Automotive software – creating a market leader
This small automotive company offering performance software was riven by shareholder disputes and disagreements, with its potential constrained by structure…
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Robert is an expert in growing and delivering shareholder value in SMEs. His interest is
in recognising, targeting and securing the ‘value step’ – that vital moment when a
project succeeds or when shareholder value is realised.
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James has built a career as an entrepreneurial business leader on the foundation of
more than 20 years’ experience on a number of UK’s largest and most complex PFI/PPP,
infrastructure and contracting service schemes.
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Martin is an energetic operational and commercially perceptive finance director who
harnesses a Dashboard and Scorecard culture to create financial information sets that
underpin steps in business value.
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Peter is a pioneer of new media, disruptor of the creative communications industries
and strategic organisational consultant with 35 years’ experience of helping business
owners, board members and government ministers to shape and change direction.
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Charlotte is a results driven HR Professional who provides strategic HR advice and
services as well as practical help and guidance to help companies achieve their business
goals by managing people effectively.
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Working with other trusted partners, we offer a complete portfolio of additional skills and capabilities to suit the situation
overheated or stagnant; prices still rising; resources are scarce; people are flakier than ever; optimism is rare; productivity is low; investment is scant; whoever wins the General Election, the UK economy won’t improve for a while. Mr Micawber is long dead, so waiting for something to turn up isn’t enough. And, by the way, hope is not a strategy.
With inflation abating only slowly, and interest rates persisting uncomfortably high, a troubling issue is appearing - the strangulation of emerging, pure-play, renewables and low carbon energy technology companies. This threatens a class of inventors and entrepreneurs who are seeking to bring their IP to market, and it could even deprive us of the next “big green idea”.
Getting a deal done can be extraordinarily easy, or near impossible depending on the motivations, ambitions, insight and experience, appetite and focus of the parties. In almost all cases, however, we have found, one common and fundamental piece of the multi-faceted transaction puzzle exists and that is the ‘Deal Value Gap’ (DVG).
On 12th October 2023 at the Francis Crick Institute, London, a distinguished panel and 50 or so guests, brought together by the acumen7 Network, (www.acumen7.com) debated one of the most important issues of our generation. The title of the debate was:"This house believes that no government can be relied upon to secure an affordable and renewable energy supply for the UK, and that an alternative approach is needed." Here is my contribution to the discussion.
The UK economy is facing tough times. Whatever the outcome of the General Election, and despite opportunities for new industries, it will take years of grind until the economy is thriving. Nonetheless, SME businesses must grow, survive, and thrive in the realities that we have now, and they will best do this by applying business fundamentals, facing the truth, and making brave decisions.
At ValueStep we have, over the years, juggles with the uncomfortable truth that business founders and inventors both create and destroy value. To put it bluntly, how does a business help its dominant leader crystallise their fortune, stay confident in their vision and get out of the way to allow the business to succeed to its next stage?
" Over the past 18 months Covid-19 has strangled the world. The pandemic has touched every country, and, despite the vaccination programme, Europe is now bracing for its fourth wave.
Perhaps as worrying, behind the scenes, there breeds another contagion. That of zombie business Balance Sheets. "