Fractional CFOs & growth advisors · DTC, omnichannel & retail

Modern finance for consumer revenue growth.

We help ambitious consumer-brand founders make smarter financial decisions — clean books, CFO-level strategy and commercially tuned insight, without the full-time overhead. Most of our clients sell direct; many also sell through wholesale, marketplaces and their own shops. Our support scales as you do.

Financial clarity Strategic foresight Measurable impact

Free tools · no email required

Two numbers most consumer-brand boards cannot answer.

Both take about thirty seconds, run on figures you already have, and give you the answer on screen rather than in exchange for your email address.

Working capital

How much of your cash is sitting in a warehouse?

Your cash conversion cycle, what your inventory cycle is holding, and what shortening it releases.

Work out your cash cycle → Growth

How hard can you push your nCPA?

Your cohort curve sets your acquisition ceiling. See the ceiling, and the growth on the other side of it.

Work out your headroom →

The growth challenge

Scaling breaks finance first.

Rapid growth creates complexity faster than most finance setups can handle — and founders end up firefighting instead of growing.

Cash flow shocks from seasonality, platform fees, ad spend and inventory cycles
Wholesale and retail terms that push payment 30, 60 or 90 days past the sale
Financial data that arrives late, incomplete or unreliable
Stock decisions made on gut feel rather than unit economics
No clear line of sight on runway, margin or the next raise

Our own research · 86 UK brands’ filed accounts

42%Median share of current assets held as stock. For the median brand, more sits in the warehouse than in any other single asset.

1 in 3Hold more than half of their current assets as inventory — more money on a shelf than everywhere else combined.

15%Hold under a tenth of their current assets in actual cash. Profitable on paper, tight at the bank.

47%Are carrying debt due after more than a year, so a lender is already funding part of the cycle.

Calculated by us from Companies House filings for 86 UK direct-to-consumer brands in health, wellness, beauty, food and fashion with current assets between £250,000 and £12m. We publish aggregates only and never identify a brand.

See where you sit — work out your cash cycle →

How we deliver success

Solid foundations. Then finance becomes a competitive advantage.

Financial accounting sits at the core of everything we do. With a robust set of accounts in place, we overlay CFO and growth advisory that turns your numbers into decisions.

Clarity

Your numbers, done right

Xero maintained and up to date, so your accounts are an accurate reflection of how the business is really performing.

Control

A fully outsourced finance team

Bookkeeping, reconciliations and reporting handled end to end — cash position and runway visible at all times.

Insight

Reporting that drives action

Monthly CFO report, strategic business planning, financial modelling, fundraising support and commercial review.

Growth

Finance as a competitive advantage

A trusted network of growth partners with track records in accelerating profitable growth — brand, digital, product and operations.

Key services

Everything a finance function should do — on demand.

“We scale our support as you grow.”

Full outsourced finance function
Bookkeeping, reconciliations and reporting, done properly.
Cash flow forecasting & runway planning
Know your cash position — and how long it lasts — at all times.
Monthly board & performance reporting
With insightful commentary that tells you what the numbers mean.
Unit economics & margin analysis
Understand what you actually make on every order, SKU and channel.
Scenario modelling for growth and risk
Stress-test decisions before you make them.
Fundraising preparation & investor reporting
Models, data rooms and reporting that stand up to diligence.

Who we help

Wherever you are on the journey.

Direct-to-consumer is where we spend most of our time. If you also sell wholesale, through marketplaces or from your own shelves, the disciplines are the same — and we work across all of them.

Launching

Pre-launch to first traction. Get the accounting foundations, pricing and unit economics right from day one.

Start right →

Scaling fast

Growth is outpacing your finance setup. Real-time visibility, stock and cash planning, and controls that keep pace.

Keep control →

Raising or exiting

Preparing for debt, equity or exit. Financial models, investor reporting and a data room that stands up to scrutiny.

Get investor-ready →

Cash-tight

Runway pressure or turnaround. Forensic cash management, cost control and refinancing to buy time and rebuild profitability.

Protect runway →

Results

Real brands. Real turnarounds.

