My aim in establishing PVAL is to provide businesses with help and support to make the right financial decisions. Sometimes situations arise which place more demand on management teams than they can manage effectively without additional short to medium term resource. Often this might arise during a transactional event such as a sale, acquisition, refinancing or flotation, where capacity or expertise is the problem. Clear, concise, well presented financial information can be critical to a successful outcome but is often not readily available. Not just on the deal itself where businesses are often awash with help from advisors, but post-completion is often where the real work begins to integrate teams, systems, expand reporting for new stakeholders, develop new forecasting processes, the list goes on…However, the need for additional support can also come from any situation where business needs have changed and suddenly what was good enough before is no longer fit for purpose. Changes in cash profile / staff / regulation / customer base / product mix, all of these can create a temporary requirement. My background and experience leaves me particularly well placed to provide the right support. Having spent 8 years leading due diligence and similar projects at two of the largest accountancy practices in the world, I have spent the last 11 years working in industry in senior finance positions in the SME environment. In my industry roles I have learned to balance the “day job” of leading finance teams with business partnering across the wider organisation. I have extensive experience of financial reporting, commercial analysis, and financial modelling, but I have also been through HMRC investigations, shareholder personal financial management and of course, Covid-19. The nature of SMEs means I have usually had to come at this the hard way and build solutions from scratch, reacting to what is in front of me, find the right path, and come to a solution.

Park Leisure operates 11 holiday home and leisure parks across the UK with annual turnover of c£60m and EBITDA of £15m. Park Leisure was private equity owned prior to its sale in 2022 to a listed US corporate in a £200m deal. Reporting into the CFO, my role was created to support the business through the sale process. Initially on a 6-month interim contract, the role was retained by the acquirer to lead the Finance team during post deal integration.

Reporting into the Board of Directors I had overall responsibility for the Group finance function, including:- Financial reporting- Budgeting / forecasting- Commercial reporting and management information- Modelling of commercial terms from lender partners- Business partnering across the Group- All statutory reporting - external audit, tax, VAT, payroll etcI moved the business from an outsourced accounts service to a high performing, structured in-house Finance department. Significant improvements to quality and timeliness of all reporting to ensure financial information was available when needed and still relevant.Developed commercial, lender and sales analysis that had not previously been available to the business to support key commercial decisions.Built financial forecast model to support the wider Group growth strategy.Led the finance function through Covid-19 lockdowns, managing short term cash flows, funding requirements, HMRC etc. Led overnight shift to paperless working required on lockdown, embedding long term operational improvements as a result.

Responsible for all Group reporting both internally and to external funding partners. I led a team of 16 at our Huddersfield head office.Developed comprehensive Group-level financial reporting not previously available to the Board. Significant improvements to timeliness and quality of all financial reporting.Group KPI and financial covenant monitoring, trading run rate analysis and cashflow forecasting for funders.Responsible for financial modelling and budgeting. Developed a fully integrated financial projections model to support a Group refinancing which was relied on by the Board, funders, external advisers, and due diligence teams. Support to the Board on other acquisitions (both completed and aborted) as the key finance contact for work undertaken. Carried out in-house due diligence on potential acquisitions and led the finance integration of two successful deals.

Pipeline Engineering is a subsidiary of a NYSE listed engineering business (Circor Inc). Reporting to the FD I was responsible for all reporting into Group, month end close and external audit etc. I also had a wider business partnering brief, working with different business streams to improve financial processes, including project profitability monitoring, costing accuracy, and stock loss reductions.

Leading Due Diligence projects for a range of investors, including Private Equity, Corporate and High Net Worth Individual clients. Transactional work includes buy and sell side Due Diligence, Reporting Accountant roles and Bank Refinancing. Experience across a variety of sectors, including: Media, Pharmaceutical, Investment Property, Travel Management.

Manager in Transaction Services department, working on due diligence projects across a range of industries.

Finance Manager, reporting into Group Financial Controller. Managed month end reporting into overseas listed parent company. Responsible for Group balance sheet accounts and reconciliation.

Graduate recruitment scheme, working in audit department and undertaking ACA qualification. First time passes in all exams.