Hands-on finance leadership for PE-backed and owner-led companies.

A multi-site services group pursuing an aggressive buy-and-build strategy in a fragmented market, with no finance function in place and no capacity to absorb acquisitions at pace.

I built the finance department from scratch, raised growth financing, and ran 30+ acquisitions end to end: sourcing, negotiation, due diligence and integration, with the integration process standardised and automated so each deal took less effort than the last. I also developed the software platform the business runs on, and built the data warehouse and BI reporting used to steer the group.

A software company whose finance function had not kept pace with the growth of the business.

I restructured working capital, took out structural cost, and professionalised the team and its reporting. Alongside a developer, I built AI-assisted applications for the finance department's own recurring work.

From Big Four practice through to independent work: Big Four quality of analysis, without the Big Four distance from the deal.

I move between the investor's perspective and the management team's without losing either, because I have sat in both seats. That is the difference between an investment that works in the model and one that works in the business: I flag what will bite after closing, and what it takes to fix it.

Companies in the first months after a private equity acquisition, where the investor needs reliable numbers before anything else can move.

I set up financial reporting at short notice, then stayed on as a sounding board for management and the investor on financing, reorganisations, footprint optimisation and add-on acquisitions.