Business advisory

A sustainable business model requires a clear understanding of all the potential options available. Making the right commercial decisions will help you maximise efficiency, reduce operating costs and improve performance – all of which are critical to long-term business success.

High-quality strategic advice can help your business optimise performance at any point in its lifecycle. Making sure you have financial and strategic control will help prevent problems and if you run into difficulties, the right advice can help you get back on track.

The experienced team at S&W supports businesses with:

• Corporate simplification - Working with corporate groups to reorganise or rationalise their structure and reduce administrative and compliance costs including intra-group trade transfers, risk management and dormant company disposal
• Closure management - Supporting an orderly close down of a trading business to minimise liabilities when a business comes to the end of its useful life
• Retirements and special purpose vehicles - Legally closing down solvent companies and returning share capital to shareholders
• Group reconstruction and rollovers of investment - Reorganisation of groups in a tax-efficient way to help one or more of the shareholders to dispose of part or all of their interest(s)
• Business and liquidity reviews - Advice and recommendations to lenders and other financial stakeholders on the options available when a business is nearing or has reached insolvency
• Contingency planning - Working with directors and managers to find the best possible routes out of a crisis
• Operational advice - Reviewing and enhancing processes, controls and management structures, as well as advising on key commercial risks, analysing business performance and identifying opportunities for improvement
• Strategic business advice - Advising on strategic options to ensure the survival or improvement of your business including business plans, financial models, stakeholder assessment and refinancing assistance
• Interim management - Providing chief restructuring officers, new board appointments and/or interim management, implementing a business restructure, enhancing performance, assisting with asset sales, reviewing systems, reducing overheads or helping to plan a managed exit
• Cashflow management - Helping businesses to manage and collect debts, phase supplier payments, negotiate with creditors, dispose of non-core assets, prepare short-term cashflow forecasts and communicate with other stakeholders
• Debt advisory (senior lenders) - Providing business and options reviews, developing lender strategies, planning contingencies and exits, reviewing viability and solvency and delivering turnaround and restructuring services
• Debt advisory (asset-based lenders) - Conducting pre-lending and independent business reviews and recovery work
• Debt advisory (borrowers) - Providing contingency planning, debt raising and refinancing, as well as short and medium-term cashflow planning and management