The situation
In the period to February 2013, Electranet reported an operating loss of £4.2m before £2.0m of exceptional charges on revenues of £19m.
In March 2012 Nick Winks was asked by HSBC to become CRO of this PE backed specialist telecommunications business.
Our approach
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Restructure
The CRO quickly decided that the Southampton subsidiary was unlikely ever to be cash generative and so this company was declared insolvent and closed. The insolvency created cash pressure on the main trading business owing to inter-company debt and cross guarantees.
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New funding
An emergency equity fund raising (about £1m) involving existing and new shareholders was successfully completed in 2012.
Results
Now free of the loss-making subsidiary, management were able to concentrate on improving the main business, which had always been profitable. Margins grew and profits expanded to over £5m by 2015 when the business was sold to Capita Plc for £37m in November that year.
Nick Winks left the business after completion of the sale.