Confronting the brutal facts a must in turnaround business

This was the advice from Endless LLP’s Warwick Ley addressing pro?manchester members last week on the Turnaround of Crown Paints.

The Crown Paints deal was brought to Endless in February 2008 and was “ an incredibly complex transaction with complex and unrealistic projections” nevertheless Endless weren’t put off and the deal was struck in August 2008 just before Bank of Scotland share prices plummetted, Lehman Brothers collapsed and the markets were turmoil, in the words of one Dulux rep “ Crown Paints were going down with Blackburn Rovers”  this was says Warwick Ley “ The honeymoon period”

So why did Endless buy Crown? They were second in a market worth three billion pounds, they were the unloved child, there were opportunities, the brand had tradition, but mostly it was the pride and passion behind Crown Paints which was the key reason for entering the deal.

It was this pride and passion which Endless galvanised and managed to save the company seventeen million in the first year, over the next two years there was investment in staff, factories and new brands which saw a re-energised confidence return to the brand and an increase from 16 to 19% share in the market in 2011.

Crown was sold in June 2011 to Hempel a Danish cogents company in what Warwick Ley says is “ the perfect end to the story”

Warwick Ley also paid testament to all the Manchester based firms involved in the deal saying “ Manchester is a fantastic place to work, with a great community and skillbase”

You can view more images from the event here plus get all the latest news from pro.manchester on twitter @promanchester