A considered
path forward.
Three-year strategic plan for the period MMXXVI to MMXXVIII, prepared by the partnership for the Board of Directors.
Begin reading →A letter from the partnership.
This document represents the partnership's considered view on where Linden & Hare should direct its energy over the coming three years. It is the product of nine months of deliberation, conversations with every senior practitioner in the firm, and an honest accounting of the headwinds we expect to navigate.
Three priorities organise our thinking. First, we will deepen the four practice areas where we hold genuine advantage. Second, we will commit to a deliberate succession of partners through MMXXVIII. Third, we will rebuild our institutional knowledge systems so that what one partner learns becomes what every partner knows.
None of this is dramatic. It is, in our view, the right kind of unglamorous, and a long bet on the unfashionable proposition that fewer, better engagements remain the soundest foundation a firm of our character can stand on.
The Managing Partners Linden & Hare Advisory
Where we stand, plainly.
A reading of the partnership's position at the close of fiscal year MMXXV, against the four metrics we have agreed to be measured by.
Revenue per partner, five-year trend.
Profitability is healthy.
Revenue per partner up 52% over the planning horizon. Margins steady at 28%.
Headcount is constrained.
Senior associate ranks have thinned. Three partners approach retirement before MMXXVIII.
Sector concentration is rising.
Financial services now represents 62% of fee income. Higher than we are comfortable with.
Brand strength has compounded.
Inbound mandate inquiries up 41% year-on-year. Client retention remains above 94%.
The three horizons.
A sequenced plan, with each year's priorities chosen to enable the next. The intent is not to do more, but to do the right thing in the right order.
Consolidate the core.
The year we cease activities that do not earn their place. Practice review, partner alignment, internal systems audit.
- Practice portfolio review
- Senior associate hiring (six positions)
- Knowledge platform RFP
- Exit non-core advisory lines
Diversify the book.
Reduce financial-services concentration toward a target of 45%. Build out the industrial and energy practice groups.
- Industrial sector lead hire
- Energy transition practice launch
- Two lateral partner additions
- European office feasibility study
Plan the succession.
Three partner retirements scheduled. New partner class promoted. Operational handover complete by Q4.
- Partner class of MMXXVIII promoted
- Retirement transitions for three principals
- Knowledge platform fully deployed
- Five-year plan refresh begins
Four pillars, lettered.
The four initiatives that, together, constitute the strategic plan in full. Each is owned by a named partner and measured against an explicit budget.
Practice depth.
A formal commitment to four practice areas. Anything outside is referred to trusted partner firms rather than declined or contorted.
Partner succession.
A three-year, transparent path for the promotion of seven senior associates to partner, with explicit milestones and review checkpoints.
Knowledge systems.
A modernised internal knowledge platform so that engagement insights compound across the partnership rather than evaporate with each closing memo.
Sector balance.
A measured rebalancing of fee composition. Reduce financial-services concentration to a target of 45% over the plan horizon.
Financial outlook, in figures.
| USD, millions | FY MMXXV Actual |
FY MMXXVI Forecast |
FY MMXXVII Forecast |
FY MMXXVIII Target |
3-yr Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee income, gross | 74.2 | 78.5 | 86.3 | 96.8 | +30.5% |
| Financial services† | 46.0 | 45.8 | 44.7 | 43.6 | −5.2% |
| Industrial & energy | 18.4 | 22.1 | 28.9 | 36.4 | +97.8% |
| Other practices | 9.8 | 10.6 | 12.7 | 16.8 | +71.4% |
| Operating expense | (53.5) | (58.2) | (62.8) | (68.4) | +27.9% |
| Distributable earnings‡ | 20.7 | 20.3 | 23.5 | 28.4 | +37.2% |
Risks & their mitigation.
Six material risks identified by the partnership, with the response strategy assigned to each. Reviewed quarterly by the Board's Risk Committee.
Related templates.
Four free HTML & CSS templates from the same collection. The full catalog is at templatemo.com.
For the Board's
consideration.
The partnership respectfully submits this plan for Board adoption. We welcome questions, amendments, and dissent at the meeting of March the twenty-eighth.