Business Money - Turnaround Management Association (UK)

Business Money
Turnaround Management
Association – TMA (UK)
“It’s worth paying a fortune for people who will save you a fortune” Steven
Norris – keynote speaker at this years TMA (UK) conference
The readership of this well-established
monthly magazine will be very familiar
with the financial issues facing
businesses in times of crisis but will be less
so with the operational, management and
strategic (re) focus issues that are often more
important to preserve, rescue, salvage and
return the corporate value.
TMA (UK) annual conference review
The central theme of the recently held TMA (UK)
annual conference was summed up by our president
Andy Meehan, vice chairman, Europe, Gordon
Brothers International, in this way: “It is often said
that the concept of business turnaround represents
different things to different people. Our professional
community is engineered to be broad church,
encompassing company doctors, bankers, interim
managers, lawyers, financiers, accountants, and
other stakeholder representatives – even insolvency
practitioners. The TMA is about fixing businesses.”
Turnaround, leading to the longer-term
development of a business capable of surviving, and
indeed thriving, depends on fixing the underlying
business operation, not simply rearranging the
balance sheet and funding arrangement. Without
a business with a cogent strategy underpinned by
sound trading tactics and professional business
processes, it is only a matter of time before
another financial crisis appears to challenge its
very existence.
The conference attempted to look beyond the
familiar techniques for managing the original shortterm
crisis, to the establishment of a longer-term
solution for the business, which ensures longevity,
financial solidity and hopefully, emergence to grow
and prosper.
The benefit of the TMA (UK)’s broad church
appeal was again illustrated when individual
turnaround managers rubbed shoulders with
representatives of big international firms as well as
bankers, distressed investors, lawyers and financiers.
The impact of the current credit crunch was one
of many topics discussed by the 150-odd people
who crammed into the Millennium Gloucester
Hotel in London, together with a record number of
exhibitors. There was also a consensus that the TMA
(UK) needs a bigger venue next year!
The event’s attractions for networking and
marketing reflect the unique mix of people who
attended.
James Wheeler of AshtonPenney Interim picked
up the baton to moderate the event.
Graham Horne, deputy chief executive, UK
Insolvency Service, gave the first keynote speech
and brought the conference up to date on the
British government’s thinking on policy and issues
related to corporate restructuring and turnaround.
Acknowledging that you might expect a civil servant
to make excuses for caution, Graham stressed the
need to carry out proper research before making any
further changes to UK law. “Bad cases make bad
law…legislate in haste and repent at leisure,” he
observed.
Jon Moulton of Alchemy Partners maintained his
reputation for hard-hitting opinions with a speech on
the providers and funders of much turnaround work,
declaring: “Private equity guys are bright but naïve,”
a sentiment that struck a chord with his audience.
Jon’s message of doom and gloom for the UK
economy, due largely to the credit crunch and its
impact on British banks and their capacity to lend,
combined with a mountain of personal debt, also
hit home. Some were surprised by the extent of his
pessimism. Others disputed whether prospects were
quite so bleak.
No-one disagreed, however, that TMA (UK)
members will see more demand for their services
next year.
The next keynote speaker was James Wilding,
managing director, AlixPartners, who discussed
Andy Meehan
creating sustainable value in the context of where the
value break was in distressed businesses. He focused
on time frames, mindsets, focus, and stakeholder
agendas as hurdles to fixing the underlying problems.
Part of the day was broken up into four
specialised workshops.
Mark Lowther, Caerphilly Borough Council, spoke
about how to carry employees and trade unions along
with you during a turnaround.
Richard Tett of City law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer addressed the latest developments in
directors’ liability and how it affects company rescues.
David Hole, Alexander Business Consulting,
spoke about “Stakeholder Communication and
Management” on behalf of Nick Collett, from
Manchester Business School.
The final workshop panel, comprising Bryan
Green of Salans, Antony Stimpson of The Royal
86 Business Money November 2007
www.business-money.com

Tyrone Courtman
Bank of Scotland, John Kelly of Begbies Traynor, Mark
Fennessy of Hunton and Williams and Joe Considine
of Considine Associates, combined over 130 years
of professional experience to address the question
of sustaining momentum specifically within the SME
market.
To provide light relief after lunch and a change
in focus, Russ Kane of Russell-Alexander marketing
consultants gave a highly topical overview of the
impact of managing the media and public relations
Later in the afternoon Steven Norris spoke
entertainingly, and at times passionately, about his
years as chairman of Jarvis and how he helped steer
the stricken building and rail maintenance group
through years of painful turnaround.
Introducing himself as “the man who used to be
the next Mayor of London,” Steven stressed the need
for selecting the best people to lead a turnaround.
