Our team and partners bring together unrivalled industry expertise, corporate finance acumen, and a vast network of investors and deal specialists to deliver exceptional results. We specialise in swiftly evaluating a company's strategic value, connecting with the right investors, and refining your narrative to maximize your business's appeal.
For buyers, our unmatched ability to identify top-tier targets ensures you make the right deals-spotting the stars and avoiding the dogs with accuracy and confidence.
Unlock our "secret sauce" for selecting the best opportunities, leverage our extensive industry connections, and collaborate with deal experts fluent in the language of your target.
Take advantage of a complimentary consultation with Marek, who was instrumental in crafting deals such as the acquisition of InPost or finding start-ups with star quality like Bloq.it.
When it comes to navigating the complexities of the deal-making process, we’re the trusted partner you need by your side.
Our journey begins in the vibrant heart of Central and Eastern Europe, Poland, where Company X, buoyed by an ambitious and innovative team, soared to remarkable heights domestically. Yet, its aspirations for global dominance stumbled amidst the challenges of international expansion and strategic foresight. The very attributes that once fuelled its ascent—dynamic leadership, swift decision-making, and a penchant for disrupting norms—morphed into stumbling blocks as the organisation grappled with its evolving scale and complexity.
In contrast to the meticulously data-driven giants like Amazon, Company X thrived on a high-paced, if somewhat chaotic, ethos. Yet, this approach revealed significant gaps in management information systems, process refinement, and leadership development, crucial for a company of its stature.
Enter Marek, our protagonist, who discerned the untapped potential within Company X. When we were asked to look at the company, it was on the brink of insolvency, and failed to pass at least two of the key criteria for the potential PE investor. Fortunately, Marek, immediately saw “star quality” in this company, where focus, process and control could quickly turnaround the business and where the core market, was still profitable and generating cash.
Moreover, the open-mindedness of the European Managing Partner at the PE fund (and perhaps the fact that they needed a successful project in Poland) brought the deal over the line. The rest is history, with a relatively modest deal of a few hundred million Euro’s, leading to the most successful M&A deal of the last decade, in which the company IPO gave a return of over 30X on the initial investment.
Shifting our gaze southward, we encounter a tale woven with the threads of potential yet marred by misfortune. Company Y, a significant player in the Post and Parcel sector, sought to expand its coverage by acquiring a national CEP company. However, this venture, driven by ambition rather than thorough due diligence, was doomed from the outset.
Upon his arrival, a year post-acquisition, one of our partners stepped into the role of regional CEO, his confidence buoyed by a string of nearly ten successful turnarounds within the region. He harboured no illusions about the road ahead—it promised to be fraught with challenges, yet he perceived them not to be insurmountable.
Little did he anticipate the storm ahead. Within a days of his arrival, he learned that the seller, who was also the main customer, making up some 25% of the revenue had just given notice that they were not extending their contract (after the post deal guaranteed period). Normally, this would have entailed buckling down, making some cuts in staff and finding alternative customers.
Two things got in the way, however, the first being the labyrinth of Greek legislation and practice, and the second being the reputation and quality of the acquired business.
Looking at them in turn, it is almost impossible to believe that at the time (over 10 years ago now) Greek law required that companies:
• could lay off only 2,5% of staff in a month
• had to pay salary increases twice a year, even if they were losing money
• Couldn’t subcontract couriers despite labour law that strongly favoured the employee
• had to give significant days off for various “onerous” tasks…such as working with a computer
This meant that a business that was not working well, and had lost a major portion of its revenue, couldn’t use many of the key tools needed to effect a successful turnaround.
The second equally, if not more important issue, was that the company wasn’t healthy. Processes and systems were poor, senior management demotivated and lacking relevant experience and strategy was about as clear as mud.
The result of this sad story was that a company that cost just a few million EUR, ended up losing some ten times that amount and finally had to be liquidated. Of course, some of the reasons lay in the market, which was indeed very difficult at the time, but had proper due diligence with the necessary expertise been leveraged, the situation could have been very different.
This tale of two deals illuminates the critical importance of specialised strategic, commercial, and operational insight. Beyond the tangible assets and legal frameworks (legal and financial DD can usually be bought “off the shelf” quite easily), the nuanced understanding of industry dynamics, key people, and the instinct to identify and act on the right opportunities are the essence of successful mergers and acquisitions.
To navigate the treacherous waters of M&A, arming oneself with the requisite expertise is not just advisable—it's imperative. Let the saga of Company X and Company Y serve as a beacon, guiding your ventures to the harbours of success rather than the reefs of ruin!
Greg Urban, Partner, Last Mile Experts. The leader of International outbound and EAD compliance AUDIT program has conducted dozen audits for Designated Operators in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Greg has worked on projects for seventeen postal operators and for international institutions such as UPU, IATA, EIB, EBRD
Our team combines deep industry knowledge with corporate finance expertise and a strong network of investors and deal specialists. We quickly assess a company's strategic value, identify the right investors, and help you sell your story.
Last Mile Experts (LME) provides more than just consultancy, offering hands-on implementation support and interim management by integrating directly with client teams to enhance both domestic and international operations.
Specializing in e-commerce last mile and OOH logistics, LME's experts collaborate closely with clients to develop tailored strategies that optimize processes and improve customer satisfaction.
LME is not just a “hands off” consultancy, we frequently offer implementation support and interim management.
At Last Mile Experts, we seamlessly integrate into your team to enhance your operations both international or domestic. We can guide you through any and all CEP related operations, however, our core specialisation is e-commerce last mile and OOH (PUDO and parcel locker) logistics. Our experts, including Marek Różycki, Mirek Gral, Greg Urban, Greg Krupa and Damian Jarosz collaborate closely with your staff to develop and implement tailored strategies that optimise processes and improve customer satisfaction.
By embedding our specialists within your organisation, we ensure that our solutions are customised to your specific needs, leading to targeted and sustainable improvements in efficiency and performance.
As an example, we have helped setup economic and operationally efficient operation between Poland and Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian markets for one of the largest marketplaces in the region providing significant competitive advantage enhancing both sales and customer satisfaction for merchants and consumers.
We are currently supporting a leading European CEP player in developing their international network and processes via long term Board Advisory support.
We provide workshops that delve into the secret sauce behind Amazon’s last-mile delivery model, effective procurement strategies, and customer experience (CX) techniques, equipping businesses to succeed in this increasingly competitive segment. Led by experts like Marek Różycki, Greg Urban and Mirek Gral, these sessions focus on adapting to increased parcel volumes, managing operational costs, and meeting evolving customer expectations. Through Damian Jarosz’s guidance on Interactive Delivery Management (IDM), attendees gain practical tools to enhance client satisfaction and minimise delivery costs with flexible scheduling.
Our team can leverage many years of experience in order to prepare specialist reports and industry analysis.
Our reports to date include:
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