Publishing: Providing management as well as financial advice

Intersection is a highly original, widely admired motoring lifestyle magazine. It has been described as "a genuine publishing phenomenon" (The Guardian), and is a view of motoring driven by design, fashion and lifestyle. It now syndicates content to newspapers and other magazines in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US, has started a USA-only magazine and is negotiating to publish in Japan.

Simon Walters has been part-time finance director of Intersection Media Limited for three years, and additionally acts as its company secretary, dealing with all statutory matters, tax affairs and company filing obligations.

Dan Ross, the driving force behind Intersection, said:

"FD Solutions allow us to run an efficient, effective business, concentrating on our products and our customers. They essentially provide an entire department that takes care of everything from payroll and credit control to statutory filings and financial planning.

”Beyond that, Simon helps us manage the company by providing constant feedback on operations and strategy, from a rigorous financial viewpoint but always with a wider understanding of the issues and opportunities we face. We're able to draw on this array of services on a 'whenever we need, whatever we need' basis, paying only for the hours we use, scaling up or down as circumstances require.

“Perhaps best of all is knowing, as a small business, that a world-class FD is taking care of our needs, helping us grow while making sure we deal with any obstacles we encounter along the way."

Nothing comes without careful financial control, with Intersection having faced all the growing pains of new businesses. Simon worked on the preparation of a business plan that successfully attracted funding under the government’s Small Firms’ Loan Guarantee Scheme, and monitors Intersection’s current account daily to ensure that excess funds are on deposit.

Simon holds regular meetings with Dan Ross and Yorgo Tloupas, the creative brains behind the magazine, but oversees the entire financial spectrum of the company. And with Dan and Yorgo often abroad on business, Simon is taking an increasingly active management role, dealing with staff issues and liaising with the freelance staff who co-ordinate production of the six-times-per-annum magazine.

With the guidance of these three people, in just three years Intersection has established an unequalled reputation in its sector, grown exponentially in size, and is moving into profit.

By shrewd cost control, deferring management’s rewards and by working extremely hard, this has been done without access to sizeable capital. The result is a disciplined business with a keen eye for opportunity.