Writing for deal teams and operators.
Short and practical. Written from the work, not about it. No newsletter — if you want to hear when something new goes up, LinkedIn is where it lands.
How to train staff on AI so the work actually changes
Most AI training is a lecture or a prompt session, and on Monday the work looks the same. Here is the programme I would run instead: small cohorts, real tasks, a working build per person and a six-week check.
Vibe coding for non-developers: what to build, what not to
AI coding assistants and no-code tools mean a finance analyst can build a working internal tool in an afternoon. Here is what that looks like, and the guardrails a delivery firm would put round it.
EU AI Act AI literacy: what UK businesses actually need to do
Article 4 of the EU AI Act reaches more UK companies than most assume, and asks for less than most training vendors claim. Here is when it applies, what changed in July 2026, and a record you can keep.
Free AI training in the UK: the government courses, reviewed
The government's free AI courses are genuinely useful and cost nothing but time. They won't change how your team works on Monday. Here is what they're good for, what the levy can pay for, and where paid training earns its cost.
Copilot vs ChatGPT vs Claude for business: how to choose
Most tool decisions are made on a demo and a headline. Choose on the work your people actually do and where your data already lives, then train them to build on it.
AI policy template for UK businesses (free, copy and adapt)
A usable, ungated AI acceptable use policy you can copy into your own handbook this week, with a traffic-light data table, and the reason a policy only works once people are trained on it.
How much does an AI consultant cost in the UK?
Day rates, strategy reports, fixed-price builds, retainers and training days, side by side. What each costs, what you actually get, and how to tell whether it will pay back.
Fractional chief AI officer: do you need one, and what for?
A guide for CEOs and owners of £10m to £200m businesses: when a fractional CAIO makes sense, how it compares with a fractional CTO, a consultant or a full-time hire, and how to judge one in 90 days.
AI for finance teams: where it saves time and where it doesn't
A vendor-neutral, ranked list of where AI earns its place in a mid-market finance function, the controls your auditors will ask about, and a six-week plan.
How much does it cost to build an AI agent? A UK breakdown
The build quote is the number everyone asks about and the one that matters least. Here is the full cost of ownership, line by line, against the work it removes.
AI disruption risk assessment: will AI hollow out the target?
AI washing covers targets that overclaim AI. This covers the other problem: targets that AI threatens. An eight-factor grid, the evidence to request, and what the score should do to the deal.
AI due diligence for private equity: what to test before you sign
Most AI diligence reports check whether the target's AI is real and stop there. That is one job of three, and it is rarely the one that moves the price.
Technology due diligence checklist for private equity deals
Every tech DD checklist covers the same ground. The useful ones say which answers should change the price, the structure or the first 100 days.
AI washing: how to test a target's AI claims in due diligence
When the equity story leans on AI, the diligence question is simple. Take the AI away: what's left, and what does it cost to keep it running?
How to build an AI value creation plan for a portfolio company
A working method, step by step: where the hours go, what to rank first, how to size it in pounds, and how to report it so the exit story is evidenced rather than asserted.
What does an AI operating partner do in private equity?
Plenty of funds now say they want one. Far fewer can describe the job. Here is what it contains, how a fund should deploy it, and how to tell in year one whether it's working.
Board questions about AI: what to ask every quarter
Boards tend to ignore AI or demand a strategy deck about it. Both are mistakes. A short list of questions, asked every quarter and answered with evidence, does far more.
Why AI pilots fail, and what the survivors do differently
The failure statistics are real. The usual reading of them is lazy. Most pilots are lost in the first fortnight, on decisions that have nothing to do with the model.
How to measure AI ROI: hours returned, not licences bought
Most AI ROI numbers are either never measured or quietly made up. Here is a method a CFO can sign, from baseline to payback to the six-month test.
AI agents for business: where they work and where they don't
Most of what gets sold as an agent is a workflow with a model call in the middle. That's usually the right answer. Here is how to tell when it isn't.
How to implement AI in a mid-sized UK business: a 90-day plan
UK AI adoption has tripled and barely gone deeper. Here is the 90-day plan I would run in a £10m to £200m business with no data science team.
AI due diligence is a value-creation plan, not a risk register
Most funds now ask 'what's the AI risk?' in diligence. The better question is what AI makes this business worth, how fast, and what the IC paper should say about it.
Why mid-market funds can't hire an AI operating partner
The people who can do the job are scarce, expensive, and mostly don't want a full-time seat at a £300m fund. There's a better structure, and it costs far less per portfolio company.
You bought the licences and nothing changed
The most common AI failure in mid-market businesses isn't technical. The tools arrived, a few people loved them, and the work didn't move.