David Blake In 60 Seconds

I have extensive CFO experience in telco TMT and fintech (inc SaaS), both within the UK and Internationally. This work has been for multi-national corporates as well as SME businesses all with the lens of driving improved shareholder value in a strongly controlled environment. I have led businesses through exits (IPOs, trade sales) plus leading acquisitions leading to favourable outcomes.

Specialist Skills

Corporate Finance

Exit planning, IM (information memorandum) preparation, sell & buy side exposure.

Budgeting & Forecasting

Built extensive multi-year budgets and appropriate forecasting tools.

Business Planning

10 year, 5 year strategic plans down to 1 year operating plans and budgets.

Financial Operations

Leading edge finance function controllership, financial planning & analysis.

Systems and Controls

Oracle NetSuite, SAP Hana implementations with leading control environments.

Track Record Highlights

  • Managed the £85m bid for Small World Financial Services working with PwC and leading an assessment and bid management, conducting financial due diligence, commercial & legal due diligence.
  • Negotiated a $80m loan facility with HSBC for the funding of a submarine cable build in telco following discussions with Asian Development Bank and International Financing Corporation.
  • Led the successful $550m IPO of a Cable & Wireless plc telco subsidiary after an 18 month preparation phase.
  • Prepared 5-year business plans for a fintech start-up using MS Excel and LivePlan for p&l, balance sheets and cashflows for professional services of data science to insurer & SaaS products.
  • Instrumental in the $1.5bn exit sale of the business to PLDT Smart and Globe in the Philippines by negotiating the finer details of the deal, overseeing the sale and purchase agreement.

Sector Experience

  • Technology, Media & Telecoms: Mobile phone sector 3G 4G prepaid and postpaid
  • Banking & Financial Services: CME Futures, motor insurance brokers
  • Not for Profit: Further Education FE sector as role of Chair

What's next?

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