Gary Fisher launched his own clothing brand, Papini, in 1996 – with 25 years’ experience in producing and importing clothing, and many years spent assisting M&S to arrange production in East Asia. The team had an accountant on board, but Gary needed a practice that could offer more. ‘A friend introduced me to Debbie and we brought Not Just Numbers on board very soon afterwards,’ he says. ‘We gave the team a lot to deal with, but they rose to the challenge and took everything on confidently.’
‘We still looked after our own day-to-day bookkeeping and confidential invoice discounting’, Gary adds. ‘Yet Debbie handled our monthly management accounts and end-of-year accounts, keeping us up to date on progress at our monthly meetings. These sessions covered everything from financing and cashflow to business strategy and software, and were hugely helpful.’
Gary’s business was running successfully and profitably when factors outside of his control began to cause problems. ‘We depended on the Chinese supply chain, so the impact of Brexit and Covid was problematic,’ Gary explains. ‘We were willing to find a way through, but we couldn’t continue without any product.’
Thankfully, Debbie understood the Papini business well, so could use her impressive network of contacts to introduce Gary to Phil Deyes, a senior partner at Leonard Curtis (a business recovery and insolvency firm). ‘I met with Phil, with Debbie alongside me, in 2021. She held my hand through liquidation from that moment on.’
‘Debbie had been exceptional from the start, but she really shone when we started the liquidation process,’ praises Gary. ‘She told me it would be tough and she was right: it was an emotionally painfully process. But not only was Debbie our biggest supporter she made sure everything was financially perfect. That gave me so much reassurance at a difficult time.’
‘It was a complex process,’ Gary adds. ‘But with Debbie’s help, we liquidated the company in a clean and proper manner.’
‘It’s really tough to exit a business you’ve worked so hard for,’ Gary says. ‘It could easily have been so much worse, but it ended as well as we could have hoped for thanks to Debbie and her dedicated team. Her support helped us enormously. Of course, she’s brilliant at the figures – but it’s when you need guidance and understanding that she really shines.’
‘In better times, without Covid, things would’ve been different for Papini,’ Gary concludes. ‘But my only regret is not knowing Debbie sooner. She gave us amazing guidance so we could exit the business in good shape and look forward to retirement and what the next chapter brings. That bright future wouldn’t be possible without Not Just Numbers.’
