Proof Before Premium

Executive summary preview

Buy the workflow, prove the improvement, then pay for the premium. The strongest thesis is to buy businesses with established customers and embedded workflows, then improve reporting, coordination and compliance without weakening control over data or access.

Running AI is common; moving EBITDA is not. 63% of European PE value-creation teams use AI, yet only 14% of PE-backed CEOs say it has both raised revenue and cut costs.

The bottom line: prove one measurable operating improvement before expanding it across the portfolio, and pay for an AI thesis only once rights, reliability, economics and transferability are demonstrated.

Key findings

• Adoption is not value: nearly 40% of GPs expect no material AI financial impact in 2026.
• Start with an economic bottleneck: finance reporting, fixed-fee client coordination and industrial service delivery are the clearest starting points.
• Controls come first: standardise isolation, permissions and audit trails, then choose workflows company by company.
• Consolidation favours dependable workflows: AI-enabled roll-ups target 30 to 40% margins from 5 to 10% services economics, but results are unaudited.
• Diligence must prove rights and economics: 94% of audited M&A deals had licence conflicts, and AI products average about 52% gross margin.

Research figures

63%

of PE value-creation teams now use AI

14%

of PE-backed CEOs say AI lifted revenue and cut costs

52%

projected AI product gross margin, 2026

What the playbook covers

1. Value creation: a five-step sponsor operating model ending in an EBITDA bridge
2. Consolidation: four pillars of a defensible AI-enabled roll-up
3. Diligence: four gates before paying any AI premium

3 more items fully covered in the report.

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