Looking At Your Business With Different Peer
The Business Advisors With A Difference
Welcome.
We are a Yorkshire based business management consultancy, whose specialism lies in our innovative approach to developing both people and business. Challenging conventional thinking in order to overcome obstacles and implement change that will result in sustainable profit and cash growth across your organisation is what we do. In short, we enable decision makers to engage with their peers to solve business issues and dilemmas.
We understand the unique challenges facing smaller and medium enterprises. As a senior decision-maker, the work-place can be a very lonely environment, and it can be difficult to create the time to find the solutions for YOUR business.
This is where we can help you. We create a safe, confidential environment where you can discuss your concerns with your peers from non-competing industries. Our boards will help you clarify your thinking, find the right answers, and provide you with the help, guidance & advice needed to successfully take your business forward.
Different Peer Ltd was set up in July 2008 by Neil Jaggar, following the sale of Godfrey Autoparts – a car parts distribution business Neil had built from zero to £5.5m turnover in a 7 year period. In keeping with Neil’s nature to develop business he invited Bhranti to become a part of Different Peer in 2019.
The People:
Neil is a highly successful and profit-driven business leader. He is an unconventional thinker with a wide-ranging skill set, who is passionate about utilising his skills to help business owners through the trials and tribulations of running and growing a business. With a decisive and enthusiastic approach to the key areas of: Financial, Sales, Marketing and Operations Management, Neil thrives on the challenges posed by developing a business and its team to its full potential.
With 40+ years ‘real life’ business experience, Neil has: Directed and held a shareholding in a £40 million pound turn over National CV Parts Distribution business employing more than 300 staff across 40 UK sites; whereby he increased independent trade sales by 20% year on year as well as leading a portfolio of four major product development plans, increasing the relevant product sales between 18% and 76%; he has been head-hunted by the majority shareholder of a distribution company to formulate and implement a restructuring and business plan that would enable the business to once again generate profits, whereby Neil’s ability to provide strategic direction and deliver exceptional results, saw his initial contract extended for a substantial period.
Neil is also a strategic thinker with strong analytical skills and a detailed understanding of commercial risk that enables him to achieve a significant contribution to any organisation. He is a practised relationship and team builder, which allows him to initiate change management over single or multi-site businesses. Neil has recognised mentoring skills and as well as being approachable, sociable and extrovert, he is able to calmly listen, analyse and strategically plan.
Outside of work, Neil is a keen motorcyclist and cricketer, during his time as President of Upper Hopton Cricket Club, he successfully oversaw the raising of Grant Funding in excess of £80K to improve both playing and social facilities. During this ‘social’ time, the club increased the number of junior teams from one to five; increased the number of regular volunteers threefold; and by encouraging junior development from playing to support roles, such as coaching and becoming committee members, Neil helped to fill all management committee seats, created three new required roles and has helped to cement the clubs future through all generations.
You could say Neil is a commercially astute, natural and passionate business leader, who champions business growth and improvement. Through Different Eyes Ltd and from real-life operational experience, he is able to deliver top-level business consultancy and business turnaround expertise to owners throughout the UK.
Bhranti grew up in the major industrial and commercial city of Coventry and her passion for understanding the way business works started at an early age. She graduated with a BA honours degree in Business Studies, with a particular focus on property, from the University of Central England. After completing her teacher training, she embarked on a highly successful career in education, teaching all age groups, from 11 to 19, at a comprehensive school in York.Her expertise and talent enabled her to achieve consistently excellent results, with a proficiency for teaching business to the 16-19 age group.
In a teaching career which ran from 2001 to 2016, Bhrantialso specialised in mathematics, where her technical abilities were invaluable and, in addition, she became a highly valued member of the pastoral team taking a leading role in student support.
Following her time in education,Bhranti embraced a new challenge with her characteristic energy and enthusiasm, taking on a leading role in fundraising for a Yorkshire based hospice charity. Providing care for young people in Yorkshire with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses, her passion for this work and ability to motivate others enabled her to make a significant impact on the charity’s success in fund-raising.
