This leading A corporate tax practice had been losing profitability through progressive commoditisation and de-skilling of its services in preparing tax returns for it clients. We interviewed the finance directors of its top clients, all FTSE 250 companies, and recommended new approaches for levering the filing relationship into more lucrative service provision. (ref 389)

A major professional institute, faced with change in its core industry, needed to reframe the professional focus of its members and communicate that change to members and other stakeholders. We carried out in depth research with members in all the major sectors covered by the profession, and other stakeholders who were affected by the profession to understand the scope of the required change and how best to communicate it, and implement it through CPD and new member training. (ref 360)

The leading UK provider of financial and news information to the institutional markets decided to lever its resource base, network and brand to enter the retail market in the UK Germany and the US markets. We worked with the project team to devise a strategy for the UK that involved targeting two segments, which we defined based on our own original and extensive original research. These required our client to play the roles of information and execution services provider and broker. We worked with the project team to define two distinct customer propositions for the two segments of investor and helped to assemble the information and service wrap each required. The service was launched successfully and has a seven-figure client base. Later we reviewed the strategy in the US, and made a number of recommendations. (ref 361)

The leading UK provider of corporate investor information wished to upgrade its delivery technology to include the internet as a basis for accessing new growth. We reviewed the opportunities in its markets in the major European markets and developed a new strategy to deliver corporate information to investors based on a proposition of low cost and minimal delay. (ref 362)

This well-known advertising agency wished to capitalise on its ability to advise clients on marketing strategy as a precursor to creating advertising by establishing a consultancy to earn fees alongside the agency work. We ran workshops with the senior managers and three partners to explore the issues and crystallise the potential proposition, but concluded that there would be a conflict of interest. (ref 363)

This leading firm of consulting actuaries had been losing mandates with corporate, defined benefit pension schemes. We carried out a market positioning study by interviewing pension trustees and pension managers. We then developed recommendations for how to strengthen the brand, re-position the service proposition and how it should be enacted through the sales pitch and ongoing service process. (ref 385)

This international service firm wished to diversify into “acceleration zones” throughout Europe. The financial services market was seen as offering this type of potential. We started by looking at the future prospects for a large number of financial service sectors and reaching a judgment about their attractiveness on the basis of fundamentals. From this, the pensions consultancy market emerged as potentially attractive, so we went on to:

- Analyse the prospect and structure of the consultancy market in five major European countries
- Look at the attractiveness of a number of large actuarial and benefit consultancies as acquisition candidates.
We found two attractive candidates and approaches were made. (ref 364)