Technology Modernisation for Private Equity
The systems a company runs on rarely show up in a deal. They show up afterwards, as cost. Hollinford helps private equity firms understand and modernise that technology before, during, and across their investments — from due diligence on a target, to systems modernisation in a portfolio company, to integration across buy-and-build.
The technology you inherit
A known quantity at every stage of the investment.
Private equity firms read the commercial side of an investment closely. The technology underneath gets less attention, and it tends to surface as a problem after the deal: a database no one has documented, reporting assembled by hand each month, an integration that one person knows how to fix.
Each of those carries a cost and a risk that belongs in the investment view. Hollinford makes the technology a known quantity at each stage, so it supports the thesis instead of undercutting it later.
Across the investment
How technology risk changes shape.
Three stages, three different questions. Each has a dedicated page.
Before the deal
What does this company actually run on, and what will it cost to bring up to standard? Left unanswered, the answer arrives as a number after closing.
During ownership
Which systems hold back growth, and how do you change them without disrupting the business? Left alone, they cap the value the firm can create.
During buy-and-build
Can the acquired companies operate as one? Until they do, the group runs as separate businesses that happen to share an owner.
How we help
Three ways Hollinford works with private equity.
Technology due diligence
Assess a target's systems, software, and integration risk before you close.
Explore technology due diligenceSystems modernisation
Modernise the systems holding back a company you already own.
Explore systems modernisationBuy-and-build integration
Join acquired companies into one operating group.
Explore buy-and-build integrationWhy Hollinford
A technology partner that understands operations.
Business-critical systems focus
Hollinford works with the software, workflows, and systems that companies depend on every day, not experimental side projects.
Coverage across the investment
The same understanding applies before a deal, during ownership, and across acquisitions, so a PE firm works with one partner across the whole journey.
Modernisation without unnecessary disruption
The aim is the safest practical path to better systems, with the staged option set out before any major commitment.
Operational understanding
Work starts with how the business runs: users, workflows, dependencies, reporting, and continuity.
Suitable for messy legacy environments
Hollinford can support businesses with old databases, custom tools, disconnected systems, manual workflows, and fragile integrations.
From assessment to implementation
Hollinford can define the roadmap and then support the modernisation, integration, or rebuild work that follows.
Who Hollinford works with
SMB and mid-market portfolio companies.
Hollinford works with SMB and mid-market companies, the size where legacy systems, manual workflows, and key-person dependency are most common, and where a PE firm feels them most directly.
Inside those businesses, the work involves operating partners, value creation teams, investment directors, and portfolio company leadership.
Hollinford can work alongside an in-house team or hand the systems back to them once the work is done, so bringing Hollinford in does not create a permanent dependency.
Related: Legacy systems we modernise, Legacy Modernisation, how we work, and pricing.
Talk to us
A technology question on a deal or a portfolio company.
Whether you are assessing a target, improving a company you own, or integrating acquisitions, Hollinford can help you understand the systems involved and define a practical path forward.
FAQ