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Supporting productivity, transformation and business rescue in a post-pandemic world

The directors of businesses large and small, having risen to the manifold challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns might have expected a period of calm to recover and rebuild. Instead, a cost-of-living crisis is hitting consumers, whilst a cost of doing business crisis is combining with pre-existing stresses to put a great deal of pressure on UK plc.

In a new report, Supporting productivity, transformation and business rescue in a post-pandemic world, we highlight the huge contribution IFT members make and the value they create for society and the economy.

We estimate that in 2022, IFT members and partners saved 81,800 jobs as initiatives to fix finances and revamp growth strategies bore fruit. Members also helped UK companies deliver more than £3.6bn of shareholder value.

Alongside this data, the report analyses the key stresses for businesses and showcases case studies for successful turnarounds, demonstrating the skill of members and partners, and the impact for business and people.

Despite the distinct benefits turnaround can bring, many companies remain reluctant to appoint a turnaround adviser until cash flow pressures are extreme, which can limit the range of restructuring option available.

This report seeks to underline the importance of early engagement with accredited turnaround professionals to UK plc in what is expected to be a particularly challenging period.

To download a copy of the report, please click HERE.

 

 

 

IFT Announces Award Winners

We are proud to announce this year’s winners of our prestigious Annual Awards, celebrating turnaround excellence across a range of companies and sectors.

The IFT Annual Awards, the most prestigious awards to celebrate business turnaround and the UK’s world class turnaround experts, recognises individuals and companies who have made an extraordinary contribution to UK plc and the turnaround profession.

The winners are as follows:

Large Company Turnaround of the Year – SIG Plc, the building supplies distributor, which has returned to robust profitability ahead of schedule, thanks to a transformation that got into the nuts and bolts of the business and in which leadership and employee engagement played a major role.

Mid-market Turnaround of the Year – Archant, the UK’s fourth largest media company. Thanks to a pioneering transformation plan, the key regional press player is on a path to growth.

SME Turnaround of the Year – Camvac Ltd. This manufacturing business specialising in metallising and lamination was an excellent example of a full business turnaround executed in an active manufacturing environment.

Community Impact Turnaround of the Year – Hovertravel picked up this award. Hovertravel provides a critical infrastructure link to access the Isle of Wight and is a company essential to the every-day lives of a community. Thanks to creative actions taken, the financial performance post-recovery now outperforms the pre-distress period.

In the firm categories:

Gateley Legal PLC picked up Legal Adviser of the Year, showing real commitment to championing new tools to provide new options for clients as well as promoting diversity across their workforce.

PwC showcased a variety of case studies that demonstrated true innovation in solutions and an exceptionally strong client focus to win in the category of Turnaround Adviser of the Year.

Rcapital demonstrated consistent activity and commitment in the turnaround community, as evidenced by their effectiveness across a breadth of businesses, making the investor Special Situations Private Equity Provider of the Year.

Investment and Advisory Firm Hilco Capital demonstrated a host of positive outcomes as well as taking a hands-on approach to their work, scooping up the award for Special Situations Debt Provider of the Year.

Bringing together leading independent turnaround directors and the best lenders, investors, advisory and legal firms in turnaround, we are always delighted to celebrate the successes of individuals. With this in mind, our Independent Turnaround Adviser of the Year goes to Nick Alexander.

In the words of our judges, Nick is ‘a standout turnaround director’ – noted for the significant value creation and jobs he has secured in exceptionally challenging circumstances.

Finally, our Rising Star Award went to Peter Brown from FTI Consulting, who demonstrated the impact that the turnaround skillset can bring to wider society and stakeholders, as well as excellence in high profile cases.

 

Swift – Conference Edition

In the latest special conference edition of Swift, The IFT’s quarterly magazine, you can read about our upcoming IFT events, including the IFT Awards, the IFT news and articles written by members and corporate partners.

To read the latest edition, please click HERE

IFT contributes to new turnaround and growth guide for small businesses

The IFT has contributed expertise for a new guide published by Lloyds Bank for Business. Turnaround – Seizing New Opportunities is a free book designed for SMEs to boost stabilisation and growth after two difficult years, and can be accessed here.

Our chapter outlines the key components of a successful turnaround, and provides advice on how to secure proven external expertise through the recovery and growth journey.

IFT accredited members and partners have worked hard to help businesses navigate the immediate financial and operational difficulties arising from the pandemic. IFT independent turnaround directors and corporate partners helped companies save over 200,000 jobs in 2020. However, the proportion of distressed companies seeking turnaround management services remains very low. If just 4.5% more distressed firms sought our members’ support, we estimate that jobs saved could be 10 times higher.

Awards Winners 2021

We were delighted to see so many of you at the IFT Annual Awards 2021 and would like to thank you all for coming to celebrate the very best of business turnaround with us.

The IFT would like to say a huge thank you to Paris Clark-Roden and Ali White for doing such a fantastic job at presenting the evening. We would also like to extend a huge thanks to our event partner CREDEBT Ltd.The Debtor Book Professionals.

Well done to all those shortlisted, and a huge congratulations to last nights winners.

Navigating the Pandemic and Beyond: The Contribution of Turnaround to Business and People

In a normal business cycle, the reasons why businesses need turnaround support are many and varied. Since the beginning of the global pandemic, many businesses have been heavily reliant on government support which has meant that although the number of companies in distress in 2020 continued to rise during the pandemic, insolvencies fell by 27 per cent when compared with 2019.

In this report, Navigating the Pandemic and Beyond: The Contribution of Turnaround to Business and People, we highlight the huge contribution IFT members make and the value they create for society and the economy.

We estimate that in 2020 IFT members and corporate partners saved more than 200,000 jobs and protected £2.9 billion in enterprise value. The report analyses the profound impact which the pandemic has exerted and continues to impose on the economy and businesses, at a time when business recovery is even more important to the economy and people.

Our research, conducted during the Covid-19 disruption, highlights how we expect Covid-19 to drive higher demand for turnaround services for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.

To download the report please click here.

For press information and media enquiries please contact:

Michael Evans

Director

Byfield

+44 (0)7732 148 511

michael@byfieldconsultancy.com