Adrian Lawrence Podcast

Welcome back to another exciting episode of FD Capital's "Executive Insight," the podcast where we delve into the world of executive leadership and recruitment. I'm your host, and today we have a fascinating topic to explore—London CFO headhunters. 

To start off what exactly a CFO headhunter does? A CFO headhunter, also known as an executive recruiter or executive search consultant, specializes in identifying and recruiting top-level financial executives, specifically Chief Financial Officers. They work closely with organisations looking to fill their CFO positions with exceptional talent. CFO headhunters have an extensive network and expertise in the fin...

In todays episode Adrian Lawrence talks about how Reporting Accounts the popular pay as you go business credit report service is seeing strong growth again.   Activity was subdued during the pandemic lockdown, but we are pleased to report impressive growth already in 2022.

Reporting Accounts are in discussion with private equity houses about a fund raise, so if you are an existing customer and would like to invest, then watch this space as they say, as the Reporting Accounts fund raise is likely to be in the news again in the near future.

To learn more a...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence talks about how FD Capital Recruitment have added two new locations to their national coverage this week, being Derby and Brighton.  The business has been running since 2018 and is based in Great Portland Street, London but following two new opportunities that started this week we now have extended our coverage to include these locations.

If you are a Business based either in Derby or Brighton, reach out to FD Capital today and we can discuss how we can help your business find the perfect Finance Director or Chief F...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our resident financial expert talks about the new living wage rate from 1st April 2021 and how it impacts on the economy giving Brexit and the recent pandemic lockdowns.   Adrian took part in the 2020 Low pay commission review and is cited in their previous report.  He discuses how the new NLW does not apply during Furlough and that some employees those aged 23 and 24 will see an 8.7% increase.

To Learn more about Reporting Accounts and how we hold information and insights into more than 4.9 million UK companies visit our website today at https://www.re...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our resident financial expert talks about Cineworld and their announcement that they will re-open their USA cinemas starting in April and their UK ones in May.  They have also agreed a deal with Warner Brothers to show films in cinemas for 45 and 30 days prior to them being streamed online.  This is a really positive news story as cinemas have been amongst the worse hit businesses by the Pandemic.

To learn more about Reporting Accounts and how we hold insights and information covering more than 4.8million UK companies visit our website at https://ww...

In today's podcast episode Adrian Lawrence our in-house financial expert talks about the National Grid and how they have announced an asset swap deal, they are selling their UK Gas distribution assets and buying more electricity ones in their place, this increases the proportion of their revenue from Electricity and reduces the proportion from Gas.  Given the UK's plans to reach net zero by 2050 this is a positive move, as it moves the company away from involvement with Fossil fuels.  Electricity is a regulated area so it also increases the percentage of its revenue which is regulated.

Ov...

In today's episode our resident financial expert Adrian Lawrence talks about recruiting finance a finance director or CFO for your business.   FD Capital are a specialist FD recruitment business that cover London and the West Midlands areas, they offer a full range of services such as Part-Time Finance Directors, Interims and specialist areas such as Turnarounds and E-Commerce specialist FD's.  To learn more about their business visit their website at https://www.fdcapital.co.uk If you need to Recruit an FD reach out to them.

Reporting Accounts holds insights and information covering more than 4.8 million UK com...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our resident Financial expert talks about a new service launched by FD Capital, who are a specialist Finance Director and CFO recruitment business operating in London and the West Midlands.   They now offer specialist Private Equity FD's who can help create pitch decks and pitch them to private equity houses.

They now also offer Turnaround FD's who have experience of Business recovery and the turning around of loss making businesses back to profit, if you need either of these skill sets or indeed are interested in finding a new role in these a...

In today's episode from Reporting Accounts Adrian Lawrence our resident financial expert talks further about Part-Time Finance Directors, and how they can be a great resource to access particularly now following the pandemic when businesses need help to raise funds and restructure but are cautious of taking on significant costs.

We can recommend FD Capital who offer Part-Time Finance Directors in London and Part-Time Finance Directors in Birmingham.  It's possible to hire an experienced financial professional to work one day per week, and they bring with them a lot of knowledge, experience and contacts which can be i...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our in-house financial expert talks about Rolls Royce who have reported a £4billion loss today compared to £583m profit in the previous year. Their results are brutal but that does reflect that their model is to charge for the hours their engines are running rather than for sales of engines.  The impact of the worldwide pandemic has very badly impacted on their model.  The company is reducing its workforce by 7,000 people and is in discussions to sell some of its subsidiaries.

