An investor needs rapid due diligence.

An investment committee, family office or board needs an operating view of a consumer business inside a short window. The data room answers some questions and raises others.

The requirement is judgement, not another layer of commentary.

• Diligence validates the model rather than testing the business.
• Market size is examined more closely than rate of sale.
• Operating risk in supply chain, systems and inventory is discovered post-completion.
• Management is assessed on presentation rather than on operating record.
• The report arrives after the decision has to be made.

• Is the revenue quality what it appears to be, by customer, channel and product?
• Does the margin structure hold at scale?
• Can the operation deliver the growth case?
• Is the management team capable of the next stage?
• What are the two or three things that would most damage the investment case?

• Deliver a focused commercial and operational assessment within the decision window.
• Test the growth case against distribution, rate of sale and capacity.
• Identify the operating risks that carry real value consequences.
• Set out what the first hundred days of ownership should address.
• Give a clear position rather than an inventory of observations.