Re-traded 12% in week 9 of diligence. The QofE surfaced what the founder had rationalized for years: the top customer represented 38% of revenue, and the contract had a 60-day termination clause. The buyer applied a customer-concentration discount in line with sector norms.
The lesson
Customer concentration is not a problem until the buyer says it is, and by then the discount is the discount.
Sourcing
Composite anonymized, illustrative of a pattern observed in 14 Cordis engagements between 2023 and 2025 where top-customer concentration above 30% combined with thin contractual coverage triggered re-trade in QofE.
The Cordis MRI is the diagnostic Cordis uses with its own clients. The work the founder in this Deal Note did 18 months out (or did not do) is what the MRI surfaces in advance.
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