Taking Care of Business is a new series which comes the aid of ordinary Irish people who got into extraordinary debt during the Celtic Tiger years and who are now struggling to keep their businesses afloat. With the help of two financial trouble-shooters, Sean Dunne and Tommy Murphy, the series hopes to help these businesses from going bust.
Sean and Tommy have over 50 years experience between them as financial advisers and have a wealth of experience helping those who are facing huge debt and struggling to survive.
With unprecedented access over a number of months to the stories of the six people/families featured in the series, we see how their situations are changed by the intervention of Tommy and Sean. All the stories reflect their own Celtic Tiger saga – huge confidence in their unshakeable success, no worries about taking on extremely large bank debt right up to when the crash happened.
Episode Four: Jimmy Griffin, Baker, Galway
Griffins has been a family bakery in the heart of Galway for the last 150 years. Jimmy Griffin bought the business off his parents for €1.5 million at the height of the boom. Things were good but then the hard times hit. And now he is desperately fighting to keep the family business alive.
Jimmy, a master baker, has tried to diversify his business, but the price of ingredients have sky rocketed and customers are spending less.
Jimmy now finds himself in massive debt. Every Thursday he wakes early just to check if the wages have gone through the bank account for another week. Stuck in his office and dealing with the bank, Jimmy’s shop and head are both in a muddle.
Sean: “We see this bunker mentality time and again. As the business struggles the owner is paralyzed with fear and ends up sticking their head in the sand. We need to de-clutter both the business and Jimmy and get him back to doing what he does best.
He needs help and Tommy and Sean are the ones to offer it, but Jimmy may not like what they have to say.
About Tommy and Sean
Sean Dunne
Sean qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and has over 24 years commercial experience in a wide range of companies and in both national and international markets.
He specialises in the Construction and Property Development industry, retail sector and also in negotiations with financial institutions including Banks and venture capital Companies.
His experience in business has given him a wide knowledge across all aspects including sales growth, strategic growth, debt strategy, debt options, financial restructuring, construction site management, negotiations with external creditors (including Revenue and the Banks) and legal aspects such as corporate governance.
Tommy Murphy
Tommy qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterHouse Coopers and has over 25 years consulting experience, serving both national and international markets.
He specialising in Corporate Strategic Development, Financial Management, Corporate Restructuring & Recovery, Management Development, Executive Coaching.
He has worked with companies across a broad spectrum of industries including Dairy & Food, Drinks & Beverages, Pharmaceutical, Electronics, Banking, and Retailing.
Tommy’s work has varied from restructuring companies, drafting strategic business plans to developing management teams and refinancing companies.