He paid tribute to the heroes of Jarvis; Alan Lovell,
who was brought in as CEO, Andrew Lezala, another
executive who subsequently played a key role at
Metronet, and Eric Simonsen, a restructuring expert
with AlixPartners. Steven also mentioned Gerry Loftus,
the Deloitte partner who advised him on many of
these key appointments.
The Jarvis chairman commented that it is worth
paying as much as you can afford for the very best
possible advisers. “It’s worth paying a fortune for
people who will save you a fortune.”
The impact of globalisation was a constant
background at the conference. With TMA chapters
in UK, France, Germany, Finland, Holland, Spain,
Germany and Italy, plus significant interest in eastern
Europe, TMA’s international and European growth
has reached the point where members can take
advantage of wider international networking and
educational opportunities.
Alan Tilley, managing director, Huron Consulting
Group, London, and past president of the TMA (UK)
raised a lot of interest when he announced plans for
the TMA’s inaugural pan-European TMA conference
in Paris on Friday 11 April 2008, so mark your diaries.
The theme will be “Globalisation: its impact on
European and cross border restructuring”. The TMA is
pleased to be expanding its reach across Europe.
With so many big corporate turnarounds and
distressed investing deals being carried out on a
European scale these days, the timing of this move
could not be better.
It was good to see Bill Skelly, the TMA International
president, come all the way from his native Canada
to once again attend the UK conference. Bill said
the TMA was adding three or four new international
chapters this year and anticipated a similar number
of new joiners in 2008. Global membership now
exceeds over 8,000 members.
The day was rounded off by Tyrone Courtman,
partner, Cooper Parry LLP and the TMA (UK)
president elect, who takes over from Andy Meehan
at the start of 2008. At the speed with which events
are moving in the global economy, Tyrone concluded,
the world will look a significantly different place when
he addresses delegates in a year’s time.
An overview of the TMA and membership
For the uninitiated reader, the TMA (UK)’s main
focus is corporate renewal and is an inclusive
organisation for individuals or corporates with
an interest in promoting rescue and recovery
from a diverse range of disciplines. Through our
association, our primary aim is one of creating
value for our members and sponsors through
knowledge, networking and innovation. We host
over 35 networking events per annum in 12
regions throughout the UK, attracting over 1,500
attendees and are part of a global network which
has over 8,000 members across 40 chapters.
Recently I was reading an article by a founding
director of the TMA referring to turnaround as some
form of black-art – in the UK it has come a long way
in the last five years. The TMA promotes the sharing
of this information to enable a stronger economy
through corporate renewal, large or small.
Initially two schools of thought existed for an
association bringing together the sum of experiences
of turnaround professionals: either a small
concentration of practitioners or an overriding voice
for all professionals involved in corporate change
and the preservation of value. This resulted in a
Turnaround Management Association rather than a
Turnaround Managers Association – do you see the
subtle difference?
In the five years I have been a member of the
TMA it has been precisely that – an introduction
to information, ideas and knowledge about the
turnaround industry as a whole. Like all networking,
you normally have to give before you receive and
you get out what you put in, so if you are enthusiastic
about deepening your professional relationships
in this specialist field, I’d strongly recommend
membership.
For those of you who are already members,
consider getting involved with the TMA and take your
business and networking to the next level – the TMA
is always on the look-out for capable, professional and
enthusiastic individuals and organisations.
The TMA (UK) has five tenets of membership
that reinforce its value to its members and the TMA
brand:
1. Networking and opportunity seeking – our
networking events present prime opportunities
to promote cross-selling and are open to
members and their guests.
2. Personal and corporate marketing – all
members and corporate sponsors have their
profiles published in our annual turnaround
guide in addition to the UK and US websites at
www.tma-uk.org and www.turnaround.org.
3. Knowledge – the diversity of the topics
covered by our regional events, quality
of speakers and venues, guarantees that
when you attend, you expand your market
knowledge, and gain exposure to innovative
solutions and the latest thinking from those in
the know. We act as a professional filter and
clearinghouse for news, information, research
and ideas to the turnaround industry.
4. Education – professionals from all our
disciplines explore continuing professional
development. We strive for improved
methodologies in raising the ethics and
standards of turnaround management
to enhance the critical success factors for
turnaround practice.
5. International benefits – the TMA is truly unique,
formed over 20 years ago, and represented in
all three global capital markets: the Americas,
the UK and Europe and the Far East and
Australia. There is always a member local to
where you are to assist you. Over the coming
years the TMA is committed to consolidating
its international presence – be a part of it.
Further details on articles, events, sponsorship
and membership are available on our website at www.
tma-uk.org.
David Hole, membership director and CEO,
Alexander Business Consulting,
e-mail: davidhole@alexanderbc.com
plus contributions from John Willcock,
gp editor, global turnaround, e-mail:
johnwillcock@globalturnaround.com
www.business-money.com Business Money November 2007 87