Due Diligence
For Investors, Acquirers and Founder-Led Businesses
For Investors, Acquirers and Founder-Led Businesses
Most deals don’t fail because of strategy.
They fail because risks surface too late.
At Alexander Rosse, we provide rigorous, commercially focused due-diligence services that help founders, investors and acquirers make informed decisions —and protect value.
We work on both sides of the transaction, giving us a clear view of what really matters.
Financial Due Diligence
We go beyond headline numbers to understand what is sustainable.
- Quality of earnings and revenue analysis
- Burn rate, runway and working-capital assessment
- Review of historic performance and accounting robustness
- Validation of forecasts and assumptions
- Identification of funding gaps, hidden liabilities and red flags
Outcome: clarity on risk, not surprises post-investment.
Commercial & Market Due Diligence
Growth narratives are easy. Evidence is harder.
- Assessment of product-market fit
- Revenue concentration and customer dependency
- Competitive positioning and barriers to entry
- Stress-testing growth assumptions and scalability
Outcome: confidence that the story holds under scrutiny.
Operational & Systems Due Diligence
Operational weakness kills momentum after a deal.
- Review of finance systems, reporting and data integrity
- Assessment of scalability and internal controls
- Identification of operational bottlenecks and integration risks
Outcome: realistic expectations of post-deal execution.
Tax, Regulatory & Structural Review
Poor structure erodes value — quietly but consistently.
- Identification of historic and future tax exposures
- Review of group structures and cross-border complexity
- Regulatory and compliance risk assessment
Outcome: fewer deal blockers and reduced re-pricing risk.
Vendor (Pre-Sale) Due Diligence
Founders who prepare early protect valuation.
- Identifying and resolving issues before buyers find them
- Improving deal certainty and speed
- Strengthening negotiating position
Outcome: cleaner deals, fewer last-minute concessions.
Who This Is For
- VC and private-equity investors
- Strategic acquirers
- Founder-led tech businesses preparing for funding or exit
- Scale-ups anticipating investor scrutiny in the next 6–24 months
Our View (and it’s a firm one)
Most founders underestimate diligence risk.
Most investors overestimate how “clean” early-stage businesses are.
Our job is to close that gap — early, clearly and commercially.
Speak to Us
If you are:
- Raising capital
- Acquiring or selling a business
- Preparing for institutional scrutiny
A short conversation now can prevent expensive problems later.
Common Due Diligence Issues in Founder-LedTech Businesses
What Investors Find — and What Founders Often Miss
By the time due diligence begins, it’s usually too late to “fix” fundamentals. At Alexander Rosse, we regularly support founders, investors and acquirers through diligence processes. Patterns emerge quickly. Most issues are not fatal — but they directly affect valuation, deal speed and negotiating power.
Below are the most common issues we see in founder-led and VC-backed businesses.
1. Forecasts That Don’t Survive Scrutiny
Forecasts are often:
- Overly optimistic
- Poorly linked to actual operating drivers
- Missing downside or stress scenarios
Why this matters:
Investors don’t expect certainty — they expect realism. Weak forecasting erodes trust fast.
2. Burn Rate and Runway Not Clearly Controlled
Founders know the headline runway, but not:
- How it changes under stress
- Which costs are genuinely flexible
- How long it would take to course-correct
Why this matters:
Unclear runway increases perceived risk and reduces valuation leverage.
3. Revenue Quality Issues
Common problems include:
- Heavy customer concentration
- One-off or non-repeatable revenue treated as recurring
- Weak churn, retention or cohort analysis
Why this matters:
Revenue quality matters more than revenue size.
4. Weak Financial Reporting and Data Integrity
We often see:
- Inconsistent management accounts
- Poor reconciliation between systems
- Heavy reliance on founder “explanations”
Why this matters:
Investors fund businesses — not founders’ memories.
5. Informal or Outdated Group Structures
Particularly common in fast-scaling tech businesses:
- Historic structures that no longer make sense
- IP ownership not clearly aligned
- Cross-border complexity added without planning
Why this matters:
Structural uncertainty creates legal and tax risk — and slows deals.
6. Tax and Compliance Risks Left Untested
Founders often assume:
- “We’ll deal with it later”
- “It’s not material yet”
Why this matters:
Small issues compound under diligence and invite re-pricing.
Our View
Most diligence issues are fixable — if identified early.
The businesses that perform best in transactions are not the ones without issues, but the ones that:
- Understand them
- Quantify them
- Address them proactively
This is what protects value.
Next Step
If you expect investor or acquirer scrutiny in the next 6–24 months, early review creates leverage.
Speak to our Corporate Finance team to assess readiness.
Corporation tax
Corporation tax reliefs and rates change annually, so we ensure that we can provide all the right guidance and advice when looking at exemptions, allowances and deductions that may be available.
We will thoroughly review and prepare corporation tax returns in great detail in order to ensure you are compliant and that you don’t incur any penalties.
Self assessment
Our tax services make sure that your tax liability is calculated taking into account all allowed exemptions and deductions. We simplify the process by using accountancy software to accurately complete tax returns and calculate any tax liability that may occur, along with any payments that need to be made.
Capital gains tax
You may be looking at investments, a second property or another asset and our team can make sure you maximise your exemptions while simplifying the difficult area of capital gains tax.
Personal tax planning
[insert firm name] can help with the complex issue of personal tax, we know it can be difficult to understand, which is why we help every step of the way. We take away the time and stress by creating a tax planning strategy that suits your tax affairs, helping ensure you pay the least amount of tax. Our team will advise when payments are due along with what forms need to be filed and returned to keep you compliant.