Commercial & Operational Due Diligence
The operational read your financial DD can't give you.
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For Private Equity
You're buying the asset. We tell you if the operation actually works.
Operator-led commercial and operational due diligence, value creation, and interim leadership for private equity in maritime, transport, and logistics.
Sub-$200M deals, US & Europe, read like an owner.
The gap
Three gaps on a sub-$200M maritime deal
The operational risk, the part that decides whether your thesis holds, is the part nobody reads like an owner.
Bulge-bracket banks
Won't look at your deal size.
Big Four financial DD
Tells you the numbers, not whether the operation runs.
Generalist consultants
Don't know how a fleet, a yard, or a terminal actually works.
Navex sits in the middle: an operator's read on whether the asset actually performs.
What others miss
Red flags an operator catches
Financial diligence and generalist consultants tend to walk past these. We do not.
Deferred drydock
Maintenance pushed out to flatter today's numbers, hiding a capex wall coming due.
Utilization masked by mix
Headline utilization propped up by seasonal or one-off work, not the run-rate.
Key-person dependency
Technical management or commercial relationships resting on one or two people.
Change-of-control triggers
Contracts that can be repriced or exited the moment ownership changes.
Class conditions coming due
Outstanding class or survey items that turn into cost and downtime after close.
Concentration behind the margin
A few large contracts carrying the EBITDA, with thin cover if one moves.
How we help
Where we go to work
Value Creation & Growth
A 100-day plan and the levers to hit it.
Learn moreBoard & Interim Leadership
An operator in the seat during the transition.
Learn moreIntegration Management
Bolt-ons absorbed without losing the core business.
Learn moreDeal Sourcing & Transaction Support
Proprietary, sub-$200M maritime targets.
Learn moreWhat you get
Deliverables for your IC
A 15 to 25 page operational and commercial due diligence report.
A one-page red-flag summary for your investment committee.
A 100-day value-creation lever list that feeds post-close planning.
An investment-committee debrief call.
How we work
From data access to IC debrief
1
Scope
Define the questions that decide the thesis.
2
Data & interviews
Desk analysis and management interviews.
3
Site & synthesis
Asset review, then connect the findings.
4
Report & IC debrief
Written report, red-flag summary, debrief.
Where we fit
We complement your other advisors, we do not replace them
Financial DD
Your Big Four team. The numbers and quality of earnings.
Legal DD
Your counsel. Structure, contracts, and liabilities.
Operational read (Navex)
Whether the operation actually runs, and what it takes after close.
Track record
What our founding team has done
Our founder has sat on both sides of the PE table, as an operating CEO and in sourcing a new PE partner and exit.
130%
EBITDA growth in 15 months
$1.3bn
Largest transaction worked through
5
Exits delivered
$1bn+
Enterprise value shaped
- Grew EBITDA by more than 130% in 15 months as regional CEO of a global maritime services group, rebuilding a commercial pipeline from near zero to over $30M.
- As chief commercial officer of a PE-owned marine services company, delivered several consecutive years of 50 to 77% revenue and EBITDA growth, executed six bolt-on acquisitions across three continents, and helped deliver a successful exit.
- Worked through four private-equity ownership rounds at a global ship management group, including a $1.3bn transaction.
- Across a 25-year operating career: five exits, more than ten bolt-on acquisitions, and over $1bn in enterprise value shaped.
Figures reflect the founding team's operator experience prior to Navex.
Why us
Why not a bank, a consultant, or a data house
Not a bank
A bank brokers the transaction and moves on. We stay after close and help run the business.
Not a consultant
A consultant builds the model and hands you a deck. We have run these operations ourselves.
Not a data house
A data house sells you the numbers. We tell you what the numbers mean for the asset.