Finance Director & COO                  Wichford Property Management Ltd     (Real Estate)

Advisors to Wichford PLC, owned properties worth c£600m in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands

·       Employed by JO Hambro Capital Management Ltd (a PE and Investment Management boutique)           until 2009 when employment transferred to the company.

·       Led the raising of over £175m new equity and successfully moved Wichford from AIM to the LSE           Main Market.

·       Managed and built bank relationships; took the lead on securing over £300m of bank debt,                     including loans owed to CMBS vehicles; negotiated no on-going LTV covenants.

·       Achieved rapid growth of the portfolio to over £600m. Reviewed acquisition and disposal                         contracts; advised on, and set up, tax efficient structures and complex financial planning models.

·       Managed relationships with external auditors and administrators, ensuring all financial, tax and             legal requirements of entities in all jurisdictions were correct and complete.

·       Ran over 100 SPVs in multiple jurisdictions.

·       Developed financial models for each entity and whole group, including those used for new equity         raising.

·       Attended Wichford PLC Board and Audit Committee meetings as ‘Group Finance Director’                       providing all financial reports to the Board.

·       Advised Board on Corporate Governance and Risk issues. Compiled Risk Matrix for monitoring               and mitigating each risk.

Financial Director                                             UGB Ltd                                         (Manufacturing)

International Financial Controller                Sirti SpA (Italy)                              (Telecomms)     

Finance Director                                               Sirti Ltd                                          (Telecomms)     

Group Financial Controller                            Astra Holdings Plc                       (Defence)          

Accounting Controller                                     George Wimpey Plc                    (Construction)   

Consolidation Accountant                              The Plessey Company Plc         (Manufacturing)

Various roles and promotions                       Blue Circle Industries Plc         (Manufacturing)

2012 - 2013

Financial Controller EMEA                  CB Richard Ellis Ltd                                 (Professional Services)

Largest global Real Estate agency covering all aspects of Real estate transactions

·       Implemented new Pan European treasury system to make efficient use of cash, using notional               pooling. This covered all European subsidiaries and did not move money between companies.

·       Introduced EMEA wide system of KPIs; compiled divisional strategic plans and budgets. Became           the contact person for the Group personnel for all financial information in EMEA.

·       Implemented a new group consolidation system and was the EMEA Hyperion Super User. This               involved explaining the new requirements and how to meet them on a country by country basis           while including reconciliations to local accounts.

Past Roles - even earlier ones

2015 - 2018

My Resume

Employment

- FCMA                                                    Chartered Institute Management Accountants                      (Fellow)

- CGMA                                                   Chartered Institute Management Accountants                      (Member)

- FCMI                                                     Chartered Management Institute                                              (Fellow)     
- MILT                                                     Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK)              (Member)    - MBCS                                                   British Computer Society
- CITP                                                      British Computer Society

2004 - 2011

Summary

Successfully managed a number of international groups and now a Non-Executive Trustee and Chair of Finance and Risk Committee for Kent Union, one of the largest student unions in Europe. An entrepreneurial, CIMA qualified and Chief Financial Officer/Finance Director with extensive experience in a number of sectors.

Now I wish to use my extensive experience in a cooperative and constructive manner for the benefit of enterprises that wish to grow and improve.

2016 - Present

Current Roles

Trustee                                             Kent Union                                                           (Charity)

Student Union for the University of Kent

·       One of the largest student unions in the UK with a T/O of c. £12 million.

·       External Trustee on main Board of the Charity.

·       Chair of Finance and Risk Committee.

·       Member of Remuneration Committee.

·       Non-Executive Director of the Charity.

·       Nominated Person with Ofsted for own, oversubscribed nursery with 90 places.

·       Provide financial oversight for the Charity and advice on all governance and risk aspects.

·       Assist the elected student Officers of Charity to ensure they remain within the relevant regulations                 while still pursuing their objectives.

