Private Equity · Buy-and-Build
AI for private equity
buy-and-build platforms.
HeyBRB puts the same AI-run admin into every accountancy practice and letting agency your platform acquires. We work inside the practice, where the hours are, and report the result in hours saved against a baseline.
- Fixed, quoted per target
Pre-deal AI review
One target, inside the diligence window
- £1,500 + £4,950
100-day integration
Every practice you acquire
- £2,500-£7,500/mo
Portfolio AI lead
Fractional Chief AI Officer
What is an AI rollup?
An AI rollup is a buy-and-build strategy where the acquirer uses AI to take work out of every firm it buys, so margins rise after acquisition instead of depending on the multiple paid at exit.
General Catalyst has allocated $1.5 billion to the model. As Capital & Clarity describes the thesis, it buys fragmented, labour-heavy services businesses where AI agents can automate 30 to 70 percent of workflows, and aims to move margins from the 5 to 10 percent EBITDA typical of services towards 30 to 40 percent (Capital & Clarity, April 2026). Thrive Holdings is committing $1 billion to buying US accounting practices through Current, which reported a 31 percent time saving on tax returns after running 7,000 of them through its AI (Footnote, July 2026).
The model has reached UK lettings. Dwelly raised £69m in February 2026, £32m of it in equity led by General Catalyst, had bought eight letting agencies, and integrates its AI operating system into the agencies it buys (Letting Agent Today).
For who is running AI rollups, how UK accountancy and lettings consolidation compares, and the risks, read our guide to AI rollups in the UK.
Why do UK accountancy and lettings platforms need AI at practice level?
Because the UK consolidators grew by buying, and the next buyer will ask for margin. Filed accounts to August 2026 show Sumer up 163 percent, BK Plus 85 percent, Moore Kingston Smith 69 percent and Cooper Parry 61 percent, mostly through acquisition (The Accounts). Traditional practices change hands at 4 to 6 times EBITDA, while Xeinadin, built from 122 firms, was reported to be seeking around £1 billion at 15 to 17 times (The Finance Story, February 2026).
Lettings is following the same path. Buyers now prefer lettings books to whole agencies, private-equity-backed platforms are more prominent, and the active buyers include Lomond, Campions and Dwelly (Property Industry Eye, September 2026).
Most platforms have not yet turned AI into returns. BCG's January 2026 review found that most private equity firms cannot show meaningful returns from AI in many of their portfolio companies, and that handing out licences is not the same as changing how the work gets done (BCG). In a 10-person practice the work is document chasing, onboarding, tenant emails and reporting. That is where we build.
Inside the practice
Where does AI take hours out of an acquired practice?
Accountancy practices
- ✓Client document chasing for year-end, VAT and payroll
- ✓New-client onboarding and AML identity checks
- ✓Quarterly Making Tax Digital updates for sole traders and landlords
- ✓Monthly management reports drafted from Xero or Sage data
- ✓One practice management setup, such as Karbon, rolled out to every acquired firm
Letting agencies and lettings books
- ✓Tenant enquiries and maintenance requests triaged and routed
- ✓Rent chasing sequences that escalate in the right order
- ✓Gas, electrical and licensing certificates tracked across every property
- ✓Tenancy updates under the Renters' Rights Act sent from one template set
- ✓Landlord statements and updates produced without retyping
See how this works in a single firm: AI for accountants and AI for letting agents.
How we work with platforms
What happens in the first 100 days after an acquisition?
Every acquired practice goes through the same sequence, so the tenth firm starts from builds already tested in the first nine. Before completion, a pre-deal AI review gives you the same picture for a target.
Days 1-14
Audit the practice
Our AI Core Audit, run on the acquired firm: team interviews, a workflow map, a review of its tools and data, and a list of automations scored by hours saved.
Days 15-60
Build from the platform standard
An AI Core Build that starts from the automations already tested in your earlier acquisitions, adjusted for this practice's software and clients.
Days 61-100
Adopt and measure
Team training, written SOPs and a 14-day fix window after launch, then hours saved tracked against the audit baseline so the result shows up in your reporting.
The audit and build use our published fees: AI Core Audit at £1,500 and AI Core Build at £4,950 per practice. A Fractional Chief AI Officer can own the rollout across the portfolio.
What we don't do
We are a small London-based AI consultancy that builds automations for firms of 1 to 20 staff. That makes us useful inside the practices and the wrong choice for:
- ×Financial, legal or tax due diligence. Your advisers do that.
- ×Technology due diligence on software companies.
- ×Deal sourcing or AI tools for your deal team.
- ×Replacing your operating partner. We work under them, inside the practices.
AI for private equity: questions
What is an AI rollup?+
An AI rollup is a buy-and-build strategy where the acquirer uses AI to take work out of every firm it buys, so margins rise after acquisition instead of depending on the multiple paid at exit. General Catalyst has allocated $1.5 billion to the model and backs Dwelly, which is buying UK letting agencies.
Do you work with PE firms or with the portfolio companies?+
Both, in different roles. The PE firm or operating partner sets the target and signs off the plan. The work happens inside each acquired practice, with its partners, managers and administrators.
Can you review a target before completion?+
Yes. The pre-deal AI review interviews the target's team under your NDA, maps where the admin hours go and estimates what an AI build would remove. It is a fixed fee quoted per target and scheduled to fit your diligence timetable.
How is the work priced for a platform?+
Inside each acquired practice we use our published fees: £1,500 for the AI Core Audit and £4,950 for the AI Core Build. Pre-deal reviews are quoted per target, and a Fractional Chief AI Officer across the portfolio runs from £2,500 to £7,500 a month.
Which sectors do you cover?+
UK accountancy and bookkeeping practices and letting agencies, including acquired lettings books. We also work with other professional services firms of 1 to 20 staff where the admin follows the same pattern.
What happens to client data when practices are merged?+
We map which systems hold client records before we build, keep automations to the data each task needs, and put a person in the loop for anything that goes to a client. Each practice stays responsible for its data under UK GDPR, so we document the setup for its records and yours.
Are you a large consultancy?+
No. HeyBRB is a small London-based AI consultancy that builds automations for firms of 1 to 20 staff, the size of practice most platforms buy. For fund-level strategy or a portfolio of 500-person businesses, a large firm is the better fit.
Buying practices this year?
Send Richard the sector, the number of practices and your hold period. You will get a straight answer on whether practice-level AI is worth doing for your platform, and what it would cost per acquisition.