Install the Value Creation System and make value explicit, owned and delivered.
We work with PE-backed businesses to install the Value Creation System, a management system that aligns leaders on how best to create value, concentrates resources on the few things that really matter and commits the broader organisation to a delivery plan that adapts as reality changes
The Challenge
The value creation plan sets out the roadmap for value. The operating reality is where value actually gets created. The challenge is consistently and reliably reconciling the two.
The plan was robust and coherent on paper. It assumed multiple things would happen at pace. Either the leadership team inherited it, or they wrote it themselves under deal-process pressure — before the business looked the way it looks from the inside. Either way, the plan starts ageing the moment conditions move, and the assumptions built into it don't hold up against how the business actually runs.
So what do PE Portfolio Companies actually need?
A plan the leadership team genuinely feels like they own. Focused on what matters for equity value creation. And flexible enough to adapt as reality changes — without losing the discipline of accountability.
However, three structural issues often prevent this from happening:
- Teams do not share a value creation lens — trade-offs get made through functional, political or growth-led lenses, not an economic one focused on compounding equity value.
- Resources are not sufficiently concentrated — too many priorities stay live; the hardest choices don't get made and effort gets diffused.
- Top-down planning doesn't translate into delivery — priorities are agreed at the top but are not always understood or owned by the teams that have to deliver them.
These aren't capability problems — they're system problems. Most businesses recognise at least one. [Read More →].
The Value Creation System
A fact base to ground decisions. An annual roadmap to set direction. An operating rhythm to turn it into delivery.
The Value Creation System aligns leadership around what creates equity value, concentrates focus on the few things that matter most, and gets the organisation committed to delivering them — adapting as reality changes. The system is built around 3 layers.
01I CLARITY— The Value Foundation.
Creates a shared, economically grounded view of where value is created and destroyed today. The output is a leadership fact base that makes the real value creation levers visible.
02I FOCUS— The Strategy Layer.
Enables a small number of economically focused choices that concentrate the organisation behind the highest-return work. The output is a practical roadmap that turns value creation ambition into clear decisions on what matters most, with everything else going to a backlog.
03I RESULTS — The Operating Layer.
Embeds the quarterly, monthly and weekly cadence that turns the roadmap into reality. The output is a plan that stays live, owned and current — not a document that ages between board meetings.
What changes when the system is installed?
Fewer priorities, better decisions, and a plan that adapts as reality changes.
Within Weeks
- Clarity on where value is created vs destroyed.
- The 5- 7 key drivers that matter the most for equity value, identified and prioritised.
- Explicit trade-offs, including what to stop — even if it's growing.
- A roadmap for this quarter and this year. Everything else in the backlog.
Within Months
- Capital and effort concentrated in higher-return segments.
- Leadership aligned on what matters and what doesn't.
- Priorities translated into owned initiatives with clear accountability.
- A monthly rhythm that produces decisions, not updates.
- A plan that's always current —refreshed each quarter as reality unfolds.
Who is the system for?
The Value Creation System is built for mid-market PE-backed businesses — typically £50m–£250m enterprise value. It is built for two sides of the same situation:
Management teams, particularly:
- the first 90 days post-deal
- a new MD or CEO establishing grip
- the plan drifting mid-hold
- the run-up to exit
PE sponsors, particularly that back:
- first-time PE-owned teams
- minority investments
- corporate carve-outs
Who We Are
Ignition BD was founded by James Waddilove, who brings 20+ years of experience in value creation — seen from the perspective of an investor, operator and strategist.
- Previously co-led Corporate Development at Wesfarmers in Australia, responsible for capital allocation and portfolio value creation across an AU$85bn portfolio .
- Strategic Advisor to executive leadership teams and boards, including at Ocado and Marks & Spencer.
- Led multiple value creation initiatives for private-equity, founder-led firms and corporates.
“James helped shape and deliver Ocado’s Group strategy — grounding Board-level decisions in value creation, cash flow and delivery reality, and putting in place the ownership and cadence required to turn priorities into action.”
James Matthews, Deputy-CEO, Ocado Group plc
What Happens Next
If the situation above resonates, the next step is a thirty-minute call to understand where you are and assess whether the Value Creation System is relevant.
No preparation required. No obligation. If it’s not a fit, we’ll tell you.
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