Chris Backhouse BA, FCA, Associate Director – chris.backhouse@fdsolutions.uk.com

Chris qualified as an ACA in 1981 with KPMG and worked in the accountancy profession for ten years, latterly with Ernst & Young, providing advice to fast-growing entrepreneurial clients from a variety of industries and ranging in size from start-ups to subsidiaries of large overseas operations.

In 1991 Chris became FD of a listed aerospace and defence products group, serving clients such as Boeing and BAe, where he helped develop their strategic plan and profit improvement initiatives, before a successful privatisation in 1997.

He then joined the UK subsidiary of a Swiss healthcare company, restructuring the operation and turning it around from losses of over £2m p.a., before its sale to a competitor, moving on to join the MBO team that had acquired a former FMCG packaging division of Courtaulds. Operating in eight countries worldwide, his Group FD role included responsibility for the start-up and funding of businesses world-wide, including China, Poland, Russia, India, Brazil and the USA.

Chris joined FD Solutions after a period working as an independent financial adviser, during which time he was the FD of two £10m plus, successful UK based venture capital backed management buy-outs of industrial services businesses.

Chris acted as FD, assisting with the business planning, finance raising and implementation of post-acquisition plans.

Consequently, as well as working across a range of business sectors, Chris has extensive experience of corporate finance matters, including smaller business acquisitions and disposals, strategic and business planning, venture capital-backed transactions and AIM flotations and experience of doing business in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Americas. Rather than concentrate on a particular sector, Chris applies his expertise in these areas to entrepreneurial businesses ranging in size from start-up to around £100m turnover.

Since joining FD Solutions, assignments on which Chris has worked include:

1. Assisting a media entertainments services business with financial reporting to its new German public-company parent and leading the preparation of their budget and three year forecast.
2. Developing a business plan for a City financial services business, preparing financial projections and contributing to the evolution of management’s strategy and expansion plans.
3. Leading a two man team, revising the accounts of an £8m turnover venture capital backed technology group, implementing cash flow forecasting, preparing financial projections and negotiating new covenants with their bankers. Finally, assisting with the negotiation and sale of the business.