Helen Foster spent eleven years as a management accountant inside manufacturing and logistics companies in West Yorkshire. She kept noticing the same pattern: businesses with £2m to £15m in revenue had outgrown their bookkeeper but could not justify a finance director. The gap left owners making investment decisions on instinct and outdated spreadsheets.
In 2017 she left her last in-house role and started advising two former colleagues who had set up their own firms. Word spread quickly. By the end of 2018 she had six regular clients and brought on a second consultant, James Adeyemi, to handle the growing demand for operational reviews.
Today the firm has four consultants and a part-time office coordinator. We have worked with 142 businesses across manufacturing, professional services, construction, food production and e-commerce. The common thread is not the industry; it is the size. Our clients are typically between five and 120 employees, turning over £500k to £20m, and run by people who care deeply about getting the details right.
We do not have a framed mission statement on the wall. But there are a few principles that shape every project we take on.
Every recommendation we make is rooted in your actual financial and operational data. If we cannot quantify the impact, we flag it as a judgement call and explain our reasoning. We never dress up a guess as a forecast.
A report that sits in a drawer is a waste of your money and our time. We stay involved through implementation: weekly check-ins, revised models when reality shifts, and honest conversations when something is not working.
We turn down about one in five enquiries. Sometimes the business needs a solicitor, a recruiter or a marketing agency rather than a consultant. Other times the scope is too large for a four-person firm to handle well. Saying no early saves everyone grief later.
We quote a fixed price before work begins. If the project takes longer than expected because we underestimated the complexity, that is our problem. You will never receive an invoice higher than the number you agreed to.
We are deliberately small. Every client works directly with a senior consultant, not a junior analyst learning on the job.
CIMA qualified. Eleven years in-house at manufacturers and logistics firms before starting the practice in 2017. Specialises in cash-flow modelling, budgeting and financial scenario planning. Runs about 60% of client engagements personally.
Background in process engineering with a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Joined in 2018 after five years at a food production company in Bradford. Leads operational efficiency reviews and supply-chain improvement projects.
MBA from Leeds University Business School. Spent four years at a regional economic development agency before joining us in 2021. Handles growth strategy projects, market sizing and competitor analysis for clients considering new products or geographies.
Former FP&A manager at a construction group with 400 employees. Joined in 2023. Builds management reporting packs, KPI dashboards and board-level presentation decks. Particularly good at translating complex data into plain language for non-financial audiences.
A short history of how the practice has grown since Helen signed her first client.
Helen began advising a packaging company and an engineering workshop, both in Leeds. Both are still clients today.
Demand for process-improvement work grew faster than financial planning. James brought the operational expertise the firm needed.
Lockdowns forced us to run three projects entirely over video calls. The experience taught us which phases work remotely and which still need on-site presence. We now offer a hybrid model as standard.
Several clients asked for help evaluating new markets. Priya brought the research methodology and analytical rigour to do that properly.
We crossed the 100-project mark in March 2023. Mark joined the same month, adding depth to our reporting and dashboard capability.
Our client retention rate sits at 93%. Most new work comes from referrals by existing clients and their accountants.
If your business is at a point where the decisions feel bigger than the data you have, we should talk. The first call is free, lasts about 30 minutes, and will give you a clear sense of whether we are the right fit.
Or call +44 113 644 8228 during office hours.