Published on 9 November 2010 by Tony Groom Any successful business would be expected to be constantly monitoring its activities and modifying them where necessary to improve the efficiency and its various offers. Continuous business improvement does two things: it optimises existing processes and keeps them optimal by continually updating them. But on its own, […]
Articles Tagged: SME
Saving insolvent companies needs both a restructuring and business plan #058
Published on 25 July 2011 by Tony Groom Following the demise of Rok and Connaught, another national building maintenance company, Kinetics Group, has just gone into administration with 500 employees being made redundant leaving a skeleton staff of 50 to deal with its five sites. The Kinetics Group had provided building maintenance solutions to over […]
Employing Restructuring Advisers to Help Save Your Company #003
Published on 16 September 2010 by Tony Groom There are a number of options for companies who find themselves in financial difficulties, but a real challenge is finding someone to help. It’s made more difficult if the directors/owners take the view that they know their business better than anyone else and infer from this that […]
Business Turnaround Process Involves Completing Three Phases #011
Published on 14 November 2011 by Tony Groom There are essentially three phases to a business turnaround which are the first, emergency phase to try to ensure survival, followed by a stabilisation phase which includes a thorough look at any fundamental changes needed to achieve a viable business and finally the growth phase to secure […]
A Frozen Bank Account Need Not be the End of a Business #014
Published on 26 November 2010 by Tony Groom If a bank takes action to freeze a company’s bank account it is an indication that the bank is nervous and under its bank facility terms and conditions has exercised its right to not release funds. A bank’s behaviour is monitored by its facility people and triggering […]
Turnaround Forecasting is About Reality, Not Hope #015
Published on 14 November 2010 by Tony Groom Normally most forecasting is done for lending, fund raising or other investor related purposes and therefore with hope of future growth built into the forecast. Such forecasts show how loans will be repaid and investors will achieve a return on their money. Such forecasts are often not […]
The Focus Must be on Cash Flow When Times Are Tough #029
Published on 21 January 2011 by Tony Groom Profit and turnover are, of course, important measures of business performance but when times are as difficult as they are at the start of 2011 and many businesses are finding themselves in difficulties the main focus must shift to cash. Cash flow is the most immediate indicator […]
It is obvious why Bank Fees are High and Business Lending is so Difficult #051
Published on 3 June 2011 by Tony Groom Recently Business Secretary Vince Cable called for significant improvement in lending to Small and Medium Sized businesses (SMEs) through Project Merlin. The figures for January to March showed a shortfall of 12% against the £19bn that represents a quarter of the annual £76bn target agreed with the […]
Factoring and Invoice Discounting: Be Wary of Hidden Fees #038
Published on 1 March 2011 by Tony Groom Factoring and invoice discounting (borrowing money against invoices) can be a helpful tool for funding the working capital of a business. While it used to be regarded as a means of borrowing by businesses in financial difficulties, it is now a common source of finance for managing […]
Do Small Businesses Understand Working Capital and Liquidity? #046
Published on 6 May 2011 by Tony Groom There is some doubt about whether small businesses in particular understand the concept of liquidity. When borrowing against assets, such as the sales ledger using factoring or invoice discounting or plant and machinery finance or property mortgages, there seems to be a widespread misunderstanding among businesses about […]