M&A integration advisory · pre-signing to Day 1

Many deals fail
after signing.
Yours doesn't have to.

Strategic integration thinking, applied at the moment it makes the most difference.

200+
Analytical signals evaluated per deal
20yrs
20 years in the room, doing the work
£100m+
Run-rate savings delivered in practice
A week
From first document to board-ready output

Avoid integration failure

Four priorities. In every successful integration.

01
Tie integration execution to strategy

The deal thesis is clear. How to execute against it usually isn't. Align the integration to the outcomes — every workstream must earn its place.

02
Maintain momentum

Lose it and you lose everything. Without structure and accountability from day one, integrations stall and rarely recover.

03
Focus on people

Things go wrong — they can usually be recovered. Losing the people you need cannot. A proactive talent strategy is where integrations are quietly won or lost.

04
Govern from the start

Decision rights, governance, synergy tracking: unglamorous, yet essential. Uncertainty destroys value. Build the structure before you need it.

Jon Milsted
JM

Founder

Jon Milsted

I've spent 20 years in the room doing this work — leading integrations, making the decisions, and delivering the outcomes: the integration of SSE Energy Services into OVO Energy, Vocalink into Mastercard, and two acquisitions at GoCardless. Programmes where the decisions made early defined the outcome.

"Most integration advisers tell you what should happen. I tell you what actually happens. And that's a completely different conversation."

Integration Intelligence codifies that experience. The questions it asks, the risks it flags, the structure it builds: all of it comes from being in the room when deals succeed and when they don't. You're getting the judgement behind it, built from real integrations, not derived from a framework.

The offer

Integration clarity
in a week.

The deal is analysed in depth: risks, opportunities, and the decisions that will define the integration. What lands with your leadership is a clear framework, ready to execute. Pre-close or at signing — fast enough and early enough to change outcomes.

01
Board and leadership leave with direction
A clear-eyed assessment of the integration before the decisions that determine returns get locked in.
02
Risks and windows identified while they can be acted on
Retention, architecture, governance: all flagged at the point where you can still do something about them.
03
The integration begins with structure
A prioritised plan, with named owners and timelines, built to act on from day one.

Who is Integration Intelligence for

Built for the people closest to the deal.

Private Equity
Before the board commits

Integration risks in the IC paper. Retention windows identified before announcement. Architecture decisions on the pre-close checklist.

Diligence stage analysis
IC paper integration section
Pre-close planning input
Corporate M&A
Before the clock starts

Pre-close preparation mapped before Day 1. The decisions that define execution are made in the weeks around signing.

Signing stage readiness review
Day 1 preparation
Post-close prioritisation
Integration Leaders
With structure from day one

You've been handed integration leadership. You need a credible framework, fast.

Rapid integration framework
Expert advisory on what to do and when
Confidence to lead from day one

Output taster · Project Aurora

A taster of
what's inside.

This gives a sense of the depth, structure, and clarity of what lands with your board.

Project Aurora is a fictional deal created for illustration only. No real transaction or client is referenced.

Project Aurora
£355m · 11.6× EBITDA · Geographic expansion
Integration Difficulty Intensive
Risk Register
Risk Register
Highlighted risks, ranked by severity
Critical
Key Talent Departure
Two individuals hold the DACH/Benelux customer base and the entire cross-sell thesis
Critical
Programme Execution Capability
No Integration Sponsor appointed; CEO bandwidth constrained by concurrent North American expansion
High
ERP Migration Timeline
Architecture decision outstanding; Year 2 milestone already at risk before signing
High
Cultural Integration
Founder-led target, PE-backed acquirer, 920 employees across 14 countries
Failure Pattern Detection
Known patterns identified in this deal
⚠
Momentum Collapse
Programme approved before governance structure is operational. No Integration Sponsor, no IMO embedded at close. The first 45 days define the integration — this window is already narrowing.
⚠
Retention Window Missed
Retention packages not signed before announcement. The pre-announcement period is the highest-risk departure window — cost of retention increases materially once the deal is public.
⚠
Architecture Deferred
ERP target architecture not committed before close. Each 30-day slip in the architecture decision moves the £4m technology synergy one quarter further out.
Synergy Assessment
£24m target — confidence and timeline by line
Synergy line£mConfidenceTimeline
Procurement leverage3.0HighYear 1
Overhead rationalisation7.0MediumYear 1–2
Technology / ERP4.0LowYear 2–3
Revenue — cross-sell7.0MediumYear 2+
Revenue — events3.0LowYear 3+
IC underwrites £8m at Year 3 against £24m management target. The £16m gap is the unproven assumption the board should not treat as value until delivery milestones confirm otherwise.
Opportunity Identification
Value creation beyond the base case
↑
Procurement Quick Win
Highest-confidence synergy line. Year 1 delivery realistic and execution-independent — recommended as the first value capture milestone, visible in P&L by Month 6.
Year 1 · High confidence
↑
Enterprise Cross-sell Programme
£7m run-rate — the most evidenced revenue synergy. Contingent on CRM integration design. First pipeline review at Month 6 is the leading indicator.
Year 2+ · CRM decision required first
≈
Events Portfolio Bundling
Management assumes £6m; achievable range £3–5m. IC underwriting should reflect the lower figure until cross-sell infrastructure is confirmed.
Year 3 · Management case overstated
Board Advisory
Specific decisions — named owners, binding timelines
01
Appoint a dedicated Integration Sponsor before the programme is approved. Full-time mandate, board-level authority to make integration decisions independently. Before close
02
Retention packages for the two critical individuals signed before public announcement. The pre-announcement period is the departure window, and it closes the moment the deal is public. Before announcement
03
ERP architecture decision in formal resolution with a named owner and binding timeline before close. Wavestone scoping begins by Day 30. Before close · Day 30 milestone

Why it matters

Early enough to change outcomes
Pre-close or at signing — when the decisions that matter are still open.
Advisory on what to do next
Not just risks identified — named decisions, owners, and timelines.
Evidence-based, not generic
Every finding traceable to a source document. No black box output.
In a week
Typically 5 working days from documents to board-ready output.
Confidential by design
Secure, isolated per deal. No data shared across engagements.

How it works

From documents to clarity in a week.

Structured analysis, advisor review, board-ready output. Every finding traceable. Every recommendation with a named owner and timeline.

01
Share your deal pack

IC paper, board pack, FDD, synergy model, management presentations. Secure, confidential, isolated per deal. How we handle your data →

02
Deep analysis

Every document read in full. Signals, contradictions, and gaps identified across strategy, people, governance, technology, and Day 1 execution.

03
Pattern matching

Analysis runs against failure patterns from real integrations. The signatures that only come from being in the room.

04
Practitioner review & delivery

Every finding is pressure-tested against 20 years of integration experience before delivery. Board assessment, integration blueprint, direct advisory where needed.

Get in touch

Have a live deal — or want to understand what's possible first?

We typically respond within one working day.

Thanks — we'll be in touch.

We typically respond within one working day.

Or email directly: jon@integration-intelligence.com