When growth stalls, find out what’s really holding it back.
I help SMEs understand why growth has stalled and what practical changes could move the business forward.
The answer isn’t always more sales, pipeline or marketing. It may be cash tied up in the business, unprofitable products, a changing market, unclear positioning, limited capability, or decisions that still depend too heavily on the founder, owner or leadership team.
The commercial growth question owners often skip.
I use ten structured questions to look beneath the headline story and understand the business as it really is. They help identify where value is being created, where it is leaking or trapped, and what may need to change for the business to grow with confidence.
What business are you really in?
Where do you make the money
Is the business proposition and positioning clear to all?
Where do you make your money?
What is your competitive position?
Is this a good market to be in?
What customers and markets should you pursue?
What should you stop doing?
Should you do something else?
What does the business look like through a sustainability lens?
“We want to grow faster.”
Before prescribing more sales activity, we look at whether the business has the cash, capability and commercial model to support growth. We examine where money is made, where it is tied up and which parts of the portfolio are funding or draining the rest.
How I help: A structured business model and commercial review, followed by practical priorities: what to stop, start and change.
“We can’t see the pipeline or forecast confidently.”
A business can be busy without having a reliable view of future revenue. If the value of the pipeline, the profitability of work or the cash position is unclear, decisions about hiring and investment become guesswork.
How I help: Identify the information and systems leaders need to make better commercial decisions, and help put practical improvements in place.
“What got us here isn’t getting us there.”
The skills, resources and informal ways of working that supported an early stage of growth may no longer be enough. The founder can become a bottleneck; decisions slow down; the team lacks the capability or information to take the next step.
How I help: Pinpoint the capability, roles, systems and decision-making changes needed for the next stage.
“We need to know whether the business is fit for the future.”
A business can have a compelling growth story and still be exposed to changing customer expectations, supply-chain dependencies or other risks. Responsible business practice is not a decorative layer: done properly, it can support resilience and value.
How I help: A separate Future-Fit and responsible-business engagement to help you understand relevant risks, dependencies and opportunities, and decide what practical action makes sense for your business.
SERVICES
Clear Engagements. Commercial Focus.
Commercial Growth Review
A focused review of your market, customers, business model and numbers to identify what’s holding growth back and what to do next.
£1,250
Future-Fit & Responsible Business Review
A practical review of your business’s resilience and readiness for the future, including relevant sustainability and supply-chain issues.
£1,250
Ongoing Advisory & Project Support
Fractional commercial leadership, board advice, workshops or hands-on support with an agreed business priority.
From £750 per day
The join-the-dots adviser
I’ve spent my career working through commercial transitions—from senior roles at BBC Worldwide and Universal Pictures to Managing Director roles in founder-led media, content and B2B businesses.
At Archant Dialogue, I helped move a legacy contract-publishing business towards a content-marketing agency. At Ultima Media, I helped shift a legacy media business towards digital, data and intelligence as print and advertising declined. During Covid, the business accelerated its move to digital and developed new ways to engage audiences.
My role is to look past the story a business tells about itself, get close to the commercial reality, and help its leaders decide what to do next.
Credentials and accreditations
Future-Fit Accredited Advisor
Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)
Accredited Carbon Literacy Facilitator
Course Director, CIM Sustainability & Marketing
Corporate Governance Institute: Board Oversight & ESG Governance
MBA and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM)
25+ years’ P&L experience, including BBC Worldwide, Universal Pictures and SME Managing Director roles
Selected results
University World News: Advisory work using the eight questions, resulting in a redefined proposition, structural changes and a revised business model.
Ultima Media: £1.4m revenue growth, £900k margin improvement and 140% digital revenue growth through transformation towards digital, data and custom content.
Archant Dialogue: Approximately £6m turnover and £700k profit in 2.5 years, with 10% organic growth while retaining key clients.
Lick Creative: More than 50% revenue growth to £4.3m and 12% net profit following repositioning and changes to the fee model.
Universal Pictures: 34% revenue growth to £150m and a 41% improvement in contribution margin.
BBC Worldwide: More than £500k in incremental revenue through commercial development across events, publishing, digital and acquisitions.
SA Brain: Developed a practical sustainability strategy and operational pathway, connecting commercial realities with environmental and social goals.
Retail Marketing Agency: Advised on enterprise client RFP requirements, sustainability positioning and commercial contracting strategy across supply-chain operations.
FEEDBACK
What Clients Say
“Gavin combines commercial thinking with practical sustainability expertise. He focuses on what sustainability means in real business terms rather than theory or ESG reporting. He provided clear, actionable advice and a coaching style that helped us rethink how we approached the challenges we were facing. He also delivered a written strategy document that gave us a practical foundation and pathway for moving forward. It was a strong mix of commercial clarity, practical sustainability insight and hands-on support.”
Nick Payne
Managing Director, SA Brain · May 2026
“What really sets Gavin apart is how well he gets both the sustainability world and the commercial one. That mix meant we ended up with a strategy that wasn’t just ‘nice to have’ but something people could get behind and deliver. He brought our teams along for the ride and helped us talk to clients about it in a way that felt honest, inspiring, and practical. He made a big difference to our journey. I’m really glad we had him on board and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking to do sustainability properly.”
Group Managing Director
Leadership, Retail Marketing & Logistics Company · November 2024
"Gavin facilitated a full-day sustainability session for a room of people from the same sector but with very different commercial priorities. He managed something genuinely difficult - bridging real commercial pressures with genuine sustainability ambition, without making either feel like a compromise. His candour, warmth and depth of experience created an environment where people felt comfortable being honest and had their thinking genuinely challenged. Lively, enjoyable and substantive - a rare combination."
Cheryl Chung
Corporate & Government Affairs, Sector Leadership Group. Facilitation
"Gavin is consistently helpful, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with. He's helped us to get started with clarity about sustainability and what this means in practice, well beyond carbon footprints. Thought-partnership in these early stages has been invaluable."
Dr. Saskie Dorman
Palliative Care Consultant, Forest Holme NHS Hospice. Advisory
"I've worked with Gavin for the past two and a half years and have found him to be a truly inspirational leader. His expertise in running businesses (and turning them around!) is second to none. I have learned more from him about business strategy, commercial awareness and people management in the past two years than I have during my entire 17-year career in publishing."
Chief Executive Officer
Executive Leadership, Dialogue Content Agency. Leadership