The positive news is that with the roll out of vaccines worl...

In today's episode our in-house fianancial professional talks about Clarks Shoes the 195 year old family owned business which announced its sale to a HK based private equity house.  They have a chain of 320 high street stores and have had a tough time recently with the Lockdowns and the move to online retail.   Whilst restructures have reduced costs, they are not enough for it to remain viable without investment.   

Like so many similar companies Clarks just did not embrace change fast enough and now they have fallen into foreign hands.   There is however huge international potential for their shoes...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our in-house financial expert talks about CFO's (Chief Financial Officers) and how they have seen their earnings drop from between 2020 and 2019, which given the lockdowns and Brexit should be no surprise.   Our sister company FD Capital have recently entered the CFO Recruitment niche, and if you are a company based in London or the West Midlands and are looking for a Part Time CFO then we can recommend speaking to them as they are a reliable outfit which we have known for the last 3 years, and our CEO Adrian works as a CFO himself w...

In today's episode of Reporting Accounts podcast our resident Financial expert Adrian Lawrence talks about our partner company London Equity Release.  As their names suggests they are focussed on the London market but do take on work in the home counties and will consider any UK location if the property valuation is high enough.   The criteria are that you must be 55 or above and have at least £75,000 of Equity in your property.  These schemes have many advantages the biggest being that you remain rent free in your home for the rest of your life but gain access to the equi...

In today's episode our in-house Financial expert Adrian Lawrence talks further about becoming a Portfolio FD, he works as the CEO for Reporting Accounts one day per week, but as a Portfolio CFO himself 3 or 4 days per week for a number of different SME clients.

At FD Capital we get regular calls from FD's interested in moving into Portfolio work, common questions include how easy is it to find Portfolio work?   You need to build up a network to be fully occupied and that takes time and effort, typically a day per week needs to be set a...

In today's podcast Adrian Lawrence our resident financial experts talks about Deliveroo and their plan for an £8billion IPO on the London stock market.  Deliveroo are only 8 years old but in that time have already grown to capture around 1/3 of the home food delivery market.   Their IPO timing is also shrewd coming shortly after the pandemic lockdowns means their trading will have benefited.  It is also a great endorsement of London and the London Stock market as a fund raising centre.

To learn more about Deliveroo and how Reporting Accounts holds information and insights into more than 4.8 mill...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our resident financial professional is talking about Part Time Finance Directors or Portfolio FD's as they are known, these are experienced accountants who work for more than one company at the same time, it's an arrangement that was more or less unheard of 10 years ago, but is now popular in the UK.  Companies gain the experience of finance professional but only pay a fraction of the cost.  The professionals themselves earn a good day rate and have the variety of work as an added benefit.  It's also an arrangement that works well if there is...

n today's episode Adrian Lawrence our in-house financial experts talks about Trustpilot.  They are planning an IPO on the London Stock Market that would raise around $50 and value their business at around £1billion.

The company based in Copenhagen would become the first major EU company to list following Brexit and will re-inforce London's position and reputation as the natural choice for technology IPO's.

The LSE is reviewing its listing rules to see how it can make itself more attractive for technology businesses and the changes potentially include listing fewer shares.

Trustpilot has been in...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our resident in-house financial professional talks about Pets at Home.   The retail chain which operates 451 shops across the UK, has reported full years profits of £85m ahead of their last forecast of £77m.  It's the fourth time since September that the company has updated its profit forecast and that reflects that it continues to benefit from being classed as an essential retailer and has therefore kept its stores open.

It is good to hear of a positive news story in these troubled times and Pets for home has a great reputation for serv...

In today's podcast Adrian Lawrence the CEO of Reporting Accounts talks about a newly added feature to the Reporting Accounts site, which allows users to performed advanced database searches.  Advanced Reporting Accounts search can be find here: https://www.reportingaccounts.com/advanced-search 

Using this new feature it is possible for example to query our 4.8 million UK company database by location and by sic code and then review all results that match your criteria.  If you are looking for free marketing information or to find new suppliers this is a great way to use our database.  There are many...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our resident financial expert talks about Heathrow airport which has been in news todays as it is struggling under the burden of its £20billion of debts.  Passenger numbers are down to 22million in 2020 from 80million 2019, levels not seen since the 1970's.

