Q2 Intake: 2 Positions Remaining — Closes March 15
Most buy-and-build programmes don't fail. They stall.
For CEOs of £20m–£100m businesses executing buy-and-build who need to complete 3–5 acquisitions per year without becoming the operational bottleneck.
Your pipeline stalled. Your advisors drifted. Here's why — and how to fix it.
Book Your Execution Diagnostic (2 Positions Remaining)
No sales pitch. You leave with a full execution diagnostic whether we work together or not.
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Less on your plate
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More deals, faster
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Business worth more
"This is for you if:"
Revenue £20m+
Planning 2–5 acquisitions
CEO currently bottlenecked by deal execution
The Reality
The Uncomfortable Reality
Most mid-market buy-and-build programmes do not collapse publicly. They decay quietly. The first acquisition completes. Integration absorbs oxygen. The CEO becomes operationally entangled. The pipeline slows. Advisors drift. Board confidence cools.
Twelve months later, the growth strategy that justified the last board deck, investor update, or fundraise exists only in PowerPoint. Nothing failed outright. Momentum simply died.
The Pattern
This repeats across the UK mid-market with extraordinary consistency. It is rarely a capital problem. Rarely a strategy problem. It is almost always an execution infrastructure problem.
In 30 seconds:
Problem
Buy-and-build stalls due to CEO dependency
Solution
Embedded acquisition command
Outcome
3–5 acquisitions annually without leadership burden
The CEO Dependency Trap
In most £20m–£100m revenue businesses, acquisitions are treated as events — not capabilities. Each deal is assembled like a bespoke project with advisors recruited ad hoc, target criteria loosely defined, and diligence reactive rather than structured.
The Bottleneck
CEO becomes the constraint across origination, negotiation and diligence
The Conflict
Pipeline management competes with running the core business
The Consequence
Deal cadence becomes episodic, dependent on leadership bandwidth
There is no acquisition machine. There is only leadership willpower. And willpower does not scale.
This Is Not a Strategy Problem. It Is a Command Problem.
Most organisations do not require another strategy paper. They require institutional acquisition command. The Buy-and-Build Command Protocol™ exists to remove acquisition from the realm of "leadership heroics" and reposition it as an organisational capability.
Strategy
  • Defines what to do
  • Conceptual
  • Advisor-led
  • Episodic
  • CEO-dependent
Command
  • Ensures it gets done
  • Operational
  • Embedded
  • Continuous
  • Institutionally owned
The Compounding Economics of Cadence
Deal cadence drives earnings growth. Earnings growth drives multiple expansion. Multiple expansion drives equity value. The objective is simple and measurable: move from 1 sporadic transaction per year to 3–5 structured completions annually — without increasing CEO operational burden.
£12M
1 Deal Per Year
Incremental enterprise value from single annual acquisition
£48M
4 Deals Per Year
Incremental enterprise value from institutional cadence
£60M
3-Year Delta
Compounding differential in mid-market environments
This is not theoretical. It is structural mathematics. The Protocol exists to unlock that compounding effect.
Proven Results Across UK Mid-Market
Case Study
Global Wealth Manager - £2bn AUM
Business Context: London-based wealth management firm required 3-4 acquisitions within 18 months to meet investor targets. Two previous attempts had failed after consuming 64 months of senior team time each.
Challenge: No systematic deal origination. Senior Management lacked bandwidth for M&A execution. No pipeline visibility to predict outcomes.
Results:
  • 47 targets originated
  • 21 qualified opportunities
  • 3 completed acquisitions
  • CEO time reduced from 20 hours to 8 hours weekly
  • Active pipeline of 8 qualified targets established for year two
  • Structured reporting providing stakeholders with monthly updates
Case Study
UK £30m Food & Beverage Company
Business Context: PE-backed manufacturer needed portfolio diversification and distribution expansion. Previous 18 months saw two failed acquisitions and no partnership development due to internal capacity constraints.
Challenge: Leadership operating at full capacity. No decision framework for acquisition vs partnership choices. Reactive approach to opportunities producing no results.
Results:
  • 62 targets originated
  • 10 qualified opportunities
  • 2 completed acquisitions
  • Complementary products added through acquisition
  • New distribution channels secured through partnerships
  • MD time commitment reduced from 15-20 hours to 5-6 hours weekly
  • Active pipeline maintained for ongoing execution
Ready to build your acquisition machine?
Two positions remain for Q2 2026. Intake closes 15 March.
No sales pitch. You leave with a full execution diagnostic whether we work together or not.
Critical
The Cost of Delay
Momentum in consolidation markets is asymmetric. Once lost, it is difficult to recover. Buy-and-build is not self-sustaining. It requires deliberate command.
If acquisition cadence stalls for 18–24 months, seller perception weakens, competitive consolidators accelerate, and multiple compression risk rises. The window narrows.
