Helping firms get back on the right track

How Graeme Lipman of Begbies Traynor draws on his experience to help companies out of trouble and achieve growth.

Graeme Lipman’s experience in running his own printing and publishing and other businesses has equipped him with the tools to be a fixer for companies looking to get out of difficult situations or those that have their eye on growth.

Graeme established his own printing and publishing company at the age of 23 which he subsequently ran for 24 years and during that time saw it grow into a firm with a turnover of £7m+ and employing 52 staff before selling the business.

His specialist printing and publishing companies focused on producing marketing materials, magazines, periodicals and books and counted the BBC, Sotheby’s, John Lewis, Waitrose and the Metropolitan Police amongst its clients.

The move from printing and publishing to insolvency is not a common career path. However, for Graeme, it was an approach by Begbies Traynor to work as a consultant that steered him away from retirement and onto his current career trajectory.

He said: “When I was approached, I said I didn’t know anything about insolvency at all. They said that if you have run your business for 24 years then you will have the experience, tools and knowledge to talk to all kinds of directors.”

Graeme after 24 years then went on to work as an advisory consultant for Begbies Traynor where he has been helping companies for over seven years and is now based at the firm’s Salisbury office within the South West region where he holds the post of Director.

He deals with companies from a range of sectors, including construction, automotive and printing, that are facing insolvency, business stress or are looking to grow.

Of the companies that contact him in a distressed situation, they all have one thing in common and this is a failure to keep up-to-date accounts.

Graeme expanded: “Since COVID, companies don’t seem to have as up-to-date financials generally. Now when information is requested it takes two or three times longer than pre COVID. If they are not aware of what is going on, then they are unable to plan a strategy going forward.

“If companies don’t know what their cashflow is going to be then they cannot reassure their backers of what their future prospects are and if the business is going to be stable and viable.”

The trend of a growing number of companies failing to keep on top of the books, Graeme argues, can be attributed to the sluggish economy since the pandemic with many firms forced to cut back on staff.

He said: “Directors are probably having to multitask where they probably weren’t so much pre COVID and they’re asking their accountants to do less and asking their inexperienced internal accounts department to do more.”

Alongside failing to keep track of finances, over-trading is also a key cause of financial difficulties.

Graeme explained: “It’s ironic that after COVID, where some businesses were closed, others are now grabbing everything they can. This means they can swing straight into over-trading. If they haven’t got the right credit lines with their suppliers and full backing from their funders. Suddenly, their working capital is tight. They might have plenty of orders coming but if they haven’t got working capital sorted then their business can be brought to a grinding halt.”

The direction of travel for all business is rarely linear with many pivots and U-turns along the way which is why having back up strategies can help keep a company on course for the financial year and beyond.

Graeme said: “It is important that companies have a second back up strategy or even a third if their first plan doesn’t work. So that they are positioned to act if their sales revenues are say 15 per cent lower than expected or their gross margins are down compared to their forecasts. This helps with communicating your position with shareholders, funders and backers as you are able to come up with a strategy if your original path doesn’t work out.”

With his role focused on helping companies grow out of difficulty and also helping grow firms, he also assists companies in a semi-stressed position.

He said: “A lot of companies are not aware of their true financial position and only act when creditors start knocking at the door. The frustration in our job is that people are not coming to us as early as possible and only do so when they are forced to respond. They may be in denial where they think they are a great company that just needs one or two orders, and everything will be fine. We make sure that people are aware of what the next few days or weeks hold for them cashflow wise and what threats they are likely to encounter given their position.”

One of the most satisfying parts of the job, says Graeme, is achieving a turnaround for a company with every situation requiring a different approach. He has worked on a number of business rescues which have retained as many staff as possible and kept the business intact. He highlights the work he did for a film industry logistics company where the Managing Director had a heart attack, and he helped the staff achieve a management buyout.

Graeme also worked with a family printing business that had run into difficulty after the father had passed the business to his sons. With a tight timeframe, due to the business running out of cash, he was able to help secure a buyer for the business with most of the staff retained.

When helping companies to grow, Graeme draws on the lessons of his publishing business to help owners overcome growth obstacles and also utilises his wider contact network to help firms gain funding and win orders. As any CEO knows, company survival depends on growing areas of the business to balance the books.

Graeme urges firms that he advises to seek out pockets of growth in connected sectors. He said: “The printing sector has been eroding for the last two or three decades because the demand of print generally has dropped. But there are still pockets of growth and the sector is still a multi-billion pound industry. There is growth in the packaging side and in promotional material. There is also growth in the travel sector. People like to see glossy brochures and magazines apart from just the internet.”

A good team can put a firm on the road to growth and this is one of the core areas that Graeme will work on with teams. He said: “I have always said that it is important to look after your clients but looking after your staff is even more important. If you can get the right team in place then you can tackle anything. You do need clients, as you do need the revenue that they bring in, but clients come and go, but good key members of staff need retaining.”

The importance of an exit strategy is a cornerstone of advice that Graeme gives to company founders. He said: “A lot of owners run into problems when they come to sell as they find that the value
of their business is nowhere near what they thought it would be. Also, too many businesses come to the point where they want to sell and find that too much is reliant on the founder.

“Having an effective business plan that is aligned with your exit strategy is vital.”

If you are interested in speaking to Graeme, he can be contacted through email via: [email protected]. www.begbies-traynorgroup.com