Heathrow is calling on the chancellor to grant them business rates relief in next week's budget and to extend the furlough scheme, it remains to be seen if the chancellor will be supportive of their rates request, though it appears certain furlough will be extended for longer in some form at le...

In today's podcast Adrian Lawrence our resident financial expert talks of a news story in today's press that Pure Gym Ltd are loosing £500K per day as a result of the lockdowns.  They are not collecting gym subscriptions and they have staff furloughed, but unlike their competitors they run a lean model with gyms open 24 hours supported by remote monitoring and with limited staff numbers.

It is a very challenging time for the company given their levels of losses, and the news that the UK is gradually returning to normal will be very welcome news indeed for th...

In today's episode our resident financial expert Adrian Lawrence talks about the long anticipated news today that the UK will finally begin its exit from it's third lockdown.  Schools will re-open on the 8th March and non-essential retail including hairdressers and beauty salons on the 12th April.

The economy is expected to rebound strongly in the second half of the year and may regain all its lost ground by year end.  There remains uncertainty around international travel as the UK is ahead of much of the rest of world in terms of vaccinations.

This is a...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence talks about John Lewis and their announcement of a further store closure programme. John Lewis is a well respected high street brand in the UK, and unusually it is owned by it's members rather than shareholders. Last year it announced losses of £635m and that means it has won't pay its staff a bonus for the first time since 1953. It is planning to close up to 8 of its remaining 42 store, this will be a significant blow to its loyal customers as John Lewis is often the anchor store in many town centre locations.

companies with warehouses they expanded to cope with the surge of online sales during the UK's three lockdowns are now planning to retain them.  This is a long term trend which appears to have been accelerated by the pandemic by between three and five years.  If this proves to be the case then it means the traditional retail market will have a tough time when the UK returns from lockdown.

It is likely that niche retailers and those with strong digital offerings will succeed whilst those with neither attribute will struggle.

To learn more about Re...

Moonpig group plc the recently listed greetings card online retailer reported its strongest ever week over the valentines day period.  The company now expects its revenues for the year to 30th April to be around double the £173m it reported in the previous year.  The shares rose 2.5% to £4.45 in early trading on Thursday.

The increase in demand saw the "strongest ever trading week in the Group's history" the company said in a brief statement.

It shows that the pandemic has had a positive impact on the groups trading as most high street competitors are closed due...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our resident financial professional talks about how Barclays bank is putting aside £2.1billion as a provision for bad debts.  The UK and US economies have been badly impacted by the pandemic and the bank now expects a proportion of its lending during that time never to be repaid, as a result it is making a provision in its accounts to cover its expected losses.

Provision can sometimes be overly cautious and if that is the case then some of this provision will be released as a future profit, but there is also a...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our in-house financial expert talks about how Companies House, the UK's Government agency that deals with the filing of company accounts, has suspended its voluntary and compulsory strike off notices.   This is part of the wider Government pandemic initiative to help companies during this challenging time.

Often directors rely on postal reminders to keep their company records in order, and with the prolonged third lockdown in the UK, this is an increasing issue.  So by giving companies an extra month to catch up with their admin the initiative is helpful.

Wh...

Today Adrian Lawrence our resident financial expert is talking about Virgin Wines, this is a company that was formerly associated with Richard Branson but was subsequently sold to a management team and private equity houses.

The company is joining the London aim market on 2nd March and is likely to be valued at £100m.  As with other recent IPO's the company has traded successfully during the pandemic lockdowns as its business model is digitally based.

2021 has already been a postive year for new issues, and Virgin Wines follows on from the successful IPO's of Dr Ma...

In today's episode our financial expert Adrian Lawrence talks about the Pound's foreign exchange rate, which has been rising over recent weeks.   There is growing optimism in the UK economy as the vaccination roll out program is on target with more than 15 million people now vaccinated, which means it is now more likely that the lockdown of retail, leisure and hospitality can end.

The other significant factor in the exchange rate was Brexit where the uncertainty was lifted before the end of 2020 when the UK reach a withdrawl agreement with the EU.

The UK looks t...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence talks about how Jaguar Land Rover are moving to an all electric range of vehicles.  Their bold plan is to move completely away from Petrol and Diesel engines, and in so doing embrace the enviromentally friendly electric engine.

They will become a luxury competitor to Tesla.

Their move does make sense, as electric car sales will in time overtake Petrol and diesel and so investing now positions the company for the shape of the industry.