Bhranti combines a thorough technical competency in the theoretical and applied aspects of business with the skills required to convey information in a highly effective way and, crucially, the ability to inspire others to succeed.
Alongside this varied experience, Bhranti’s drive to succeed, passion to support others, well-established business acumen and highly-developed people skills combine to enable her to provide deep business insight and individual care to clients, while delivering bespoke solutions to a wide-range of business problems.
It can feel isolating and lonely as a decision maker in a business and whilst you can make progress alone, it is so much easier when you have support.
Workshops
Break down and overcome your challenges by working through them methodically and effectively in a managed session.
Advisory
Getting professional support in your business is one of the wisest things you can do to help you achieve your goals.
“Successful people managers achieve greater results with their team than the individuals would working alone.”
Back To Basics.
Our vast operational experience coupled with our skills in bringing the right people to the Board mean that we are not only a valuable sounding board but no matter how demanding, stressful or out of control a situation may seem, we will enable you to gain control over your business’s immediate needs and its future development by focusing your business on its priorities and by helping you link your team together.
At Different Peer, we value entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth. We are approachable, non-judgemental, we always operate in the strictest of confidence and above all, we are here to help.
Defined By Reputation.
Services.
Businesses are like individuals and have their own personalities and challenges. We focus on making a positive difference to all board member businesses. We work from the heart and the only agenda is that set by the board members.
An example of items we have discussed are:
With our help you can be confident of getting critical business planning decisions right.
Many businesses fail to achieve their true potential due to the lack of a defined strategy and plan. A good business strategy and plan is your unique roadmap to achieving business success. You should refer to it on a regular basis and adapt and amend it as required; if the strategy changes – so should the plan.
A key part of this is the financial planning and cash forecasting. At Different Eyes, we can make a practical review of all departments of your business; give you an honest overview of the key numbers that count, and help you create a realistic and achievable business plan that will serve to move your business forward.
With our help you can be confident of getting critical business planning decisions right and that you have the ability to implement them successfully, with enough cash-flow to achieve the plan.
Failing to plan is planning to fail. At Different Eyes, we will support you and your management team by keeping your plan focused and preparing you for the challenges of future business uncertainties, or the fund raising process when you are ready to grow.
We have vast operational expertise and experience of managing change that can help you manage the whole process, or part of it.
Change is inevitable both in business and in life. Whether your organisation is downsizing, upsizing, restructuring or there is a culture change, planning and implementing change is a delicate operation and often difficult to manage well.
Different Eyes can help initiate change over single or multi-site businesses by firstly focusing on the people element of your business and effectively communicating to staff why change is necessary. Obtaining buy-in from your team is crucial to successful change, as a plan that both employees and management can share will contribute to its overall success.
Poorly managed change can be costly to your organisation and its reputation. We have vast operational expertise and experience that can help you manage the whole process, or part of it, from managing key stakeholders through to reviewing business priorities and changing strategy.
Whether you are selling a business or buying multiply businesses, the old caveat emptor of ‘buyer beware’ most certainly applies.
Due diligence is essential to mitigating risk and is a critical step to test what seems like a good idea. Whether you are buying or selling businesses, limiting the surprises will enable you to maximise your return from either sale or purchase.
Different Eyes helps those wishing to invest to make better deal decisions by undertaking detailed due diligence on your behalf. This will pick up on any risks pre-deal that could compromise contracts or have the potential to result in major losses. We will make sure you ask the right questions to ascertain whether you are indeed getting what you think, and therefore the true value you attach to the purchase.
If you are selling, we can bring a vast amount of industry and functional expertise that will help you to achieve your goal, by putting you in the strongest position possible – even if that means highlighting and therefore minimising the issues that would concern potential buyers.
At Different Eyes, we can support any aspect of commercial and operational due diligence as well as providing transaction support for buyers or investors if needed.
