Fractional CFO · Founder-Led UK Businesses
Your business has outgrown
instinct alone.
Senior CFO support for founders with £5m–£50m turnover who need financial clarity, stronger control and sharper decisions. No full-time hire required.
No pitch. No obligation. A direct conversation about where the numbers need to work harder.
Your advisor
Michael Ferguson
ACCA · Founder, Kelvin Lane Growth Partners
Glasgow & London
- ✓Investment banking at Morgan Stanley
- ✓Business turnarounds at Capita & Actavo
- ✓Strategic finance at BlackRock & William Grant & Sons
- ✓M&A advisory across 10+ sectors
- ✓17+ years of senior finance experience
The numbers exist. They just don't give you control.
Cash moves in ways that are hard to predict. Margins shift without clear explanation. Forecasting feels like guesswork dressed up as a spreadsheet.
Operational pressure is consuming your attention.
You're making decisions on instinct rather than data. The business is growing, but it doesn't feel easier to lead. It feels harder.
External scrutiny is coming. The numbers need to be ready.
Lenders, buyers and investors will test the story behind the figures. Gaps that feel manageable today become real problems under pressure.
The reality
You built a good business. It should feel easier to control than this.
As a founder-led business grows, financial complexity outpaces the systems beneath it. The founder is still capable. The numbers just aren't keeping up. That gap between business reality and financial clarity is exactly where the right CFO support changes the outcome.
"The cost of not having this right isn't always dramatic. It's usually quiet: slower decisions, missed margin, a deal that doesn't land the way it should."
Michael Ferguson · Kelvin Lane Growth PartnersWho this is for
Built for founders who have grown past the point where the numbers run themselves.
Kelvin Lane Growth Partners works with founder-led UK businesses where financial clarity, stronger control and commercial confidence have become mission-critical.
- ✓£5m–£50m turnover, 20–150 staff
- ✓Growing and needing sharper financial grip
- ✓Planning an exit and preparing the business for scrutiny
- ✓Under pressure and needing to regain control fast
- ✓Facing lender, investor or buyer conversations
- ✓Tired of making major decisions without clear data
Michael Ferguson ACCA
Founder · Kelvin Lane Growth Partners
17+ years across investment banking, business turnaround, strategic finance and M&A advisory. Career spanning Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, William Grant & Sons, Capita and Actavo before founding Kelvin Lane Growth Partners. Works with founder-led UK businesses across growth, exit and turnaround situations.
How we work
Three moments where the right CFO support changes the outcome.
01 — Growth
Growth CFO
For founders scaling with ambition but without the financial infrastructure to match. Build the clarity and control your next stage requires.
- Cash flow visibility and working capital control
- Margin analysis and pricing discipline
- Forecasting that supports confident decisions
- Board-ready management reporting
02 — Exit
Exit CFO
For founders preparing to sell, raise capital or bring in investors. Get the numbers and narrative ready before buyers start asking questions.
- Financial due diligence preparation
- Business valuation and enterprise value improvement
- Deal structure and transaction support
- Investor and lender relationship management
03 — Turnaround
Turnaround CFO
For founders under pressure who need to regain control before the situation deteriorates. Stabilise, restructure and rebuild on solid ground.
- Cash and liquidity management
- Supplier and lender negotiations
- Cost reduction and margin recovery
- Operational and financial stabilisation
Track record
Experience that covers the situations founders actually face.
Delivered £1.2m–£1.8m annualised EBITDA improvement through cost reduction, customer repricing and supplier negotiations, while protecting operational delivery throughout.
Renegotiated utility contract rates, improving contract contribution by approximately £500k–£900k per annum and stabilising the business through significant operational pressure.
Reduced controllable operating costs by c.10–15% across underperforming business units, removing c.£750k–£1.0m of annualised cost. Improved gross margin by 4–7 percentage points through customer and supplier renegotiation.
Reduced monthly cash burn by c.£75k–£150k in turnaround environments through sharper cost control, contract repricing and financial discipline, buying time and options for founders under pressure.
Managed international acquisition mandates involving targets valued at £5m–£50m. Built acquisition pipelines of 100+ targets, converting them into 40+ qualified opportunities and 60+ founder or management meetings.
Supported capital-raising mandates from c.£1m–£20m. Advised on c.£25m–£100m+ of aggregate deal value. Supported multi-billion-dollar strategic transactions at Morgan Stanley including acquisition, disposal and divestment processes.
The process
From uncertainty to control. A simple, direct route.
Book a 30-minute call
A direct, confidential conversation about where the numbers are helping your business and where they are not. No pitch. No obligation. Just clarity on what needs to change.
Understand the picture
We identify the specific financial gaps creating the most drag: cash visibility, margin control, forecasting, deal readiness. We agree a clear plan to address them.
Lead with confidence
With the right financial infrastructure in place, you stop making decisions in the dark and start leading with the clarity and control the next stage of your business demands.
What's at stake
The cost of waiting is rarely dramatic. It's usually quiet.
What strong CFO support delivers
- Leadership trusts the numbers and makes faster, better decisions
- Cash is visible, predictable and under active control
- Margins are understood and actively managed
- The business is ready when buyers, lenders or investors arrive
- Enterprise value improves over time, not just at the moment of exit
What inaction quietly costs
- Decisions slow because the numbers can't be trusted
- Cash surprises keep happening at the worst moments
- Margin erodes month by month without clear explanation
- External scrutiny exposes gaps at the worst possible time
- A deal or capital raise that should have landed doesn't
Book your call today
Have the conversation before pressure sets the agenda.
30 minutes. Confidential. A direct discussion about where the numbers are letting your business down, and what it would take to fix that.
No pitch. No obligation. No generic discovery process. Just a straight conversation.