Corporate strategy template with a worked example

Corporate strategy template

A corporate strategy decides which businesses a group should own, how capital is divided between them, and what the center does to make each one stronger. It is owned by the group chief executive and agreed with the board and the heads of each division.

Horizon: 5 years5 priorities · 14 outcomes

Use this template

What this corporate strategy template includes

ContextThe situation, the challenges to solve, and what is deliberately left out.
Portfolio reviewEach business unit with its performance and the role it will play.
How the center adds valueWhat the group does for its businesses that they could not do alone.
Capital allocationThe rules for where money goes and what return is expected.
Cross-business synergiesThe shared customers, capabilities or costs the group will exploit.
Priorities and measuresThree to five priorities, each with an owner, outcomes with a baseline and target, and the initiatives behind them.

Corporate strategy example

A complete corporate strategy for a fictional organization: facilities services group with four divisions: technical maintenance, cleaning, energy and building controls, and security.

Worked exampleCorporate strategy

Organization	Facilities services group with four divisions: technical maintenance, cleaning, energy and building controls, and security (5,000 staff)
Ambition	Become a technical and energy services group that large property owners buy from as one supplier, lifting EBITA margin from 4.8% to 7.5% and return on capital to 18% by FY31.
Horizon	5 years

Context

Where we are and what we are choosing

The group has revenue of $520 million across four divisions: technical maintenance ($215 million), cleaning ($165 million), energy and building controls ($82 million) and security ($58 million). Group EBITA is $25 million, a 4.8% margin, and return on capital employed is 13.5% against a 9% cost of capital. The divisions were acquired over 12 years and still run four finance systems, four brands and four sales teams. Only 11% of the 200 largest customers buy from more than one division. Security earns 5% on capital and has lost three of its ten largest contracts on price since 2024. Net debt is $70 million, 2.0 times EBITDA.

Challenges

The group is run as a holding company. Divisions bid separately, sometimes against each other, and customers who want one facilities contract go to integrated competitors.
Capital has been shared out by division size, so security and cleaning have absorbed investment that would have earned twice as much in technical and energy services.
Growth in the two best divisions is limited by people, not demand: 85 technician vacancies have been open for more than 60 days.

We will focus on

Technical maintenance and energy services for hospitals, universities, data centers and commercial property owners.
The 200 largest customers, sold and managed as group accounts.
One shared back office and one capital allocation process.

We will not

Selling the cleaning division, even though its returns are below the group average. It generates cash and is the first service bought by 70 of the top 200 customers.
A merger with a group of similar size. Bolt-on acquisitions only, each below $30 million in enterprise value.
Adding catering, landscaping or reception services to complete the bundle. Where a bid requires them, they are subcontracted.

Portfolio review

Business unit	Revenue	Return on capital	Role in portfolio
Technical maintenance	$215 million, growing 6% a year	19%	Core. Grow organically and through bolt-on acquisitions
Energy and building controls	$82 million, growing 12% a year	24%	Growth engine. First call on group capital
Cleaning	$165 million, flat	12%	Cash generator. Fix margin, maintenance capital only
Security	$58 million, shrinking 4% a year	5%	Exit. Sell by the end of FY28

How the center adds value

Sells to and manages the 200 largest customers as single group accounts, with one contract, one service desk and one invoice.
Allocates capital across divisions against a single hurdle rate, so money goes where returns are highest and not where budgets are largest.
Runs finance, payroll, IT and procurement once for the whole group, at a cost no division could match alone.
Finds, values and integrates bolt-on acquisitions with a dedicated team and a 100-day playbook.
Trains technicians through a group academy and moves them between divisions as demand shifts.
Sets safety and compliance standards and audits every division against them.

Capital allocation

Hurdle rate	12% after-tax return on invested capital by the third year for any acquisition or growth project, three points above the group's 9% cost of capital. Proposals outside technical and energy services must clear 15%.
Growth investment	About $85 million over five years: $56 million for bolt-on acquisitions and $29 million for organic growth, mainly energy performance contracts, the technician academy and the field service platform. Cleaning receives maintenance capital only.
Shareholder returns	Dividends of 30% of net profit. No share buybacks while net debt is above 1.5 times EBITDA.
M&A stance	Buy regional HVAC, controls and fire safety contractors with $5 million to $40 million in revenue, in regions where we already operate, at up to seven times EBITDA. Sell security by the end of FY28 and apply the proceeds to debt first.

Cross-business synergies

One facilities contract for hospital and university estates covering maintenance, energy and cleaning. Accountable: group key accounts.
An energy audit offered to every technical maintenance customer with more than 500,000 square feet under contract. Accountable: energy and building controls.
Shared dispatch and one field service system for technicians and controls engineers. Accountable: technical maintenance.
Group purchasing of vehicles, fuel, consumables and HVAC parts, about $110 million of spend a year. Accountable: group procurement.
Cleaning supervisors log building faults to the maintenance service desk on sites both divisions serve. Accountable: cleaning.