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
There are many reasons why you may want to exit your business: market conditions might be at their optimum; you plan to retire, or maybe ill-health or other personal circumstances force you to sell. Whatever the situation, it is imperative to plan your exit properly and to start implementing your strategy early, in order to maximise the value of your business. Generally the longer you have to exit the business – the better value you will achieve.
Exiting a business can be stressful, uncertain and all time-consuming, and you will undoubtedly need a management team with a proven track record of success. In many cases there are various options available to you, and Different Eyes can help you to evaluate your options to ensure you get the best results for both you and your business.
Whilst we do not offer legal or financial advice, we do have a number of trusted contacts within the legal and financial services sector that can help, if required. Together we can maximise your financial gains whilst minimising your tax liability and make the transition between you and the new owner as smooth as possible.
We have the experience and expertise to simplify what can be complex financial matters and to get you back on track.
In order for your business to be a success you need to be in control of your profits, understand your budgets, and to be able to plan and control any remedial actions that may be required to your financial plan.
At Different Eyes, we are experts in financial transformation and performance improvement. We can bring a fresh perspective and practical solutions to support Chief Financial Officers or those responsible for the financial health and stability of your business. Managing Director Neil Jaggar is a commercially astute, highly successful and profit-driven business leader, who has proven financial management, budgetary and P&L leadership skills that have helped struggling businesses to generate profits.
If you are constantly missing, over spending or under achieving on your budget, we can help. By looking at your financial planning structure and processes, identifying savings and opportunities, and by making sure that each team member is committed to positively influencing the financial health of your business, we can help you put in place a plan that will get you back on track and making a profit.
If you are planning an MBO / MBI or BIMBO, Different Eyes can help with both the Business and Financial Planning required.
Exiting a business can be stressful, uncertain and all time-consuming, and you will undoubtedly need a management team with a proven track record of success. If you are planning an MBO (management buyout) / MBI (management buyin), or BIMBO (buyin management buyout), Different Eyes can help with both the business and financial planning required.
We can also assist with managing the relationships and expectations between existing employees and new members of management, in order to prevent a decline in business performance throughout the process.
We know all the do’s and don’ts needed to create the required professional documents (in the correct format with the information needed) that will enable you to confidently present your plans and ideas to potential Investors.
Whilst we do not offer legal or financial advice, we do have a number of trusted contacts within the legal and financial services sector that can help, if required. Together we can make the process smoother and less stressful.
Getting an outside perspective can often change the game. We have strong, well-founded experience in business turnaround and can make critical decisions quickly when needed.
If your company is facing difficult times and finding it hard to service its cash needs, then you need professional help that can stop your company from going into either corporate insolvency, liquidation, company administration or receivership.
Before this happens, getting an outside perspective can often change the game. Different Eyes has a wealth of experience in business turnaround and can make critical decisions quickly in a crisis situation. We will help you to firstly stabilise your company’s finances, and then formulate and implement a recovery plan that will enable your business to once again generate profits.
We fully understand the pressures associated with running a business and provide the benefit of assessing your business with fresh eyes and complete objectivity. We are able to spot problems that are not visible to company insiders and can make appropriate decisions that will guide your company back to safety.
Different Eyes can help you plan, negotiate and manage stakeholder relationships. We can work with you and your team within the business (if necessary) at an operational level, to help you with issues that require a more in depth and planned approach to succeed.
Different Eyes can bring end-to-end experience and expertise to the Merger or Acquisition (M&A) process.
Different Eyes can bring end-to-end experience and expertise to the merger or acquisition (M&A) process, and can help with both the business and financial planning you will require.
M&As are about separate companies coming together to form larger, more valuable and stable businesses. If you are planning a merger or acquisition, we can help you to conduct strategic due diligence, identify and prioritise growth opportunities which are inline with your company’s growth strategy, and ascertain where the value lies in, or for, the asset you are buying. Following a merger or acquisition, we can advise you on all the integration tasks that are specific to your business and industry.
To get the ball rolling, we know all the do’s and don’ts needed to create the required professional documents (in the correct format with the information needed) that will enable you to confidently present your plans and ideas to potential Investors, partners and other interested parties.
