The following scenarios help to illustrate our approach:

Case 1

We were approached by a transport company which was in difficulty and breaching the terms of its loan agreement. The company was unprofitable and its bank and factoring company were threatening to recall funds.

Steven Gordon, corporate finance partner explains: "having performed an initial review of the company we identified that the main problem was their old fleet. The company had decided not to renew their aging fleet since they thought they were saving on financing costs and depreciation. However, the old fleet required extensive repair and maintenance and much of the fleet was off the road for a large amount of the time, not only costing delivery time, but also ruining the great reputation the company had built over 80 years."

"Our analysis showed that the preferred solution put forward to the client was to renew the fleet, under contract hire and fully maintained. Total annual cost of doing this was actually less than the old fleet had cost. The company image was improved overnight, not just because they had a shiny new fleet but also because reliability had dramatically improved."

"Other solutions involved taking control of cash flow by introducing a simple mechanism to control weekly cash flow. We also re-educated our client on dealing with suppliers to ensure lending facilities are not exceeded again in the future."

"The company is now highly profitable and currently does not use its overdraft facility and, most importantly, remains on good terms with financiers and suppliers, to such an extent that it has negotiated better terms with both."