Business Consulting built on diagnostic depth, not slide decks
Most consulting firms hand you a report and leave. We sit inside your operating rhythm for weeks, sometimes months, until the changes stick. Our work starts with a 72-hour diagnostic: we shadow leadership meetings, interview line managers, and map cash-flow patterns before we recommend a single thing.
This is not advice at arm's length. We restructured procurement for a Glasgow-based manufacturer and cut supplier costs by £220,000 in one financial year. We helped a fintech startup in Edinburgh redesign its board reporting so investors could actually read it. The problems differ; the method stays consistent.
How we diagnose: the three-lens framework
Every engagement begins by examining the business through three lenses simultaneously. We never start with strategy alone because strategy without operational truth is fiction.
| Lens | What we examine | Typical output |
|---|---|---|
| Financial architecture | Cash conversion cycle, margin erosion points, cost-centre accountability | Restructured P&L with actionable line-item targets |
| Operational cadence | Decision latency, meeting load, reporting gaps, bottleneck mapping | Revised operating rhythm document with owner assignments |
| Leadership alignment | Board-to-floor communication fidelity, incentive mismatches, succession gaps | Alignment charter signed by the executive team |
The lenses overlap. A margin problem often traces back to a leadership alignment gap: two directors pulling procurement in different directions, for instance. We surface those links explicitly so the fix addresses the root, not the symptom.
Field evidence: selected engagements
Restructuring a family-owned food distributor
A second-generation family business near Stirling was growing revenue at 14% year-on-year but haemorrhaging cash. We discovered that their credit terms to three large supermarket clients were effectively financing those clients' own working capital. Within six weeks we renegotiated payment windows, introduced staged invoicing, and freed up £380,000 in trapped cash. The family kept ownership. No external equity was needed.
Governance overhaul for a tech scale-up
An Edinburgh SaaS company with 45 employees had no formal board pack, no KPI dashboard, and monthly financials arriving six weeks late. We installed a reporting cadence that delivered board-ready numbers within ten working days of month-end. Investor confidence improved measurably: the next funding round closed 40% faster than the previous one.
Margin recovery in professional services
A 30-person architecture practice in Aberdeen was billing well but retaining poorly. Project-level profitability varied from 38% to negative 4% and nobody knew which projects were bleeding. We built a project-costing model tied to timesheet data and trained project leads to use it weekly. Within two quarters, average project margin rose from 19% to 27%.
The engagement timeline
Week zero: scoping call
A 45-minute conversation to understand the presenting problem. No charge, no obligation. We ask hard questions early so neither side wastes time.
Weeks one to two: diagnostic immersion
We spend time on-site. Shadowing, interviewing, reviewing data. The diagnostic report lands at the end of week two with prioritised recommendations.
Weeks three to twelve: implementation sprint
We work alongside your team to execute the top-priority changes. This is not advisory from a distance; we attend your meetings, build your tools, and hold people accountable.
Weeks thirteen onwards: embedded review
Monthly check-ins for three months after the sprint. We measure whether the changes stuck and adjust where they haven't.
Is your business ready for this kind of work?
Good fit indicators
- Revenue between £2m and £40m, with ambitions to grow or to stabilise before a transition
- A leadership team willing to be challenged, not just validated
- At least one clear pain point: cash, margin, governance, succession, or operational drag
- Willingness to give us access to real numbers, not sanitised summaries
Poor fit indicators
- Looking for a brand refresh or marketing strategy (we don't do that)
- Seeking a report to present to a board without intending to act on it
- Unwilling to allocate internal time: our process requires your team's participation
Honest fit assessment saves everyone time. If we're not the right partner, we'll say so and point you toward someone who is.
Working principles
We don't use jargon to sound clever. If a recommendation can't be explained to the person who has to execute it, the recommendation is flawed. Our deliverables are plain-language documents, usually no longer than eight pages, with clear owners and deadlines attached to every action.
Confidentiality is absolute. We never reference a client by name without written permission, and we structure our team so that competitors are never served simultaneously by the same consultant.
Fees are fixed for the diagnostic phase and scoped per sprint for implementation. No hourly billing, no scope creep surprises. If the work takes longer because of something we missed, we absorb the cost.
Frequently raised questions
What size of business do you typically work with?
Most of our clients sit between £2m and £40m in annual revenue. We've worked with smaller firms on specific problems like cash-flow restructuring, but our diagnostic process is designed for businesses with enough complexity to warrant it. A sole trader with a bookkeeping question would be better served by a good accountant.
Do you work with businesses outside Scotland?
Yes. Our core geography is Scotland and northern England, but we've completed engagements as far south as Birmingham. The diagnostic phase requires on-site time, so travel logistics matter. We'll discuss this during the scoping call.
How do you charge?
The diagnostic phase is a fixed fee agreed before we start, typically between £4,500 and £9,000 depending on company size. Implementation sprints are scoped and priced per sprint. We don't bill by the hour because it incentivises slowness.
Request a scoping call
A note on independence
We don't sell software, insurance, or funding products. We have no referral arrangements with banks, accountancy firms, or technology vendors. When we recommend a tool or a partner, it's because we believe it's the right fit, not because we earn a commission. That independence is non-negotiable and it's the reason clients trust our recommendations.
If you've been burned by consultants who arrived with a solution before they understood the problem, we understand the scepticism. Our diagnostic-first model exists precisely to earn trust before we ask for it.