Richard Brooks BCom, CA, Chief Executive -

Richard qualified at Ernst & Whinney and became Financial Controller of Samuelson Group plc and Finance Director of Samuelson Communications Ltd at the age of 28.

In 1990 he moved to Laserpoint Communications Ltd as Finance Director. In 1991 he was appointed as Managing Director as part of an agreement to put the company into administration. He restored its solvency and returned it to its founder a year later when he joined FD Solutions.

Since then he has developed particular expertise in manufacturing, food, technology and not-for-profit businesses, where he has reorganised and implemented systems to match the management’s needs and particularly increased cashflow. Richard’s most significant achievements in this period are:

• From 1998 to 2003, helping an entrepreneur turn round his manufacturing business from a loss-making operation to £35m turnover in four years, making £4m profit along the way. Richard managed the cashflow to targets negotiated with lenders and creditors, and improved systems for invoicing and reporting using Sage Line 100 and then Sage Enterprise.
• Between 1999 and 2000 he helped establish a VC-backed invoice discounting operation with turnover of £100m and a back-office of only 30, by designing and implementing a system based on Systems Union Sun. Since 2007 Richard has been helping the same management team of that business develop a European business and FD Solutions has provided a team to be the complete finance function
• From 2000 to 2003 he helped an NHS organisation to treble in size by negotiating an outsourcing contract with the Department of Health.
• Over the past six years Richard helped a small specialist engineering manufacturer turn around his business from loss making to profit making, groom the business for sale, complete a sale, then within 12 months complete a buyback and a few years later a further sale to a European manufacturer.
• As co-founder of FD Solutions, Richard has overseen growth of the business from start-up to established provider of flexible finance director services.