Situation

• Hive down of an orphan private equity owned business
• Highly regulated sector (FDA, MHRA, Home Office)
• New corporate structure required to purchase the business, novate customer and staff employment contracts
• GMP certification and Home Office approval required prior to business transfer
• Loss making business, with onerous customer contracts
• No marketing investment for many years
• No IT, finance or commercial management infrastructure
• Over-complicated, inefficient systems and procedures
• Low staff morale
• No recent business planning
• Limited funding to capitalise the business post-transfer
• Escalated energy costs
• Supply chain disruption due to BREXIT and COVID
   

Actions

• Board expanded and directorships provided
• Immediate customer and regulatory body communications
• Investment in Quality Assurance and QMS
• Outsourced finance and legal functions
• Sales and marketing function established and activities commenced
• Review of profitability and operational efficiency by service and customers, resulted in negotiated price increases
• Processes and systems rationalised in advance of technology transformation
• Staff structure and KPIs introduced
• Management changes, staff reduction and staff enhancement through key hires
• 3-year strategic business plan created, including investment for growth, debt and equity investment planning
• Supply chain risk reduced through the acquisition of contingency suppliers and enhanced vendor auditing processes
   

Outcomes

• Key customer contract extended for 4 years
• Service areas increased and customer numbers doubled
• Trading restored to profitability and cash resources retained
• Growth plan commenced
• Business transformation is ongoing