Every private equity firm has a value creation plan.
That's not the problem.
The problem is that many of the assumptions behind those plans were built for a different environment.
Shorter hold periods.
Faster exits.
More liquidity.
More room for multiple expansion.
Today, sponsors are holding assets longer.
Management teams are being asked to do more with less.
And LPs are looking for distributions.
As the pressure to create value increases, the question changes.
It becomes:
Where can additional value still be found?
Not every opportunity shows up in diligence.
Not every opportunity belongs to a single department.
Some sit between Finance and HR.
Some sit between Payroll and Benefits.
Some sit between Operations and Administration.
They are rarely large enough to become strategic initiatives.
Yet they are often meaningful enough to influence free cash flow, EBITDA, and enterprise value.
Not because they're hidden.
Because they're overlooked.
This publication exists to explore those opportunities.
The trends, observations, and operating realities that may deserve more attention than they currently receive.
Because when value creation targets become harder to achieve, incremental improvements matter.
And sometimes the most actionable opportunities are the ones nobody put in the original plan.
Respectfully,
Preston Leahy
The Portfolio Value Creation Report