Priorities and measures

Priority 1Owner: Group Chief Executive

Shift the portfolio toward technical and energy services

Technical and energy earn 19% and 24% on capital; security earns 5%, below what the capital costs. Moving money from one to the other is the largest value decision the center controls.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Group revenue from technical and energy servicesMilestones: 58% by FY27 · 67% by FY29	57%	73%	FY31
Group return on capital employedMilestones: 14% by FY27 · 16% by FY29	13.5%	18%	FY31
Acquired revenue earning above the 12% hurdle rateMilestones: $20M by FY28 · $55M by FY30	$0	$80M	FY31

Initiatives

Prepare security for sale in FY27 and complete the sale by the end of FY28
Build a pipeline of 40 HVAC, controls and fire safety contractors in our existing regions
Review every completed acquisition against its investment case at 12 and 36 months
Move the annual capital round from divisional budgets to a ranked group list

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 2Owner: Group Chief Commercial Officer

Sell the group to its largest customers

Large estate owners are consolidating suppliers, and 89% of our top 200 customers know us as a single-service contractor. Each added service raises contract length and renewal rates.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Top 200 customers buying from two or more divisionsMilestones: 14% by FY27 · 24% by FY29	11%	35%	FY31
Annual revenue from integrated multi-service contractsMilestones: $48M by FY27 · $90M by FY29	$38M	$140M	FY31
Contract renewal rate by valueMilestones: 85% by FY27 · 88% by FY29	84%	91%	FY31

Initiatives

Create a group key accounts team of 15 with authority to price across divisions
Trade under one group brand, with division names kept as service lines
Pay division sales staff commission on revenue they refer to another division
Set up one bid office that decides which entity leads each tender

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 3Owner: Group Chief Operating Officer

Raise margins in the businesses we keep

A 4.8% group margin leaves little room for a lost contract or a wage settlement. Cleaning at 3.8% is carrying contracts priced before two rounds of wage increases.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Group EBITA marginMilestones: 5.1% by FY27 · 6.3% by FY29	4.8%	7.5%	FY31
Cleaning EBITA marginMilestones: 4.1% by FY27 · 4.9% by FY29	3.8%	5.5%	FY31
Revenue from contracts earning below their margin floorMilestones: 15% by FY27 · 9% by FY29	18%	5%	FY31

Initiatives

Set a gross margin floor for each service line and reprice or exit contracts below it at renewal
Add wage indexation clauses to every cleaning contract
Schedule technicians by skill and travel time through the shared field service system
Report contract-level margin monthly to each division head

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 4Owner: Group Chief Financial Officer

Run one back office for the group

Four finance systems and four procurement teams cost more and tell the center less. A single platform is also what makes a new acquisition cheap to absorb.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Finance, HR, IT and procurement cost as a share of revenueMilestones: 4.5% by FY27 · 3.9% by FY29	4.6%	3.4%	FY31
Purchasing spend under group contractsMilestones: 32% by FY27 · 55% by FY29	22%	70%	FY31
Days sales outstandingMilestones: 55 days by FY27 · 49 days by FY29	58 days	45 days	FY31

Initiatives

Move all divisions to one finance and payroll system, starting with energy and technical maintenance
Create a shared service center for billing, payables and payroll
Tender fleet, fuel, consumables and HVAC parts as group contracts
Close the monthly books on one calendar with one chart of accounts

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 5Owner: Group Human Resources Director

Train and keep the technicians growth depends on

Demand in technical and energy services exceeds what we can staff. With 85 long-standing vacancies and 23% turnover, hiring from competitors only moves the shortage around.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Voluntary turnover among technicians and controls engineersMilestones: 21% by FY27 · 17% by FY29	23%	14%	FY31
Technician vacancies open for more than 60 daysMilestones: 70 vacancies by FY27 · 45 vacancies by FY29	85 vacancies	25 vacancies	FY31

Initiatives

Open a group technician academy taking 60 apprentices a year
Offer cleaning and security staff a funded route into technical apprenticeships
Introduce a pay scale tied to certifications in HVAC, electrical and building controls
Retain acquired firms' lead technicians with three-year incentive plans

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Blank corporate strategy template

The same structure with a prompt in every field. Copy it, or download it as a Word or Excel file.

Your planCorporate strategy

Organization	[Describe your organization in a few words, with its size]
Ambition	[One sentence on where you want to be at the end of the plan]
Horizon	[How long the plan runs, for example 12 months]

Context

Where we are and what we are choosing

[Where things stand today: the facts that make this strategy necessary]

Challenges

[A problem the strategy has to solve]
[A problem the strategy has to solve]

We will focus on

[Something you are choosing to concentrate on]
[Something you are choosing to concentrate on]

We will not

[Something you are deliberately leaving out]
[Something you are deliberately leaving out]

Portfolio review

Business unit	Revenue	Return on capital	Role in portfolio
[Business unit]	[Revenue]	[Return on capital]	[Role in portfolio]
[Business unit]	[Revenue]	[Return on capital]	[Role in portfolio]
[Business unit]	[Revenue]	[Return on capital]	[Role in portfolio]

How the center adds value

[A way the center makes its businesses stronger]
[A way the center makes its businesses stronger]
[A way the center makes its businesses stronger]

Capital allocation

Hurdle rate	[Your hurdle rate]
Growth investment	[Your growth investment]
Shareholder returns	[Your shareholder returns]
M&A stance	[Your m&A stance]

Cross-business synergies

[A synergy with the unit accountable for it]
[A synergy with the unit accountable for it]
[A synergy with the unit accountable for it]

Priorities and measures

Priority 1Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]