Business Strategy
Portfolio Strategy & Business Unit Optimization
Every business unit is core, cash or exit — and governed accordingly.
Handle structures Portfolio Strategy & Business Unit Optimization for boards, investors and family enterprises that cannot afford diffusion of capital, management attention or regulatory exposure.
When this is needed
Portfolio strategy: where the mandate begins.
- Weak units keep receiving bridge financing, and capital is diffused across businesses with no defined role.
- Ownership structures are unclear, joint ventures are misaligned and exits have stalled.
- Lender covenants and management bandwidth are constrained by portfolio complexity rather than by any single business.
- Several units are under covenant pressure at once, and the group needs a priority order for action.
Matters Handle leads
Portfolio and business unit mandates.
Four portfolio decisions. One integrated thesis.
Portfolio Review and Thesis Reset
Each unit assessed against capital returns, strategic fit and regulatory risk.
Core and Non-Core Classification
Core defined, non-core ring-fenced and carve-out paths engineered.
Business Unit Optimisation Plans
Performance plans, cost resets and management changes with milestones and consequences.
Exit, Divestment and Wind-Down
Structured sales, closures or mergers that realise value and limit residual liabilities.
The scope
Portfolio Strategy & Business Unit Optimization — scope, made explicit.
A focused, premium mandate — with the group’s portfolio of business assets, and the capital allocated across it, at the center.
Portfolio Heat-Map
Performance mapped by unit, sector and jurisdiction.
Portfolio Thesis
Keep, grow, fix or exit logic for every business unit.
Entity Rationalisation
Legal structure across UAE onshore and free zones aligned with commercial reality.
Carve-Out Design
Transitional services, asset separation and people and systems disentanglement.
Divestment Execution
Sales, closures, mergers or consolidations with controlled timelines and counterparties.
The mandate
Complex portfolios accumulate drag.
Underperforming subsidiaries, misaligned joint ventures, non-core assets and legacy management structures absorb capital and attention. Handle sets one portfolio thesis, then executes decisions unit by unit under one accountable mandate — sequencing change so critical revenue units stay stable while exit-bound units absorb it.
Financing sits at the center. Facilities, security and credit support are mapped against each unit, and where necessary Handle leads discussions with lenders to rebase covenants, release collateral or reallocate facilities. Joint venture and shareholder agreements are reviewed for exit, drag, tag and control rights before any move is made.
What the mandate delivers
- Portfolio review and performance heat-map
- Core and non-core classification and thesis
- Entity structure rationalisation
- Business unit plans with KPIs and capital budgets
- Carve-out design and separation planning
- Divestment, closure or merger execution
How the work runs
Four disciplines. One portfolio architecture.
Every portfolio mandate runs from diagnostic to reorganisation to exit — without losing control of stakeholders, regulators or timelines.
01
Evidence-Led Classification
Returns, relevance, capital intensity and regulatory exposure scored for each unit.
02
Capital Stack Alignment
Security, credit support and cash flows redesigned to match the future portfolio.
03
Partner-Aware Execution
JV and shareholder rights respected through swaps, buyouts or structural alternatives.
04
Codified Discipline
Approval thresholds and divestment triggers written into charters and policies.
The Handle model
Practice-led. Never fragmented.
The work may begin here — it stays connected to strategy, capital and law.
Strategy & Operations
The work stays connected to market position, operating model, performance and execution governance.
M&A & Capital
The work stays aware of capital readiness, investor review, transaction logic and deployment discipline where relevant.
Legal & Regulatory
The work stays protected through structure, rights, governance, enforceability and regulatory or dispute readiness.
Why Handle
Clarity on keep, fix or exit.
Handle aligns legal entities, financing structures and operating models as one programme — so each business unit has a defined role, a timetable and a consequence path captured in governance.
- Board-ready diagnostics anchored in evidence
- Keep-grow-exit logic for every unit
- Entity structure matched to commercial reality
- Capital allocation linked to performance covenants
- Execution paths for carve-outs and divestments
- Heritage assets ring-fenced without distorting allocation
Before offering your business for M&A, you must raise it with discipline. Strengthen governance, restore financial clarity, and sharpen strategy. A parented business attracts investors with confidence, not discounts.
