Geoffrey Martin & Co is a growing independent practice specialising solely in business recovery, turnaround and insolvency. The firm was formed in 1983 by Geoffrey Martin who was until then Regional Head of Corporate Recovery with Arthur Andersen. It now operates from offices in Leeds and London which collectively employ five partners and thirty staff dedicated to assisting financially distressed businesses. The firm has no audit or corporate finance arms or associations, which enables us to deliver a professional service free from any potential conflicts. Leeds Based: Geoffrey Martin Geoffrey joined the profession in 1966 and took his first appointment in 1974 at the age of 27. After an association with Arthur Andersen through an affiliated practice, a merger subsequently took place in the early 1980's and Geoff became Andersen's Head of Corporate Recovery in the North East. As anyone that knows him will happily testify, Geoffrey's individualistic approach was constrained by the uniformity of a large international practice and led to Geoffrey leaving with virtually the whole of the Andersen's North East Corporate Recovery team to form Geoffrey Martin & Co in 1983. Geoffrey continues to be an innovative and creative practitioner whose experience leaves him ideally placed to anticipate the consequences of actions, thereby being able to plan effectively. He encourages the other partners and staff to get away from a formulaic or traditional approach to business recovery and the growth of the firm is testimony to the success of his methods. When not challenging received wisdom, Geoffrey can often be found on the golf course or in the gym. Stephen Hull Stephen has specialised in business recovery and the insolvency of both companies and individuals since 1984. He became a member of the Insolvency Practitioners Association in 1991 and joined Geoffrey Martin & Co in 1999 as a partner. Having previously worked for some of the world's largest accountancy practices, Stephen has gained extensive experience of all types of business recovery and insolvency procedures from small liquidations through to the receivership of large household name companies. Since joining Geoffrey Martin & Co, Stephen has continued to advise both directors of distressed companies and individuals with financial difficulties of the options available to them. As someone who adopts a ''hands-on'' approach he takes control over all cases, whether or not a formal insolvency procedure is undertaken, to ensure that wherever possible they reach a satisfactory conclusion. John Twizell As a first year trainee chartered accountant with KPMG (then Peat Marwick), John had the opportunity to be seconded to their Corporate Recovery team. He never went back. John qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1982 and became a licensed Insolvency Practitioner in 1986. John's experience has covered all aspects of recovery and insolvency. He has increasingly specialised in turnaround and business restructuring and cites early involvement as fundamental to success as this inevitably increases the available options. Since joining Geoffrey Martin & Co as a partner in March 2001, John has continued to develop the firm's innovative approach to business recovery. He firmly believes that one of the differentiating features of the practice is the strength of the relationships established when working with stakeholders such as directors, shareholders and financial institutions. John invests significant time and effort into such relationships and, as an effective turnaround invariably takes time, believes that the strength of this working relationship is often the key factor to achieving a successful outcome. London based: Stephen Goderski Stephen entered the profession in 1985 and qualified to act as an insolvency practitioner in 1995. He joined Geoffrey Martin & Co as a partner in the London office in early 2002 from a Tier A firm where he dealt mainly with corporate insolvency assignments for institutional lenders. Stephen regards control of situations as being crucial to achieving a successful outcome and much of his time is spent in determining how the client should react to any number of variables to an agreed strategy. This approach is proactive and popular with stakeholders who are all encouraged to support an agreed plan and all counselled as to what they need to do to ensure its fulfilment. Stephen therefore takes time to ensure that the working relationship with stakeholders is properly developed. This is particularly important where a number of key stakeholders may have conflicting claims and it is vital that all parties recognise that not all can be treated equally. Such marshalling is becoming ever more prevalent as the number and type of finance providers increases and is a challenge that is professionally satisfying to successfully overcome. Stephen is a member of the Insolvency Practitioners Association (“IPA”) and the Association of Business Recovery Professionals. He is presently chairman of the IPA’s Membership and Authorisation Committee and is a former IPA council member. When not working Stephen indulges his passions for angling, football and cricket as often as possible, preferably alongside his children. James Sleight James joined the profession in 1998 and qualified to act as a Certified Chartered Accountant in 2001 and as an Insolvency Practitioner in 2003. James joined Geoffrey Martin & Co in 2002 and became a partner in 2009. James takes a pragmatic approach to business recovery assignments and specialises in making sense of complicated scenarios, generally involving a large number of key stakeholders. He has successfully drafted a number of technically challenging Company Voluntary Arrangements and works closely with stakeholders to ensure that all parties’ interests are maintained. James is quick to grasp the key elements required to ensure successful transactions and is adept at transmitting these to stakeholders in language they can understand. Maximising returns to stakeholders and adding value is intrinsic to James’ approach to recovery and restructuring services. In his spare time James dreams of owning a shed into which he can occasionally escape from his growing and increasingly demanding family.