To learn more about Reporting Accounts visit our website at https://www.reportingaccounts.c...

In todays' episode our financial professional Adrian Lawrence, a former auditor himself talks about the challenges the accounting profession has faced during the three UK pandemic lockdowns.

In normal times the auditors attend on site to check accounting records and ledgers, but with the lockdown that has often not been possible, due to closure of offices, home working and staff self isolating.

The profession has risen to the challenge and has been making good use of technology to overcome the issues.  For example drones have been used to remotely attend stocktakes or staff have used m...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence talks about how digital nomads are deciding to stay long term overseas and are setting themselves up as techpats.  These are long term digital nomads who decide on a country for residence and base themselves there.

Cyprus is proving popular as such a destination as it has a great climate, its part of the EU, residency can be obtained by staying 90 days per year and its corporation tax rate is very competitive at 12.5%.

When you compare that to the corporation tax rates of 40% in Germany and elsewhere you can see t...

Spotify the Swedish streaming company have been in the news today, as they are announcing their staff can work from home or an office and also have the flexibility to work from international locations.

The Spotify announcement follows similar moves by Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook.  It does have implications for the broader economy as more and more companies move away from the traditional city centre office location it brings into question the viable of many businesses which otherwise rely on footfall.

Long term this is a very positive move as it allows for substantial savings i...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence talks about the team at Reporting Accounts's experience of podcasting.   

We were new to podcasting in January 2021 and were uncertain of what to expect, but we have found the whole experience really enjoyable and its been straightforward to find good places to submit and publish our episodes.

Notable places discussed in this podcast include Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Adrian also has been impressed by the services of Podchaser, Podomatic and Podcasts to name a few.

To learn more about Reporting Accounts and how we list bu...

In today's episode our resident financial expert Adrian Lawrence talks about the impact Brexit is having on exporters.   Export volumes are down and the EU is application of their rules is proving problematic.

Previously importers bringing goods into the UK from outside of the EU paid duty, on entry to the UK and thereafter it was duty free.  However know we are outside of the EU, there is duty to pay on arrival to the UK, then again on arrival into the EU.  For that reason companies are increasingly looking into direct shipping arrangements, or the formation of...

In today's episode Adrian Lawrence our in-house financial professional talks about the announcement French Connection Group Plc (LSE:FCCN) made on Friday 5th February 2021 that they have received two approaches.

The company made a regulartory announcement that The Board of French Connection Group Plc notes the recent share price movement and confirms that it has received separate approaches from each of Spotlight Brands in conjunction with Gordon Brothers International LLC ("Spotlight") and Go Global Retail in conjunction with HMJ International Services Ltd ("Go Global") as potential offerors for French Connection Group Plc, each of which may or...

In today's episode Adrian discusses how HMRC are waiving their usual £100 filing penalty provided tax returns are filed before the end of February 2021.

There is also the option to pay over 12 months at 2.9% APR using the time to pay scheme.   It is helpful that this is available.

To learn more about Reporting Accounts visit our website at https://www.reportingaccounts.com

Moonping the online greeting card business is celebrating today as their IPO soared above its launch price of £3.50 in early trading it reached £4.40 a rise of more than 30%, its price drifted off those highs.

This is a great news story the company was sold by its founder in 2011 for £110m and has now risen in value to be worth more than £1.2billion.   It is likely to join the FTSE 250 index as a result.

There are challenges ahead as the lockdown has driven more and more high street retailers to turn up their internet marketing strategies.
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Hargreaves Lansdown the stockbroker business has been attracting younger investors its average of customer has fallen considerably, this reflects many factors including the recent buzz about investing and the success of Redit investors in the USA, but also that due to the lockdown there is less travelling and less spending of all kinds as the shops are shut and people are working from home.

Its a positive sign that younger people are active engaging with the economy as the stock market is a key funding source for growing companies.

To learn more about Reporting Accounts...

In today's podcast Adrian Lawrence talks about Lookers plc the UK motor dealership which was suspended for 6 months following an accounting fraud scandal.  This resulted in the departure of the companies chairman and CFO and their replacement with a new team of experienced industry professionals.  Their auditors have also been replaced.

Their return trading accompanied by a positive RNS led to the share price jumping 83% as the market reacted positively to their cost reduction and restructuring efforts.  Also trading has been ahead of expectations which is very positive considering the dealerships network has been closed for long per...