Chief Restructuring Officer+

PwC supported one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK, with over 11,000 staff and over 1,000,000 patient contacts per year, with secondments of a CFO, a Turnaround Director, Deputy CFO and Financial Improvement Director to drive implementation of their financial recovery.

Having been through a turnaround programme in 2015 the financial position deteriorated again significantly towards the end of 2017 with operations needing significant turnaround to improve performance.

The PwC team supported the Trust by:

• Embedding best practice budget setting principles, building a bottom-up budget from scratch in six weeks.
  
• Negotiating with regulators and funding bodies (including agreeing settlements with the Trust’s commissioners and contractual terms for the coming year.)
  
• Uncovering material accounting issues and instigated a forensic review.
  
• Assessing the root causes of the Trust’s deficit and developed a two year financial recovery plan.
  
• Developing and implemented a £65m financial improvement programme;
  
• Putting in place new controls around recruitment
  
• Developing and implementing revised governance and reporting arrangements for financial recovery, rebuilding stakeholder confidence.
  
• Supported in the recruitment of staff to take over and provided a clear handover pathway.

The Trust’s position was stabilised, with clarity over its true financial position and drivers behind financial improvement, with improving confidence from the NHS regulator.

Periods of market decline, significant under-investment from prior owners and increasingly high costs meant the superyacht manufacturer was facing significant challenges and needed to turnaround operations swiftly.

A new CEO and CFO were appointed and a secondee from PwC as an operations director, to drive the turnaround of the manufacturing operations, procurement and production engineering.

PwC supported the team across a number of projects, including:

• Assisting in preparing a three-year strategic plan for the business, instrumental to secure confidence and support from the shareholders and lenders
  
• Introducing new disciplines to drive efficiency and cost reduction, including standardised bills of material and end-to-end supply chain
  
• Build out of new methodologies and implementing technology within development and investment plans
  Responding to queries related to the restructuring
  
• Improving the performance of the procurement function to support stronger control on material costs

Working closely with the new executive team across a whole range of critical restructuring projects, PwC helped the company create EBITDA of £6m for the year ending December 2016, an improvement of £36m.

Having taken control of one of the UK’s leading waste management companies via a debt for equity swap in 2015, lenders sought repayment through asset sales, which required a carve-out of a complex and disparate group.

With the appointment of a new Board Chairman and CEO, a PwC Director provided hands-on support to drive implementation of the restructuring programme.

Working alongside management, they:

• Developed a clear steps plan for delivery of the restructuring programme.
  
• Established a strategic programme management function to direct and manage the turnaround programme.
  
• Implemented a communication rhythm across the team and with stakeholders.
  
• Established clear reporting processes and disciplines, including monthly update presentations to the Board.
  
• Managed and advised on the delivery of key strategic projects including:
  
  • Strategic review, business plan development and options analysis;
    
  • A complex corporate reorganisation;
    
  • Three business disposals;
    
  • Operational separation; and
    
  • Significant debt refinancing of their energy from waste plants.

The organisation succeeded in delivering the strategic restructuring plan, within the tight timetable set by the shareholders, exceeding expectations in relation to value and outcome.

Non-core businesses were disposed of in clean transactions to suitable owners, providing a sustainable future for each business and its employees.

A new CFO was brought into the multinational safety equipment manufacturer which was experiencing difficult trading conditions following the oil price drop in 2015, leading to Oil & Gas customers cutting Capex spend.

Three secondees were brought in to support the new CFO leading the restructuring and turnaround process as Head of Group Controlling, Interim FD to complex APAC division and budget analyst. Delivered greater transparency on subsidiary performance (across over 60 entities) and more reliable budgeting and reporting.

Over twelve months the PwC team provided hands-on support to the group by:

• Producing information required in the financial restructuring process.
  
• Implementing a new short-term cash flow forecasting process as well as cash flow management through a period of liquidity shortage.
  
• Increasing transparency and deeper understanding of performance and forecast for management and external stakeholders.
  
• Designing and implementing a new annual budget process that supported the restructuring plan and with increased focus on key KPIs.
  
• As interim FD for the APAC division resolved legacy issues, stabilised the business and led the team through a period of uncertainty,
  
• All individuals facilitated the recruitment and transition plan of activities to the new recruits taking over roles and responsibilities, embedding the new behaviours into the business.

The successful refinancing process resulted in injection of new money (debt and equity) and extension of senior facilities to FY21. Forecasting processes were improved, and new insights led to a broader, international restructuring and simplification plan across several group entities.

A UK co-operative with annual revenues of over £1bn revenues across a number of sectors, with turnaround and simplification needed to reassess the business with market disruptors.

Following the appointment of a Chief Strategic Officer, (‘CSO’), this turnaround professional requested a PwC senior manager to support him drive the turnaround by providing hands on PMO support.

Working alongside management the secondee:

• Conducted a short term review to aid the strategic plan
  
• Prepared a new medium term forecast model
  
• Supported the development and implementation of the strategic deleveraging plan, including elements of AMA, cost savings, working capital improvement and improved business planning.
  
• Provided support with lender dialogue
  
• Key stakeholder management (including support through an internal business review and coordination with auditors)
  
• Assisted in communications and governance & financial control

The support provided enabled the business to successfully refinance while initiating the new strategic plan.