Case Study: Optimising Deal Execution

The Situation: A Finance Team Overloaded by High Transaction Volumes

One of Europe’s largest private equity real estate managers was struggling with the high volume of acquisitions, disposals, and refinancings. The finance team was deeply involved in deal execution, handling fund flows, reserves analysis, and asset onboarding.

While this model had worked well in the past, as transaction volume increased, senior finance leaders were pulled too deeply into execution, limiting their ability to focus on broader financial strategy and fund management.

The Challenge: Freeing Up Senior Finance Leadership Without Compromising Execution

• The firm needed a highly skilled finance professional to oversee the finance and accounting aspects of deal execution without requiring constant oversight.
• The role required a balance of technical expertise and commercial acumen to work seamlessly across investment, tax, and legal teams.
• Given the firm’s growing deal pipeline, hiring had to be executed efficiently to prevent further delays in deal completion.

Our Approach: Finding a High-Impact Finance Hire

We worked closely with the firm to develop a targeted hiring strategy:

• Defining the Ideal Candidate: We outlined the critical technical and commercial skills required for the role.
• Exploring Multiple Backgrounds: We considered candidates from private capital accounting, ECM accounting, M&A tax, and real estate corporate finance to determine the best fit.
• Screening for Commitment: Many candidates viewed the role as a stepping stone into the front office. We carefully filtered for professionals genuinely invested in this area of finance.
• Ensuring an Efficient Process: Given the urgency, we structured the process to ensure fast but thorough evaluation and selection.

The Outcome: A High-Impact Hire Who Transformed Execution Efficiency

We successfully placed a private equity accountant with extensive transaction experience. The new hire improved deal execution efficiency, allowing senior finance leaders to focus on broader strategic initiatives.