Mohamed abu El-MakaremManaging Partner & Chairman
Engagement paths
Where this work typically begins.
Growth & Expansion
When the asset must scale capacity, geography, capital, partnerships or market share.
Turnaround
When the asset must reset structure, capital, law, governance and operations under pressure.
Coverage
Applied across the seven priority verticals.
Handle runs portfolio mandates for UAE-headquartered groups, family enterprises and private capital platforms with cross-border holdings, connected to Handle’s M&A practice for carve-outs, sales and acquisitions.
Priority verticals · Where Handle operates
Industry & ManufacturingInfrastructure & Strategic AssetsHealthcare & PharmaEnergyEnvironment & SustainabilityAdvanced Technology & AIFood Security & Agritech
Related service lines · Business Strategy
Strategy capabilities · Explore further
Strategic Turnarounds for InstitutionsStrategic Planning & VisioningCompetitive & Market IntelligenceOrganizational Strategy & DesignOperational Efficiency StrategyChange Management & Transformation LeadershipKPI & Strategic Performance TrackingInnovation & Ecosystem StrategyMarket Entry & International ExpansionCrisis Strategy & Scenario PlanningESG Strategy IntegrationStrategic Cost OptimizationLeadership & Board AdvisoryCorporate Vision & Culture Strategy
Across the Handle model
Questions, answered
Portfolio Strategy & Business Unit Optimization — questions, answered.
How Handle approaches portfolio strategy and business unit optimisation.
When does a portfolio need a formal strategy mandate?
When capital, management bandwidth or covenants are constrained by complexity — repeated bridge financing, unclear ownership or stalled exits.
How are business units classified as core, non-core or exit?
By economic returns, strategic relevance, capital intensity, regulatory exposure and succession impact, producing a board-level role for each unit.
How are legacy businesses handled in a family enterprise?
They can sit in a defined heritage category with ring-fenced capital and expectations, separate from performance-driven units.
How does portfolio strategy interact with existing bank facilities?
Facilities and security are mapped by unit; covenants, collateral and facilities are rebased with lenders where needed.
Can portfolio optimisation proceed without disrupting operations?
Change is sequenced so critical revenue units stay stable, with transitional services and interim management protecting continuity.
How are JV partners and minority investors treated?
Their exit, drag, tag and control rights are reviewed first, and restructuring paths are designed consistent with those rights.
What happens when several units are distressed?
They are triaged for recapitalisation, accelerated exit, merger into stronger entities or orderly wind-down, with proactive lender communication.
How is portfolio discipline sustained after the mandate?
Portfolio rules are embedded in board charters, investment policies, delegations and performance contracts.
How does portfolio strategy support succession?
Assets are mapped as intergenerational, trading or pre-transition exit, and holding structures are aligned to that map.
Insights
Perspectives from live mandates.
Partner-led analysis on law, capital and strategy, shaped by boardroom realities across the UAE and the GCC.
Toku Launches UAE Unit as Talabat Scales Contact-Centre Rollout Across Eight MENA Markets
Toku Launches UAE Unit as Talabat Scales Contact-Centre Rollout Across Eight MENA Markets
Majid Al Futtaim Posts Record H1 EBITDA of AED 2.5 Billion as Growth Momentum Builds
Majid Al Futtaim Posts Record H1 EBITDA of AED 2.5 Billion as Growth Momentum Builds
UAE-Germany Investment Push: Al Jaber Calls for New Council to Unlock Long-Term Capital and Tech Growth
UAE-Germany Investment Push: Al Jaber Calls for New Council to Unlock Long-Term Capital and Tech Growth
Work with Handle
Begin with Portfolio Strategy & Business Unit Optimization — kept connected to the whole Handle model.
When the portfolio is diluting the group.
Request an initial review
When every unit must earn its place.
Set out the matter. A partner reviews it and responds with a defined route, strategy and accountable lead.
- Partner-level review of every request
- Strict confidentiality and privilege from first contact
- One accountable partner from review to execution
