Edward Leek

Edward Leek is a Finance Director for a portfolio of privately-owned growth companies.  In addition to strategic and operational responsibilities, he has experience in Angel / VC / PE fund raising and has advised on many acquisitions and disposals in the UK and internationally.

Edward is a Chartered Accountant with broad experience in practice and business in the UK and internationally.  His professional experience as a finance director and previously as a partner in a Big 4 firm has given him the skills to work across a wide range of businesses and industries.  Recent experience includes working with growth companies in the education, cleantech and gaming industries on the establishment of financial discipline and routines, internal and external reporting and working through complex fundraises involving international and domestic investors.

He brings many years experience of M&A and due diligence, having and advised strategic and financial / private equity investors on their acquisitions and disposals in Brazil, Latin America and in the UK.  As a Finance Director he is focussed on working with management teams and investors in planning for future expansion and / or exit possibilities.

Finance Director, Edward qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in London and, shortly after qualifying, moved to São Paulo, Brazil with KPMG.  Whilst in Brazil he moved from audit into Transaction Services where he led due diligence and M&A advisory for a wide variety of clients across many industries for more than 10 years.  He had a successful career to partner level at KPMG Brazil, as part of the team that tripled the Transaction Services business in Brazil.  He focussed largely on advising foreign investors in Brazil, and in recent years worked mainly with private equity and infrastructure clients.

Edward brings to his work as a finance director a clear-sighted analytical approach honed through many years’ experience in due diligence and financial advisory work.  He works across diverse industries and sectors, and cultural and international boundaries.  He delivers high quality with tight deadlines, and is adept both at working alone and as part of a team.  He is experienced in coaching, mentoring and developing teams and fellow-professionals.  He speaks fluent Portuguese and good Spanish.

Over the course of his career, he has worked with companies in the following areas:

• Buy/ Sell Business- Hands on advice to numerous companies about the acquisition and disposal of businesses involving strategic and private equity investors.
• Due- Diligence- (for acquirers and vendors) – Supported sale and acquisition of companies ranging in size from early stage tech-based companies to large well-established businesses. Buyer side includes focus on pricing of deals, sustainability of earnings, understanding of working capital requirements and identification of price adjustments. Vendor side included ensuring preparation of virtual data room and presentation of relevant material and analysis.
• Fundraising– Development of high-quality pitch documentation and financial models to support fundraising, working with existing and new investors on the funding of smaller growth companies.
• Financial planning – setup of business and financial processes for early stage companies, development of budgeting and forecasting tools, medium and long term financial projections
• Management reporting – setup of kpis and concise reports to management and investors, monthly monitoring against targets
• Cashflow- Management of short and medium term cashflow, creditor management, analysis of funding options
• Business Turnaround- Fast review of a business and distress, to assess financial viability and ensure sustainable strategy. Assignment included review of costs and overheads, and negotiations with creditors.

Testimonial:

“From the request being made, EFM was able to link us to the right person (Edward) very quickly which was impressive considering my requirements. Meeting Edward for the first time was pain-free and the kick off conversation was very progressive. Edward started quickly and made himself part of the team immediately. I was able to hand large areas of responsibility and ownership to Edward to free up my time and he did a great job. It was like having an extra team member who was totally committed and I trusted implicitly.”

Rolf Groenewold, CEO of KeyAGENT Limited

Sector: Online Gaming

Background:

The company had just completed a significant equity raise to fund a pivot from games making to building a platform for distribution of games. The investors required a finance person to free up the time of the MD, implement appropriate financial processes, improve the quality of management information and external reporting, and work with the company towards a fresh raise in 9-12 months.

Challenges:

• Quick start and learning process with a major software development project ongoing
• The company is virtual, with no central office and team members working remotely
• Managing cash flow and controlling the cash burn with limited revenue and rigorous milestones imposed by investors
• Implement financial discipline in an owner managed company
• To create a budget and long-term forecasts to better inform financial decisions and provide structure for the next funding round.