Optimising your Business for Growth

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Supporting High Growth Organisations

Digital organisations are thriving in the fourth industrial revolution, with exponential growth opportunities and risks that require better decision-making. Whether your organisation is a start-up with ambition to raise funding, a scale-up with sights on IPO, or you are an established business looking at M&A opportunities, navigating the path to growing enterprise value presents complex challenges.

One example of this complexity is the significant shift of organisational value in recent years, moving from tangible assets such as property, plant and equipment, to intangible assets including intellectual property (IP). This IP includes patents, trade secrets, know-how, copyrights, trademarks / brand, data rights, source code, regulatory rights, and domain names. Constant transformative change and innovation in organisations with sophisticated Intellectual Property requires important risk assessment, due diligence, and protection; and the ability to now leverage IP to raise funding can enable Digital organisations to tap into innovative sources of funding like IP-backed lending, without diluting equity.

Aon as your Growth Partner

Maximising enterprise value for Digital companies across the business lifecycle requires a balance of risk mitigation along with rethinking the opportunities to create value and raise capital. Digital companies need advisers who understand their business landscape, and the unique challenges faced by fast-paced growth businesses.

Aon’s M&A, Transactions and IP Solutions teams solve the emerging needs of clients who are undergoing this kind of transformational growth. Our expert, data-driven solutions, and innovative ways of working support our clients in their growth journey.

Key Challenges & Priorities for Growth:

Unlocking the power of IP in a digital landscape
Protecting value with cyber security and executing deals safely
Balance sheet protection and working capital optimisation
Value creation and raising funding
Investment and Divestment due diligence
Navigating the path to IPO
Market understanding – where are the innovators, the white space, the opportunities
People Strategy
ESG agenda, including Climate & DEI
Internationalisation, including geo-political landscape
Carve-outs and integrations

Supporting you Throughout the Stages of Your Growth Journey

Start-Up Organisations

Scale-Up / Growth Organisations

Established Enterprise Organisations

Maturity & Exit

How Aon Can Help:

Aon brings sector expertise and proprietary technology to assist Digital business across the growth and equity lifecycle, spanning financing, IP, Cyber Security, Technology, people programmes, investment and exit strategies.

M&A and Transaction Solutions

Market analysis and opportunity assessment.
Buy and Sell-side diligence and realisation.
Integration and Separation support and expertise.
IPO: Enhancing and smoothing IPO process
Capital allocation and cash flow: Strategic use of financially attractive risk capital to optimise Balance sheet; Working capital advisory and Transaction solutions to avoid escrow and retentions.

Intellectual Property

IP lending: using our proprietary valuation approach and financial ecosystem to leverage Intellectual Property as collateral to fund growth
Quality of IP: Used to position IP as a value driver, de-risking and protecting value of investment opportunities on both buy-side and sell-side.
IP strategy: Often overlooked in early life cycle of company; opportunities to create patents that will allow you to protect and license IP.

Digital Strategy:

Specialist cyber due diligence, assessment, and remediation. Including linkage to insurability and optimal coverage.
Technology: Source code due diligence, technology due diligence and strategy. What are the right platforms to build your technology on to enable scalability.
Digital strategy: Navigating the complexity - how should AI and generative models play a role in your business? What's the impact of quantum computing, climate tech knowledge and insights, and how can your organisation evolve and adopt the big macro trends?

Aon’s Solutions can Power your Organisation for Growth:

Value Creation through Intangible Assets:

Tap into innovative finance sources like IP-backed lending which can create an additional flow of non-dilutive funding.
Use advanced IP analytics to position your IP as a value driver – re-disking and protecting investments in the eyes of potential investors.
Licensing IP as an opportunity: Explore selling data sets, targeting insurers or advertising companies that are hungry for data.

M&A and Transaction Support:

M&A Strategy: Leverage data rich analysis and sector specialist experts to understand the market landscape and opportunities.
Transaction Execution: Ensure due diligence and reduced risk across cyber security, IP, source code, technology, credit, ESG, HR and specialist risk & insurance.
Integration: Realise your M&A strategy by identifying and implementing available synergies.
Divestment: Use known risk insurance policies to pre-empt indemnities, price-chips and vendor assist products such as deferred consideration bonds.

Using Insurance to Power Growth:

Use insurance to increase use and supply of platform marketplaces, e.g. expected and essential covers and clarity to build confidence.
Build insurance products to support use of the service - e.g. additional covers to improve customer experience, support reputation and brand growth.
Use insurance to drive revenue from customers - e.g. additional insurances on platform marketplaces

Aon can Support your Growth Acceleration

Aon is a leader in UK Risk, Insurance, Human Capital, Digital and Cyber M&A, delivering financially focused advice and transaction solutions. Our M&A, Transaction and IP teams bring significant expertise and experience; and our value proposition for clients has expanded through the acquisition of cyber security firms Stroz Friedberg and Cytelligence, and intellectual property consulting and analytics firm 601 West, as well as investment in product innovation and talent.

We work with our digital economy clients throughout the growth journey, so whether it be at start-up, scale-up or expansion for enterprise organisations – we partner with you to realise your growth potential.

Insights From Aon

The sector’s long-term future success will depend on better risk management and a more effective partnership with the insurance industry says Aon’s Nick Watson – Client Director, Affinity Consulting, and Marc Roberts – CEO Officer at Hiyacar.

Rather than a barrier to growth, the insurance industry can be a catalyst for businesses pioneering new mobility solutions

Why the mobility sector should be taking steps to protect its intangible assets, and how those assets can be used to create additional value

Talk to Our Team

If you are interested in learning more about Aon’s Digital Economy team, across any of our solution lines – Insurance, Risk Management, People, M&A and Transactions, IP Solutions, please complete the form below. A member of our team will be in touch.

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Digital Economy