The Buy-and-Build Command Protocol™
The Protocol is not advisory support. It is embedded acquisition command. Kelvin Lane Growth Partners operates inside the business — assuming operational ownership of the acquisition programme whilst leadership retains full strategic authority.
We own the work. You own the decisions.
Phase I
Diagnose the Execution Bottleneck
Phase II
Build the Acquisition Command System
Phase III
Operate the Deal Engine
Phase I: Diagnose the Execution Bottleneck
Weeks 1–4
Most organisations believe they have an acquisition strategy. Few understand their execution maturity. Phase I establishes diagnostic truth: where does execution stall? Where is risk concentrated? Where is leadership overexposed?
Deliverables
  • 40-Point Acquisition Readiness Diagnostic
  • CEO Dependency Map
  • Pipeline Heatmap Dashboard
  • Execution Risk Profile
  • Institutional Capability Blueprint
Five Dimensions Assessed
  1. Pipeline Depth & Quality
  1. Leadership Dependency
  1. Process Discipline
  1. Advisor Integration
  1. Integration Preparedness

CEO Reality Test: If you stepped away from acquisitions for 60 days, would the pipeline advance? If three or more critical questions yield "no", the programme is leadership-dependent. That is not sustainable.
Phase II: Build the Acquisition Command System
Months 2–4
Phase II builds the machine. This is where acquisition shifts from ambition to operating system. Infrastructure is formalised, decision authority is clarified, and continuous origination replaces episodic activity.
Strategic Acquisition Filters
Formalised criteria prevent opportunistic deal chasing. Every target must align to sector thesis, margin profile, cultural compatibility, and integration feasibility.
Continuous Origination
Maintain 12–20 active, qualified conversations at all times through structured target databases and pipeline tracking dashboards.
Execution Governance
Every lifecycle stage has defined ownership, clear decision authority, timeline discipline, and escalation pathways.
Negotiation Playbooks
Standardisation improves quality through commercial risk mapping, financial synthesis, and deal structuring templates.
Integration Command
Integration begins during exclusivity with Day 1 charter, governance structure, and 90-day performance roadmap.
Phase III: Operate the Deal Engine
Month 5 Onwards
Systems alone do not create momentum. Execution discipline does. Phase III embeds ongoing command through weekly war rooms, active negotiation leadership, diligence oversight, and integration control. Visibility drives velocity.
01
Weekly Acquisition War Room
Pipeline progression reviewed, bottlenecks escalated, dead targets eliminated, new origination initiated
02
Active Negotiation Leadership
Counterparty psychology managed, valuation protection enforced, structure optimised
03
Diligence Oversight
Workstreams coordinated across financial, legal, operational and commercial dimensions
04
Integration Control
Day 1 readiness verified, accountability enforced, KPI tracking implemented
Strategic Outcomes
Organisations implementing the Protocol experience transformation across five measurable dimensions. These effects reinforce each other, creating compounding momentum that strengthens exit optionality and enterprise value.
Deal Cadence
From 1 sporadic transaction to 3–5 structured completions annually
CEO Capacity
Operational deal burden reduced by 50–70%. Leadership returns to architect role.
Transaction Quality
Improved structuring discipline and downside protection through systematic frameworks
Board Confidence
Forward pipeline visibility increases credibility and strengthens stakeholder alignment
Enterprise Value
Predictable cadence compounds EBITDA and creates measurable valuation expansion
This Is Not Advisory Support
Traditional M&A advisors provide episodic transaction support. The Protocol embeds ongoing acquisition command.
1
We Own the Work
Traditional advisors brief and recommend. We assume operational ownership of pipeline management, target origination, negotiation coordination, and diligence oversight.
2
We Operate Inside Your Business
Not external consultants visiting monthly. Embedded command with weekly war rooms, daily pipeline progression, and direct accountability for deal velocity.
3
We Build Institutional Capability
Advisors leave when the deal closes. We build systems, playbooks, and governance structures that persist beyond any single transaction.
4
We Measure Cadence, Not Completion
Success is not closing one deal. Success is moving from 1 sporadic transaction to 3-5 structured completions annually — predictably and repeatably.
Limited Availability
Five Active Clients. No Exceptions.
We maintain a maximum of five simultaneous Protocol engagements to ensure execution quality. Currently, two positions remain available for Q2 2026 onboarding.

Q2 Intake Closes March 15th, 2026. Next availability: Q4 2026. Assessment applications are reviewed within 48 hours. Engagement decisions are made within one week.
The mid-market is filled with companies presenting buy-and-build strategies. Few have built the machine required to execute them. Strategy does not create scale. Cadence does. And cadence does not emerge naturally — it must be commanded.
Buy-and-build should not rely on heroic leadership energy. It should function like finance, operations, commercial: predictable, repeatable, governed.
The constraint is not ambition. It is command. And command can be built—if you act now.