Private Equity Power Talks: Map of the Maze

It's our annual Podcast episode with Tim Morris, UK CEO of DC Advisory, to discuss the state of the UK private equity deals market.

We review the year so far and what to expect over the next six to twelve months, including geopolitical uncertainty, likely changes to tax policy and the role of AI in business performance and due diligence.

For PE-backed leaders, understanding the market and how it could shape their own deals has rarely been more important. Few people are better placed than Tim to explain what it means.

Read the PepTalks Q2 2026 Deal Digest here.

This episode of the PepTalks Podcast is about the impact of AI on SaaS as a business model, how it's reshaping valuations and competitive risk, and what every PE-backed leader needs to take from it regardless of sector.

We are joined by Lars Pedersen, CEO of beqom and chair of MaxContact and Klearcom. This is Lars's sixth CEO role in a PE-owned business. Lars covers:

The three real threats facing SaaS companies from AI.

The five characteristics that separate resilient businesses from vulnerable ones.

What PE investors are actually looking for right now, and why the bar has shifted.

Whether or not you're in SaaS, this episode is essential listening for any PE-backed leader trying to stay ahead of where the market is heading.

In this episode of the PepTalks Podcast, we discover why monetisation is bigger than pricing, where value leaks out of a business unnoticed, and what getting it right does for margin, enterprise value and the multiple at exit.

We are joined by Tim Ham, founder and CEO of Pearson Ham Group, a specialist pricing and monetisation consultancy and one of PepTalks' Advisory Members. Tim walks through the four steps to effective monetisation, why product-centric thinking holds companies back, and how AI is exposing business models that charge for time and effort rather than value.

Drawing on twenty years in pricing across both B2C and B2B, Tim makes the case that most companies leave far more on the table than they realise. Could yours be one of them?

Other episodes with Tim:

Tim Ham, CEO, Pearson Ham - The Six Key Steps to Pricing Implementation

Tim Ham, CEO, Pearson Ham: Private Equity Power Talks

This episode of the PepTalks Podcast is about data, its fundamental role in the PE cycle, how it drives value creation decisions, and how it tells the story that gets you the best outcome at exit.

We are joined by Anush Newman, founder and CEO of JMAN Group, a commercial data partner to the PE industry. Anush covers where to start with data strategy, what sits beneath the reporting layer, how to align your operational infrastructure with your exit narrative, and the role AI now plays in all of this.

Having taken investment from Baird Capital in 2023, Anush speaks from both sides of the table as an advisor to PE-backed businesses and as a founder navigating the same journey himself.

Mark Banfield returns to the PepTalks Podcast for part two of our deep dive into building and scaling a high-performing sales function under PE ownership.

In his first appearance, Mark shared how to lay the foundations of an effective go-to-market engine. You can listen to that episode here: https://pep-talks.co.uk/podcast/mark-banfield-cro-teamviewer/

In this episode, the focus shifts to execution. How to raise standards, drive accountability, and create predictable revenue performance once the structure is in place.

We discuss practical insights on performance management, lifetime value and account prioritisation, balancing inbound and outbound sales, pipeline discipline, KPIs and board-level reporting.