Case study — turnaround

From 10 weeks of runway to sustained profitability

The challenge: Previous management had chased the growth dream — heavy spend on NPD, headcount, marketing and an expensive 3PL. The growth never materialised, significant debt was taken on, and runway was down to 10 weeks when we were appointed.
Our approach: Detailed cash flow forecasting and management. Forensic review of all spend: stock buys focused on fast-selling, higher-margin lines; selective price increases and reduced discounting; 25% negotiated reduction in 3PL costs; debt refinanced and trade finance introduced to shorten the cash conversion cycle.

Still trading 11 months on, with 5 consecutive months of EBITDA profitability — and a founder who can sleep at night.

Case study — scale-up

Unlocking growth a spreadsheet couldn’t see

The challenge: Incumbent accountants produced cash-accounted management accounts with no insight or guidance. The brand was consistently understocked despite a strong cash runway — driving poor reviews, subscription churn and chargebacks.
Our approach: Implemented detailed stock and cash flow planning, giving the founders the confidence to 4× stock purchases to meet demand. Restructured the supply chain to shorten the working capital cycle, restated accounts on an accrual basis and built a 3-year financial model.

Moving rapidly towards £30m ARR — highly profitable, cash generative, and on the way to an initial 7-figure equity raise.

Market briefings

Where the money is going, every month.

We read the filings, the deal announcements and the platform disclosures so our clients do not have to, then set out what it means for a consumer brand plan. Every figure links to its source.

August 2026

D2C & CPG market briefing

Thorne clears 5.8x revenue while the rest of the tape prices at 1–3x, BÉIS sets the cleanest digitally-native comparable of the year, and the operating cost base moves against everyone at once — Meta pricing, EU de minimis, EPR modulation and Amazon peak fees.

40 items, 7 sections → June 2026

D2C & CPG market briefing

Greencore takes Bakkavor at 7.9x EBITDA, Unilever pays up for Nutrafol, and consumer capital returns in force — but only at the top, with mega-funds closing while seed-stage funding falls a third.

18 items, 5 sections →

Who we are

Operators, not observers.

We’ve sat in the CFO seat at the brands you’ve shopped with — building teams, raising money and steering high-velocity consumer businesses through scale.

Nick Cooling

Co-Founder & Partner

Nick is a qualified management accountant (FCMA) who has spent his career in high-growth consumer businesses.

As Head of Finance at BoohooMAN, he supported growth from £96m to £205m in twelve months. As CFO of Online4baby, he scaled the business from £30m to £45m in 18 months, funding it with a £7.5m HSBC facility. Earlier, at Warburtons, he partnered with commercial teams delivering £500m in annual revenue.

He now brings that same commercial rigour to founder-led D2C and consumer brands.

LinkedIn ↗

Karl Lloyd

Co-Founder & Partner

Karl qualified as a chartered accountant with EY before commercial finance roles at Matalan and The Co-op Group. As FD of ITC Luxury Travel he grew the business from £30m to £80m, completed two MBOs and sold to private equity.

He has been FD of scaling consumer brands including In The Style, Club L London, Lullabellz and Edge e-liquids — professionalising teams, implementing controls and building the models behind fundraises and exits.

LinkedIn ↗

Ryan Choi

Partner

Ryan built his career in commercial finance at Boohoo Group, one of the UK’s largest online fashion retailers, working at the sharp end of trading, margin and performance analysis across high-velocity DTC brands.

He brings that commercial firepower to Praevo clients — turning trading data into pricing, stock and channel decisions that move the P&L.

LinkedIn ↗

And the bench behind us.

The three of us lead the work. Behind us sits a team we can bring in as the engagement demands, so you are never waiting on one person’s diary or paying for seniority you do not need.

5 further fractional CFOs on the bench, so we can match the right operator to your sector and stage — or step up capacity when the work demands it.

5 Heads of Finance, financial controllers and finance managers, so the day-to-day is owned properly rather than squeezed in around the CFO work.

Who we work with

In the trenches with brands like these.

From beauty and fashion to food, drink and consumer health — sold online, through wholesale or off their own shelves. If it reaches a consumer, we have probably steered the numbers behind a brand like yours.

Our partner network

Backed by specialists.

Alongside our own team, we partner with trusted specialists across accountancy, audit and insurance — so our clients get the right expertise at the right moment.

Accountancy & advisory

Insurance & risk

Next steps

Start with a conversation.

Email Nick or Karl directly — your message comes straight to a partner, and we reply personally.
Get a free financial health check on your current setup.
We build a plan — and scale our support as you grow.

nick@praevopartners.com karl@praevopartners.com