Holt Lloyd was a subsidiary of Morgan Crucible (now Morgan Advanced Materials). My engagement ran from January 1993 to December 1994, and I was a statutory director from March 1993 to June 1994, as the division prepared for and agreed its £68m MBO from the group, backed by Electra Kingsway and completed in August 1994. The non-executive directors stood down as the MBO was agreed, ahead of completion, and I continued to support the business until December 1994.
Role
Non-Executive Director, with board-level commercial leadership through to the MBO. Member of the Remuneration Committee and the Nomination Committee.
What I did
Provided board-level commercial leadership in the run-up to the MBO from Morgan Crucible, and led a strategic and operational review of the business alongside the board’s work on the transaction.
Results
The division was exited from the group through a successful £68m MBO, backed by Electra Kingsway, giving the parent cash to reinvest in its core. The strategic and operational review delivered a manufacturing cost reduction of c.15%. The business was later sold to AlliedSignal.
More on my board work with consumer goods and industrial businesses.