Elliott Strategic Solutions
We build the business buyers want to buy.
ESSL is called in when something significant has been built — and now needs to scale, integrate, or prepare for the next transaction without losing momentum. We help complex, tech-enabled businesses turn strategy into execution, and execution into enterprise value.
- $100M–$1Bn transformation programmes led
- Sell-side diligence, carve-outs, integrations
- UK, Europe, North America, India, Southeast Asia
- English and French
The scale-up paradox
Grown, but not scaled
Most businesses stall not because of a bad strategy, but because their operating architecture is still built for the startup they used to be. They have scaled their revenue — and with it their complexity, friction and risk. ESSL bridges the gap between founder-led chaos and investor-grade performance.
| Where growth stalls | Investor-grade performance |
|---|---|
| Manual delivery, where every new client needs a new hire. | A Target Operating Model that uncouples headcount from revenue. |
| Leaking margins from inconsistent lead-to-cash cycles. | A repeatable value engine that lifts conversion and margin. |
| Decisions made on instinct, not reporting. | IMD board-grade governance that builds buyer confidence. |
| Hidden operational risks and key-person dependencies. | Hard-coded exit readiness and credible valuation growth. |
| Fragmented international growth, with offshore teams lacking alignment. | Scalable global hubs with digitised, aligned operations. |
What we do
Investors & Transactions
We partner with investors and the companies they back to turn growth into durable enterprise value.
- Scale-up and value creation
- Post-merger integration
- Exit and transaction readiness
Leadership & Boards
We work on the leadership system that has to execute the plan — and when it's the right answer, we step into it.
- Interim and fractional leadership
- Board and executive committee advisory
- Systemic leadership and executive coaching
The constraint most advisers miss
The team running the business after the deal is the asset buyers are really pricing.
Most operators can fix the operating model. Far fewer can fix what actually caps performance: a leadership team that can't yet execute the new plan. Most advisory work ignores that. We don't.
We work on both, because they were never separate problems — rebuilding the human system with method, not improvisation, alongside the operating model it has to run.
How we work
The ESSL toolkit
Proven methods, applied by senior operators — matched to what each engagement actually needs.
Scale-Up Readiness Check
A three-minute self-assessment across operating model, value engine, governance, exit readiness and leadership. Free, instant, and a useful start to any board conversation.
The ESSL 3D Method
Determine, Develop, Deploy: a three-stage path from strategic clarity to value creation to decision readiness under external scrutiny.
The Transformation Map
Five shifts from where growth stalls to investor-grade performance — the diagnostic frame behind every scale-up and exit-readiness engagement.
Five-Stage Leadership Programme
From system clarity to sustainable operating rhythms: the leader and the system around them, worked on together.
The experience behind ESSL
Operating experience, not theory
ESSL is built on a simple conviction: advice means little without the experience of having done it. These are results its leadership delivered in previous executive roles.
Common questions
What does ESSL do?
Elliott Strategic Solutions Ltd (ESSL) is a London-based advisory practice that operates globally, helping complex, tech-enabled businesses turn strategy into execution, and execution into enterprise value. It works on the operating model and on the leadership system that has to run it, through scale-up, post-merger integration and exit readiness.
Who does ESSL work with?
Founder-led and PE-backed companies, their boards and executive committees, and the investors who back them. Most are scaling internationally in enterprise software and SaaS, HR-Tech, EdTech, managed services, AI-driven business services or professional services.
Who leads an ESSL engagement?
Every engagement is led by a senior operator and supported by a curated bench of partner specialists matched to the work. ESSL was founded by Jonathan Elliott, formerly Managing Director and Head of Experis Europe at ManpowerGroup ($1.8Bn P&L, 35 entities, 23 countries).
Does ESSL act as an M&A or transaction adviser?
No. ESSL does not act as a transaction adviser, broker or legal representative. It prepares the business and the leadership team, and works alongside the client's appointed M&A, legal and tax advisers.
How do I start a conversation with ESSL?
Book a free first call with Jonathan Elliott directly at meet.essl.ltd, with no intermediary or qualification process, or write to info@essl.ltd for a personal reply within one business day.
Start with a conversation
If you're carrying a business through scale-up, integration, or exit-readiness — and the leadership team is as much the constraint as the plan — that's the conversation we'd most like to have. The first call is free, and it's with a senior operator, not a sales team.