About

 I am a seasoned entrepreneur, with hands-on experience of starting, buying, selling, managing, and restructuring businesses, some during Administration, across a range of industries. 

 

With an early background in ‘big-ticket’ asset finance, I established my first business in lease finance and portfolio asset management, realising value from portfolios of leased assets, and provide interim hands-on management for business trading under insolvency protection, on behalf of Insolvency Practitioners from Grant Thornton, Deloitte, and Leonard Curtis. This lead to an advisory investment role, for a high net worth family private equity office. .

 

Through an introduction by PWC, I acquired and restructured a distressed manufacturing group producing airport fire fighting vehicles, and transportation equipment for the waste industry and the Ministry of Defense. The Group was cash strapped, a direct consequence of losing the confidence of its bank and having no clear handle of its product costings, or inventory. I lead on the restructuring, stabilised the short-term cash flow by aggressively collecting overseas debts, negotiating with creditors, communicating with suppliers & agreeing a zero penalty, interest free repayment scheme with HMRC for £1.4m of PAYE arrears. We generated further capital to fund the business restructuring, though creatively packaging and disposing of products and operating facilities identified as non-core, as business units. Negotiated a new bank operating facility and term loan. Over eighteen months the manufacturing was centralised on one site and head office relocated close to our supply chain, we implemented an integrated manufacturing computer system, focused on growing the products & markets identified as core, and stopped expensive vanity R&D projects.

 

Within 18 months the group returned a sustained and growing profit, from an annual loss of £4m. The business grew both organically and through two acquisitions. After fourteen years of ownership I sold the business to a UK vehicle manufacture.

 

While financial measurements are all worthy and important indices of business success, my experiences also have underlined to me the importance of investing in the potential of people and specifically their motivation for work, beyond a paycheck. This has led me to the field of employee engagement, working with SMEs, often founder-managed enterprises, to cultivating respectful and fulfilling working cultures. Creating stimulating environments, with opportunities for professional growth and development and a valued voice. As a direct consequence, their employees are highly engaged and they go the extra mile for their organisation and employer.

 

Qualifications

BSC Psychology, University of London

The Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI) 360 Korn Ferry Accredited Practitioner.

PG Cert Coaching Psychology University of Chester

101 Certificate in Transactional Analysis.

 

In my free time

Triathlons – GB Age group team 

Married with 2 children at University.