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Stuart Barker
A Portfolio CFO with extensive leadership experience in SMEs with particular emphasis on IPOs, start-ups, and early-stage high-growth ventures.
Stuart is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales). As a Portfolio CFO, he has extensive leadership experience in SMEs, with particular emphasis on IPOs, start-ups, and early-stage high-growth ventures.
He started his career with a networking and telecommunications company. Initially a white-label ISP, Stuart took them from start-up to a £120m turnover company through an IPO on the AIM market and later to a full listing on the LSE. He managed multitudinous change and significant M&A activity in a dynamic environment within a consolidating sector.
Over the last few years, he has:
- Closed multiple funding rounds over £3.5m to finance the expansion of a founder-lead SME.
- Prepared working capital models to support an IPO fundraise for a digital entertainment and media business.
- Modelled projections to support a £60m rights securitisation offer for a media rights business.
- Rewrote the 3-year budget and plan for a marketing services company.
- Conducted analysis and deal evaluation for the acquisition of an overseas business for a marketing services company.
- Reviewed and implemented a new strategy for Transfer pricing between the UK and a European subsidiary.
- Executed the start-up strategy, taking a B2B subscription-based TV channel from loss-making to £20m of profits in six years
- Implemented a new ERP system (SAP Business One) to control and monitor international growth.
Stuart’s strengths are leading companies through rapid growth.
Expertise
- Digital Businesses
- Film and Media
- Leisure, Travel and Transport
- Marketing Services
- Software and SaaS
- Telecoms and CPaaS
Specialism
- Building finance function
- Business modelling
- Commercial
- Corporate finance
- Due diligence
- Fundraising
- Growth
- International Expansion
- Investor Relations
- IPOs
- M&A
- Manage external stakeholders
- Operational leadership
- Preparation for investment
- Strategy development and implementation
- System implementation