with the board each month.
Four to six weeks for the baseline
Preparing to sell
Sell-side M&A
We are ready to sell. Who should run it?
A sale led by a partner from preparation to completion, run to the best deal for you rather than the first one that covers the fee.
Six months to get ready, then three to six months from launch to completion
Also bought on its own
Smaller pieces of work, and ways to keep us on
Business X-Ray
The first step of a growth strategy, bought on its own. Six layers, from the market to the numbers.
Agreed in the scope
Pre-deal market check
A quick read on a market or a target before you commit to a full process.
One to two weeks, once the questions and the people to interview are agreed
Outsourced corporate development
For businesses without a deal team of their own, we act as one across the whole deal.
Agreed per deal
Board reviews after the plan
Some clients keep us on to review progress with the board each month and to help with acquisitions.
Monthly, for as long as it is useful
We work only with technology companies and the people who invest in them.
Technology only
Since 2017, for technology companies and the people who invest in them
100+ transactions
Completed by our partners over 20 years, in previous roles and at Lighthouse
A partner on every project
A partner leads every project and is on every call
How we work
Small on purpose, and senior on every project
Technology only
We work with technology companies and the people who invest in them, and with no one else. That has been true since 2017.
A partner leads
A partner leads every project and is on every call. There is no handover to a junior team after the first meeting.
We have done the job
Our partners have run strategy, M&A and corporate development inside technology businesses, and sit on the boards of technology companies today.
We say when it will not work
If a project is wrong for you, or you do not need us yet, we say so at the first meeting.
Les Elby
Partner
Les is an experienced business leader with over 20 years of experience across the technology sector. He has held senior leadership positions in corporate development, strategy and executive management roles at AVEVA and Lighthouse, as well as advisory positions to the executive teams of technology firms. He is also an active mentor for start-ups and SMEs, helping them to grow and maximise their future value.
Mat Truche-Gordon
Partner
Mat has worked for over 20 years in leadership roles within the software sector, including 10 years at AVEVA plc, where he ran strategy, key accounts, marketing, licensing, partnerships and M&A as an executive board member. Mat left AVEVA in 2015 to join Hg Capital and spent five years in corporate development roles, completing over 25 acquisitions and disposals. He joined Lighthouse in 2020 and is also an active board member for technology companies in the UK and Central Europe.
Who we work with
Two types of client
Investors in technology companies, and the people who run them. Each has its own page, written around the decisions they usually bring to us.
Clients
For private equity and venture investors
Customer research and commercial due diligence before you sign. Growth and bolt-on support while you hold.
Clients
For technology leadership teams
Growth strategy and acquisitions, either as your outsourced corporate development team or for a single decision.
Client work
Examples of our work
Buy-side M&A
Advised Causeway on its acquisitions of Reference Point and of one.network from Bridgepoint.
Buy-side M&A
Supported GBG on its acquisition programme, including the 2025 acquisition of DataTools.
Due diligence and customer research
Commercial due diligence and customer research for Axiom Equity on an investment completed in 2026.
Customer research
Voice of the Customer work for Scottish Equity Partners on a minority investment.
Sell-side M&A
Advised Snapbytes on its sale to Appfire in 2021.
Some of the companies and investors we have worked with
Questions
Questions clients ask before the first call
Which service should we start with?
Tell us the decision in front of you. We will say which piece of work answers it, and if a smaller piece of work will do, we will say that too.
Can we buy one piece of work on its own?
Yes. Commercial due diligence, customer research, a pre-deal market check, the Business X-Ray and the AI readiness assessment can each be bought on their own. Some clients start with one and come back for more.
Will a partner lead our project?
Yes. A partner leads every project and is on every call.
Do you work outside technology?
No. We work only with technology companies and the people who invest in them.
Do you stay on after the work is done?
We help you plan an integration, and your team runs it. Once a growth plan is agreed, some clients keep us on to review progress with the board each month and to help with acquisitions.
Talk to a partner
Tell us what you are trying to decide
A partner will tell you which piece of work answers it, or that you do not need us yet.