Privately owned electronic security company turning over around £1m.

Engagement Brief and Challenge

• The client identified a niche vertical opportunity and recognised it was facing challenges associated with rapid growth.
• To capitalise on this opportunity—particularly in the renewable energy sector—they sought Resource 5’s support to increase market share.
• Areas identified for improvement included:
  • Company structure – to enable phased growth, align staff from senior leadership to site operatives, ensure accountability, and improve efficiency.
  • Operations – implement effective controls and procedures to improve productivity and reporting.
  • Output – improve the margin of delivered vs. sold systems, as well as recurring revenue and services.
  • Commercial and contractual – develop and implement policies and procedures in collaboration with the owners.

Addressing the Challenge

• A strategic review was carried out across key business departments to fully evaluate the obstacles to growth and identify the improvements required.
• This resulted in a detailed action plan covering short- to medium-term priorities, including:
  • Finance
    • Restructured financial information to improve visibility and focus on turnover targets, profitability, and overhead control.
    • Established financial and performance benchmarks to support monthly reporting.
    • Produced and implemented monthly budgets with strict adherence.
  • Profitability & Sales
    • Redefined the cost structure and applied the correct gross margin to achieve net profit goals.
    • Standardised project costing and increased pricing to achieve agreed margins, supported by streamlined client proposals and service delivery processes.
  • Team
    • Reviewed, redefined, and restructured the business to meet set objectives.
    • Provided mentoring for Directors and managers to encourage initiative, strengthen accountability, enhance oversight, and foster collaborative teamwork.
  • Operations & Commercial
    • Introduced a formal contract review process to ensure commercial targets were met.
    • Reviewed and supported the creation of delivery processes to improve operational efficiency.
• With strong commitment from the ownership and management team, a rolling 90-day action plan was implemented immediately, which:
  • Defined leadership team priorities by function to provide focus and accountability for improvement actions.
  • Facilitated monthly business and financial reviews.
  • Rationalised overheads, realigned resources, and improved cash flow while embedding disciplined business controls.
  • Introduced regular reviews of the action plan at each leadership meeting.

Outcomes

This intervention resulted in an increase in revenue to £3.4m at FY, with a 14% uplift in EBIT on the prior year. Further improvements have positioned the business for forecasted growth of over 800% while maintaining strong operating profit levels.