DRAFT v0.1 / FILE REF CDD/2026/UK-MID-MKT / INDEPENDENT REFERENCE - NOT M&A ADVICE
§ CHAPTER IV
IV.

Operations Diligence

Chapter IV of the seven-chapter CDD spine.

§ DIRECT ANSWER

Chapter IV of the CDD spine: Operations Diligence. The chapter answers the IC’s primary question for this leg of diligence and cites the primary UK sources it draws on. Source: ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty; BVCA Industry Activity.

Chapter IV stress-tests capacity, unit economics and the operations bridge to the financial model. Where the workstream warrants its own report, a standalone ODD adviser is commissioned alongside CDD.

§ 1.1Capacity

Industrials: plant utilisation, throughput, downtime. Services: utilisation rate, fee earner pyramid.

§ 1.2Unit economics

CAC, payback, contribution margin per cohort. Cross-checked to QofE workbook (chapter V).

§ 1.3Ops bridge

The walk from operations output to revenue model; flag any breakage to chapter V owner immediately.

VERIFIED 21 JUN 2026NEXT REVIEW 21 SEP 2026SRC: ICAEW CF; BVCA Industry Activity 2025-26

Marked-up by Oliver Wakefield-Smith. Draft v0.1, 21 June 2026.