How we work

The GP-Score team reviews PE firms value creation capabilities and how they have been applied at portfolio companies.

The process

1. Review of value creation capabilities
Analysis of all means used by the fund team: processes, tools, resources, calendar, etc.

2. For assessment / scoring only: audit of real-life value creation cases in portfolio companies
In-depth review of selected value creation situations within portfolio companies in order to determine the overall rating.

The assessment is based on 3 key questions:

Assessment

Do the Fund’s GPs ensure that solid assessments of value creation potential in portfolio companies are performed?

Planning

Do the Fund’s managers make sure portfolio companies establish strong value creation plans?

Execution

Do the Fund’s GPs closely monitor and support the execution of value creation plans?

To audit operational value creation capabilities, GP-Score uses various sources of information

Fund's team

Fund's team description of their value creation processes, guidelines and methodologies.

Interviews

Interviews with portfolio companies' managers - and their team when appropriate.

“ Drill-Down ”

Drill-down on selected portfolio cos. x operational dimensions.

The certification process is a few days long (up to 5).

The assessment / scoring typically lasts 6 weeks:

Week 1

Interview Fund's GPs teams :

- methodology
- review of portfolio
- current and past value creation plans

Data collection

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Follow-up with the Fund's GPs.
Selection of portfolio cos. x operational dimensions for review.

Drill-downs :
- interviews with managers of portfolio cos.
- review of value creation diagnostics and plans : data, facts, context
- review of the value creation plan's execution, focus on selected operational dimensions

Week 6

Initial score.

Debrief with Fund's GPs team.

Additional drill-down.

Presentation to GP-Score Audit Committee

Release of final score and audit report

We review concrete cases of value
creation in a selection of Portfolio companies and operational dimensions

Operational
dimensions

- Finance / controlling

- Sales, customer success, marketing

- Costs (HR, purchasing, real estate, cap-ex)

- ESG / sustainability

- Operations / production / supply chain

- Key people management / HR

- IT / infra / cybersecurity

- Innovation

- Management (integration, synergies, ...) of acquisitions and international development

- AI

For more details on the operational sub-dimensions that can be covered by GP-Score, see our detailed proprietary framework (contact us).

Rules of ethics

01

The GP-Score team has no conflict of interest: GP-Score does not provide any other services to PE firms.

02

The certifications, scores and assessment reports are approved by the GP-Score internal Review Committee before being made final.

03

Members of the GP certification / assessment team recuse themselves from any audit case in which they (or their relatives) have an existing or past professional / personal relationship with a member of the GP team or the rated company's management.

04

GP-Score never reports or comments on scores to LPs or other parties unless so requested by GPs.

A full assessment report is provided - and optionnally, a score