Richard Cooke - Fractional CFO / Finance Director

EXECUTIVE POSITIONING

I work with founder‑led £10m–£100m businesses to restore performance, accelerate growth, and increase equity value through disciplined financial leadership, operational transformation and strategic M&A execution.

20+ years leading, scaling and turning around complex multi‑site organisations across the UK and Europe, including food, building products, engineered metals, construction and national distribution. I specialise in preparing businesses for investment, sale or strategic options, strengthening financial infrastructure, and delivering measurable improvements in profitability, cash generation and enterprise value.

Specialist in:

  • Business turnaround & performance stabilisation

  • Margin expansion & cost‑to‑serve optimisation

  • Strategic planning & value‑creation roadmaps

  • M&A execution, post‑acquisition integration & synergy delivery

  • Exit readiness, equity story development & investor preparation

  • Operational discipline across manufacturing, food production & B2B distribution

  • Systems, controls and reporting professionalisation

  • Leadership development across finance, operations, supply chain & commercial teams

I operate on a fractional basis (2–8 days per month) or through defined transformation mandates.

WHAT I DO FOR FOUNDERS

Revenue & Growth Acceleration

  • Build and deliver strategic growth plans aligned to market, margin and operational capacity

  • Strengthen commercial discipline, pricing strategy and customer profitability

  • Improve forecasting accuracy, demand planning and sales‑to‑operations alignment

  • Support Boards in defining and communicating a compelling strategic vision to investors and acquirers

Cost, Margin & Operational Expansion

  • Conduct full structural cost reviews across manufacturing, supply chain and overheads

  • Improve operational productivity, OEE, labour efficiency and working capital discipline

  • Redesign processes, controls and reporting to support scalable growth

  • Identify and remove non‑performing layers, legacy processes and value leakage

  • Implement ERP, BI and financial systems to improve insight and governance

Exit, M&A & Scale Preparation

  • Prepare businesses for sale through disciplined financial improvement and equity story development

  • Lead M&A processes including due diligence, integration planning and synergy delivery

  • Increase EBITDA multiples through operational discipline, recurring revenue development and strategic clarity

  • Professionalise Board reporting, investor packs and governance structures

  • Support founders in articulating long‑term value creation to strategic buyers

SELECTED IMPACT

  • Delivered full turnaround of a manufacturing group, improving ROS from –10% to +6% in 18 months through cost restructuring, supplier renegotiation and operational discipline

  • Led strategic transformation of a national B2B distribution business, delivering 10%+ CAGR and preparing the business for a successful sale

  • Built and integrated multi‑site food and manufacturing operations, scaling to £90m turnover with strong profitability

  • Supported the sale of a food business to Orkla plc, shaping financial narrative and supporting founder negotiations

  • Delivered post‑acquisition integration programmes including ERP implementation, synergy capture and operational alignment

  • Strengthened financial controls, reporting and governance across multiple founder‑led businesses preparing for investment or exit

CURRENT & RECENT ENGAGEMENTS

  • Advising a founder‑led food business on strategic options, operational improvement and investor readiness

  • Supporting a manufacturing and distribution group through performance stabilisation and growth planning

  • Leading M&A preparation and integration work for businesses seeking to increase equity value ahead of sale

  • Providing fractional CFO support to SMEs requiring improved systems, controls, forecasting and Board‑level insight

Available for:

  • Fractional CFO / Finance Director mandates

  • Turnaround & performance improvement programmes

  • Growth & EBITDA transformation projects

  • Exit readiness & M&A preparation

     

    Available for domestic UK and international travel as required.

Work With Us