Wholesaler of electric hair grooming products to the hairdressing trade

Wholesaler of electric hair grooming products to the hairdressing trade

Situation faced:

Loss making operations after supplier failiure in 2013 with very tight cash management required . overtrading for last couple of years. Company had lost key funder (Barclays) support and needed refunding. Company had also focused on front office only and finance/operations needed restructuring

Outcome achieved:

Developed cash forecast for business as well as bringing finance department back up to date and sufficiently resourced. Addressed management communication and short term planning. Developped presentation for potential funders and met with 7 banks. funding reviewed and new lender brought in to support business into next stage of development and key autumn trading period

Duration: 3 months

End: August 2014

Multi-disciplinary global service provider to the renewables industry

Multi-disciplinary global service provider to the renewables industry

Situation faced:

Significant losses over a 4-5 year period, £0.75m of HMRC arrears, a cost base geared to expansion, little or no financial information, disparate and fragmented management and an overly complex group structure.

Outcome achieved:

Time to pay arrangement agreed with HMRC and £2.8M of cost savings delivered within 4 months.  In collaboration with management a 3 year recovery plan was built which sees the business reduce its cost base, focus upon its core strengths and generate regular profits.  Succession planning and fundraising to deliver this plan in the long term continue. Exited at the point where managementand shareholders believed they had sufficient funding to deliver the recovery plan.

Duration: 7 months

End date: February 2014

Wholesaler of Branded Kitchen Appliances

Wholesaler of Branded Kitchen Appliances

Situation faced:

Company had expanded rapidly but had been forced to close its European operations as a result of which the Company was experiencing significant working capital pressures.

Outcome achieved:

Engaged to support management extend its STCF to 13 weeks and improve robustness of forecasting model. Identified significant excess borrowing requirement. Introduced company to potential investors and identified £500K of achievable annualised savings.

Duration: 1 month

End date: September 2013

Secure logistics and cash management

Secure logistics and cash management

Situation faced:

Start up and integration of three separate and culturally disparate security companies from German Administration. Previous management had committed large scale fraud and theft, over £500M.

Outcome achieved:

Company successfully started within stringent government regulations around the security industry. 61 Cash-handling locations , were combined to provide operational and manpower efficiencies (reduction of 50% in staffing and location) and logistic and operating processes. Oversaw integration of new acquisition and new route planning softwarewhich was to reduce total operating costs by 10%.

Duration: 13 months

End date: May 2008

Global manufacture and distribution of parquet flooring

Global manufacture and distribution of parquet flooring

Situation faced:

The Group, based in Zurich, Switzerland had breached its banking covenants and was loss-making. Main markets of Europe and the US were hit by the recession as house building starts and consumer confidence fell. Manufacturing operations in Sweden, France and Switzerland were high- cost and subject to intense competition from Chinese suppliers. 

Outcome achieved:

Manufacturing costs and staffing levels were reviewed and process improvements made where required. Other cost reduction programs were agreed and implemented. Reporting improvements were made and cash management processes implemented. A new 3 year Budget was created to support the necessary financial restructuring. The restructuring was agreed and implemented on time, including obtaining all Swiss tax approvals. Overall debt was reduced from £560M to £280M allowing the company time to ride the recession.

Duration: 11 Months

End date: May 2009

Manufacture, sale and distribution of biological medicines

Manufacture, sale and distribution of biological medicines

Situation faced:

Acquisition and carve out of a unique biological medicine from a US medical appliance company, Stryker. The Newco had no Finance or administrative personnel as these duties had been carried out by Stryker. All international operations were based out of Limerick, Ireland.

Outcome achieved:

Carved out the International operations from Stryker and started separate operations in Ireland. Set up the finance and administrative function in Limerick, Ireland and Lyon, France.  There also arose a needto establish tax-efficient processes to support taking over all product licenses for distribution within the EC and Rest of the World from Stryker and to be completed within an accelerated timeframe.

Duration: 1 year

End date: January 2012