1999 - 2003

Finance Director EMEA                      CBRE Facilities Management Ltd        (Facilities Management)

Offering fully-integrated professional facilities management as part of Global Corporate Services package

·       Reported directly to USA for Financial, Commercial and IT elements of European, Middle East and             Africa Facilities Management line of business, operating in 32 countries with AUM of over $300m.

·       Improved forecasting, budgeting and management reporting in the Division, allowing for the                     establishment of globally-managed Facilities Management by providing timely information                         throughout management structure.

·       Provided all financial input for tender processes with new and existing clients, reviewed economic             feasibility of projects ensuring margins and efficiencies were achievable but maximised.

·       Worked with a major Financial Services client expected to remove their business from CBRE, by                 providing improved operating and administrative systems that would integrate with the client’s.                 Client was retained!

·       Negotiated lower charges for outsourced support functions in mainland Europe saving c 40%                     (£300k per annum).

- MBA                                                                                      University of Strathclyde, Graduate Business School
- Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Science            University of London, Birkbeck College            

- BA (Hons) Geography and Economics                          University of Reading                           

2003 - 2004

2014 - Present

Past Roles

CFO & COO                                        Seymour Pierce Ltd                                     (Financial Services)

One of UK’s leading independent investment banks, £20m T/O, 82 employees, £300m AUM

·       Advised Board as to where the company was making losses.

·       Developed a turnaround plan with the CEO and reduced losses within three months.

·       Re-established and improved relationship with banks, auditors and other professional advisers and         actively managed critical financial MI and forecasting issues.

·       Resolved cash flow issues by restructuring operations and installing a more robust credit control             programme, reducing debtor days by 40% including negotiated payment schedules for investment           banking clients and issued legal proceedings against others.

·       Reviewed departmental budgets across the business and introduced strict cost control measures,           including a redundancy programme that closed a whole department and impacted on others.

·       Developed management reports to include departmental profit and loss information for the first             time in the company’s history.

·       Negotiated a reduction in charges from a major services supplier, saving 38% (c. £240k per annum).

·       Improved reporting to the FSA.  Embedded the results into the management reports.

·       Responsible for the IT department (upgraded business critical systems), Facilities (including Disaster         Recovery Site for Business Continuity), Settlements department (completion of stock-broking                     transactions) and HR.

·       Simultaneously worked with a number of PE houses and HNWIs to achieve a trade sale of the                   business.

Chief Operating Officer                  Kenswick Capital Management Ltd           (Real Estate)

Private property management company

·       Prepared St. Paul’s Property Trust PLC, an IOM registered company, for a listing in Kenya.

·       Liaised with professional advisers in IOM, Kenya and other jurisdictions for this IPO.

·       Drafted all agreements (directors’ engagement letters, share swap, investment advisor, profit share.

·       Drafted all Corporate Governance documentation for a listed group.

·       Developed financial model for group and managing the review by external Reporting Accountants.

·       Set up bank accounts in Kenya and IOM.

·       Reviewed potential real estate acquisitions.

Education

Professional Memberships

Consultant                                         DS Smith plc                                                   (Manufacturing)

A FTSE250 leading provider of corrugated & plastics packaging, supported by paper & recycling operations

·       Advising on a trust that was established 100 years ago for the welfare of the employees.

·       Consultant on M&A activities in UK and Europe for Paper division. Providing advice on exit strategies             from European manufacturing plants including HoTs, due diligence, separation planning, liaising with             investment bankers and lawyers.

·       Responsible for separation issues and direct negotiations with buyer for a plant in Europe.

·       Managing an asset and site disposal program for a closed paper mill in UK.

·       Improved systems for accounting for purchases, for example c.£10m per month on principle raw                   material.

·       Liaised with lawyers over the potential loss recovery due to operation of cartel given largest fine by the         EU.

Peter Gingell

MBA BA (Hons) FCMA CGMA FCMI MBCS CITP MILT