Often in small or medium enterprises shareholders are heavily involved in the management of the business and are fully aware of its financial position. In larger businesses there may be little or no involvement and as a result they may not be aware of a problem until a much later stage.

Typically the aim of shareholders is to preserve or maximise the return on their investment (normally whilst acting fairly to other stakeholders such as employees and creditors).

We can help in establishing the true financial position of a business and the short to medium term issues it faces. This will drive recommendations as to how the investment should be managed and the likely implications on the shareholder.

We are experienced in dealing with and assisting struggling businesses and consider that formal insolvency procedures should always be a last resort. We recognise that often there are opportunities to recover any investment through alternative methods and that a formal insolvency procedure will normally result in no return to shareholders.

Reviews and advice can be provided in any circumstances where a client may be experiencing financial difficulties and in particular:

• Requests for funding - advice as to whether this will solve the problem or whether it is throwing good money after bad;
• Alternative sources of finance that may be available to the business - we have access to a variety of alternatives such as asset based lenders;
• Interim management - assistance to management in managing short term cash issues and identification as to whether they are really short term;
• Investment exit management for example through a sale of the business - we know a number of funds that are actively seeking businesses opportunities and may be able to facilitate a trade sale
• Advice over restructuring of the business to facilitate rescue; and
• Where circumstances dictate appropriate advice on insolvency solutions and the opportunities this may present in maintaining the investment value (e.g. through a Company Voluntary Arrangement or through buying the business back at a low value).

We can provide independent assistance in identifying and addressing the issues and if necessary develop a business plan to facilitate the solution that provides the best outcome to the shareholders.

Fees

Our fees are agreed on a case by case basis and are structured to represent the expected work required and value delivered to our client. Because we are confident in our capability we may, in certain circumstances, agree contingency or performance based fee structures to share in the risk and rewards.

We will not charge for our initial consultation - contact us us via our webform or on 0870 495 7854 for a free confidential conversation and to discuss how we can help.