QGate Software Limited
Rowland Dexter – Managing Director, QGate Software Limited
“Knowing that the day to day financial aspects of our business are in safe hands allows the rest of us to concentrate on building our core business which continues to go from strength to strength. The thing that impressed me as much as anything else was that Brian was willing to put his own head on the line by becoming a non-executive director from the outset. This was clearly a huge risk for him but it gave us confidence in that it demonstrated his belief in the ability to turn things around.”
The challenge
Having overstretched themselves considerably in building a large infrastructure before having the necessary revenue streams to support themselves, QGate Software had incurred large losses and a strain on cashflow that was almost fatal.
The solution
Continuum quickly sourced business angel funding of £180,000 and negotiated the required facilities with QGate’s bankers. With a key objective to quickly align the fixed cost base with the level of sales activity, Continuum set to co-ordinate a restructuring path. Over the period of a few months, the company carried out an office consolidation which resulted in some necessary redundancies and a positive move to greater performance related pay for senior staff.
The results
Now on course to report profits approaching a quarter of a million, QGate have positive cashflow of the same magnitude. In addition, the business no longer has a requirement for an overdraft facility, which is a fantastic achievement that the company could never have imagined previously.
