BUSINESS CONSULTANCY

The following case studies are just a small sample of the type of situation handled by personnel from Christie Griffith. If any of these cases strike a chord with you or if you would like to discuss how we could be of assistance in any similar situations, please give us a call.

TRADING LOSS

Our client was engaged in trading  a portfolio of businesses which had developed over many years (hotel, quarries and property development) but which had incurred trading losses for 3 years. The bank was increasingly concerned and was reluctant to increase facilities.

If no changes were made to the way the business was run then it was very unlikely that bank support would be continued.

Working with the directors, we developed a plan to make management changes, reduce trading losses, sell off non-core assets and reduce debt.

The outcome (achieved after 2 years) was a stable, profitable business that was working well with in its banking facilities.

CASH FLOW DIFFICULTIES

Our client operated a number of nursing homes and while profits appeared to be healthy the business suffered from cash flow difficulties.

We reviewed their systems and concluded that personnel deficiencies resulted in delays and errors in processing sales, incorrect invoices being issued and overdue or disputed accounts being unresolved.

Our recommendations included making limited personnel changes, increasing staff training and introducing daily management reports of key performance indicators.

The outcome, achieved after 6 months, was a reduction of £0.5 million in the working capital invested in debtors.

PROBLEMS WITH PROJECTIONS

Following a successful management buy-out, the directors sought to expand the business with the development and sale of several new products. In the event the sales forecast fell short of the targets. The end result was that the company struggled to fund both its loan repayments and development costs – thereby threatening an otherwise healthy core business.

Our role was to evaluate the options available to the company and in particular advise on realistic future funding requirements. This enabled the company and its bankers to take steps to put the appropriate funds in place to protect the core business and at the same time control development expenditure within agreed facility levels.