ELEVATING FINANCIAL CAPABILITY DURING PRIVATE EQUITY TRANSITION
The Challenge
A fast-growing business with ambitious plans and a highly innovative life sciences offering secured its first private equity backers. With growth investment (from a leading London-based mid market PE firm) came elevated reporting expectations, Group-level consolidation/acquisition accounting, and the need to rapidly build institutional-grade financial infrastructure, all whilst maintaining business momentum.
The existing finance function wasn’t equipped for this step-change. They needed someone who could bridge the gap between operational reality and stakeholder needs.
The Approach
Glenn joined as an interim CFO, working closely with the existing team to:
- Build the first complete set of Group accounts with accompanying commentary
- Establish new benchmarks for financial quality and clarity
- Produce compliant acquisition accounting entries aligned to stakeholder expectations
- Design a comprehensive reporting, forecasting, budgeting and long-range planning model including scenario generation
- Deliver robust consolidated and entity-level forecasts across Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and Cashflow
- Strengthen pipeline reporting for forward visibility
- Ensure clean, consistent, audit-ready ledgers
- Build credible relationships with new stakeholders, including lenders
Client Comments
“Glenn didn’t just support our finance function. He elevated it. He materially elevated our internal capability, helped us navigate a significant transition, and instilled confidence in both management and investors through the strength and credibility of the numbers.”
Dr Jelena Mann, CEO
The engagement delivered:
- Institutional-grade financial reporting ready for PE and lender scrutiny
- A scalable forecasting model that underpins ongoing financial planning, reporting and covenant compliance
- An internal team capability uplift that persists beyond the engagement
- Investor and lender confidence built through clear, credible communication
- A finance function positioned to support rapid profitable growth
Why It Worked
Glenn brought more than technical expertise. He integrated seamlessly with the team, understood the business complexity, and used that insight to build systems aligned to both operational reality and stakeholder expectations. Most critically, he elevated the internal capability resulting in a smooth handover rather than creating an ongoing dependency.
Reflecting on the Engagement
“I really enjoyed this assignment. I was warmly welcomed and given a thorough briefing on the business, its history, and its plans, which made it much easier to add value from day one.
Building confidence with stakeholders early, including the lenders, was an agreed priority from the outset, and it was satisfying to see trust develop through clear, credible reporting and impactful stakeholder communication.
I made a point of keeping a forward-looking view throughout, solving today’s problems while making sure the business was set up for what came next.
Working seamlessly alongside the PE investors and the leadership team was genuinely rewarding, and leaving the finance team in great shape before handing over to the permanent CFO was a great outcome.
This is a terrific business with a very bright future and I wish them every deserved success”
Glenn Hayward, Co-Founder Milestones MK
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