People
New roles assigned in senior leadership team at Leonard Curtis
Leonard Curtis has unveiled new roles for two key members of its leadership team as the firm starts an ambitious programme of growth for the next three years.
David Brown, who joined the business in July 2023 as Chief Operations and Financial Officer, becomes Chief Operating Officer (COO), while Paul Birks, who has been Group Financial Director since September 2022, will be promoted to Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Leonard Curtis is the largest independent restructuring and turnaround specialist in the UK, combining funding, legal and other business services to provide bespoke distress and non-distress solutions for SMEs, larger corporates and their advisers.
The Group employs over 300 people across 29 sites in the UK and offshore and has seen rapid growth in the last 18 months, increasing revenue by 33% to £38m since 2022.
David takes the role of COO with previous experience in audit, M & A and industry. He holds an MBA from Manchester Business School and is a former professional cricketer, having played county cricket for Gloucestershire and Glamorgan.
Paul has held financial roles since 1998 across a range of businesses, including audit services at Baker Tilly and UHY, as well as ten years as a FD in the health and social care sector.
Both will work in close collaboration on several key areas of responsibility, operating alongside CEO Dan Booth.
Dan commented: “David and Paul will co-ordinate our extensive office network and profit centres to maximise profitability, as well as identifying future cost savings across the Group.
“They will be looking at improving the use of data to set better strategic and short-term department performance and growth goals and providing ultimate oversight and management of the collaboration and operational leadership teams.”
He continued: “Both will also be responsible for leading the firm’s M&A strategy for the next three years and integrating new acquisitions into the Group.”
In recent months the firm has added Newsource Commercial Finance to boost its funding brokerage arm, with special focus on the property sector - and Virtualnonexecs.com, which adds a 23,500-strong international talent pool and other services to the firms existing skillset.
David said: “The growth of the Group over the recent past together with exciting opportunities ahead means we needed to evolve our structure. It’s a compelling proposition to take on the COO role and I am delighted to have been asked to lead the next stage of growth, alongside Dan, Paul and many talented colleagues.”
Paul commented: “We have made great progress in the last two years, streamlining our reporting and financial policies and now we go again to strengthen that infrastructure to allow us to meet next level expectations. I am looking forward to it.”
Dan Booth added: “As the group continues to grow and we focus on future mergers and acquisitions activity, development of our new and existing services and integration, together with the efficiencies that naturally leads to, we need to ensure we have the appropriate skillsets to deliver the best results. We would like to congratulate Paul on his well-deserved promotion and wish him and David all the best in their new roles.”
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Reach Commercial Finance Limited. Registered in England no 09056450. Leonard Curtis is a trading style of Reach Commercial Finance Limited. Leonard Curtis is a broker not a lender and is independent with access to the whole of market. We may receive commissions that will vary depending on the lender, product or other permissible factors. The nature of any commission model will be confirmed to you before you proceed. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FCA no. 753686. Registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office reference ZA069234
Leonard Curtis Legal Limited is a limited company, registered in England and Wales with registered number 09820186. Registered office: Riverside House, Irwell Street, Manchester M3 5EN. Leonard Curtis Legal Limited is registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority with number 626004.