Whilst we do not offer legal or financial advice, we do have a number of trusted contacts within the legal and financial services sector that could help, if required. Together we can make the process smoother and less stressful.
In business, ‘revenue is vanity, cash flow is sanity, but cash is king!’
Cash is king and the lifeblood of every business. The decisions you make about your business today will affect its ability to generate profit and cash growth in years to come. Can you be sure that those decisions are sound and correct?
Different Eyes can help you to plan for both your business and cash-flow by making sure there is sound rationale behind the decisions you make; that they are economically viable; in the interests of the business and shareholders, and that they are implemented successfully.
We specialise in sustainable profit and cash growth. Our understanding of how business operations must work in accordance with your financial strategy and targets will help you to plan and structure your business much more profitably and effectively. By applying a commercial approach to both profit and cash growth, we will help your business to generating a positive cash flow and move it on to the next level of growth.
A valuable measure of success is the volume and value of sales that you make.
At Different Eyes, we fully understand that you can only generate profit and cash if you sell the product. If your current sales and marketing strategy does not add significant value to your business, we can help.
Managing Director Neil Jaggar has successfully directed multi-million pound distribution businesses and increased independent trade sales by 20% year on year, as well as leading four major product development plans – increasing sales from 18% to 76%, in businesses under his charge. Whether your dilemma is an existing product, a new product introduction, a margin related issue, entry into a new arena or a declining market, we have the experience, expertise and proven track record of success to help you develop a new strategy.
By closely analysing your current sales strategy, people, processes and techniques, and by measuring how you connect and communicate with your existing customers and target market, we can help you design and implement a sustainable sales and marketing strategy that will lead to increased sales, revenue and ultimately enhance your company’s profitability.
At Different Eyes, we are practical and results-focused. We can work with you and your team within your business at an operational level, if required, to provide strategic direction and implement the plan.
Good Relationship Management within any organisation is the key to achieving a positive outcome by helping to create an atmosphere of enablement.
One of the key relationships is that with a stakeholder, who can be: a shareholder, the bank, an asset backed lender, a key supplier or customer, or anyone else who has an influence on your business.
The relationship with the stakeholder is a key part of moving the business forward and ultimately the success of the company. Often, communication is driven by circumstance and ultimate need. Like any successful relationship, by establishing trust and clear two-way communication, you can gain confidence and real commitment from your key stakeholders in both good times and bad.
With our vast experience of managing stakeholder relationships, we can help you to take control and manage those that are key to your success. We can help to identify and prioritise who the relevant stakeholders are, analyse their influence and effectively engage with them.
In any company, and especially in the case of a turnaround position or when change is planned, having stakeholders aligned and committed to the plan is critical to your success.
We will guide you through the Start Up process and steer you in the direction that will actively help your business to grow.
Managing Director Neil Jaggar prides himself on his in-depth knowledge of Start Up businesses; having started six himself and subsequently selling four of them to new owners – one of which was built from zero to £5.5m turnover in 7 years, before he exited and started Different Eyes.
From our wide operational experience, Different Eyes can offer advice that will add real value to your business at every stage of its lifecycle. We can help you to start your business, advise on the best type of trading vehicle, when to get VAT registered as well as providing on-going support.
We champion entrepreneurship, innovation and growth; we recognise that every business is different, and we fully understand the threats, stresses and requirements of starting a business from scratch – after all we have ‘been there’!
From our wide business network, we have a number of trusted contacts within the professional services sector should you require an accountant or solicitor to suit your needs and circumstances. We will guide you through the maze and steer you in the direction that will actively help your business to grow.
How some board members summarise the experience:
Supportive
Reassuring
Thought-provoking
Insightful
Trouble-schooting
Real Results Enabling Real Success.
Year on year sales growth after the introduction of a new product sales and marketing strategy including the building of a new website for the company.
Successful introduction of new Purchasing Policy generated £1.2m purchase cost savings on £28m spend.
