Our People

Andrew Pepper has been providing solutions to underperforming businesses for over sixteen years.  He has advised Lenders and Directors on all aspects of corporate restructuring, from leading turnaround engagements to being appointed an administrator of a business.   Andrew is a Chartered Accountant and a former Partner of Kroll and BDO – he has also held senior positions in KPMG and PwC during his career.

 

A specialist in the ABL, Retail and Leisure sectors, Andrew has led a number of advisory engagements on large and small businesses including Morgan Limited, Unwins plc, “Slug & Lettuce”, and Collins & Aikman.  Andrew has also worked in an advisory capacity across Europe in cross jurisdictional ABL transactions in Germany, Poland and Romania.  Over the last few years, a large number of these engagements have involved businesses turning over in excess of £60 million per year.  Equally Andrew has personally dealt with many smaller businesses, where hands-on control has been essential.

 

Together with his experience in dealing with retail businesses turning over in excess of £1.2 billion, Andrew has found time to advise Trustees of a top five UK charity on the restructuring of its commercial activities. In 2006 Andrew was ranked 48 in Retail Week’s Top 100 Power List.

 
 

Paul McGowan
Chief Operating Officer

 

Paul McGowan is a founding partner of Hilco UK, and the Chief Operating Officer of Hilco Commercial. Paul is a Chartered Accountant and has worked with a leading big four accountancy practice in London.

Paul left accountancy to move into the fashion industry occupying a number of senior financial positions. Paul has a great deal of experience in operational and financial restructuring and his initiative, flair and drive is well regarded in both the retail and restructuring industries.

Paul joined Hilco UK as a Partner at the inception of Hilco’s European business and is responsible for all operational aspects of the UK business.

 

Howard Gunn
Chief Financial Officer
howard.gunn@hilcouk.com

 

Howard, having trained as an accountant at Peat, Marwick Mitchell & Co. in the late 1970s, established a small business involved in the trade and retail distribution of high security products. He then entered the computer industry and became Finance Director and Company Secretary of CHS Electronics Plc, one of the principal computer distribution companies in the UK, for over 10 years with responsibility for all finance functions, credit management and human resources.

 

Howard left the computer industry to join Hilco UK in September 2003 and is now the Chief Financial Officer.
 

  

John Freise
Vice President of Operations
John.Freise@hilcouk.com

 

John worked with Hilco Merchant Resources since 1999 in the US as a Senior Lead Consultant on deals such as Mervyns Dept. Stores, PharMor,  Wilson’s Leather,  Musicland Stores, Just for Feet, Country Roads.

 

Prior to that John was Vice President Sales at Lesco, Inc, Cleveland, OH where he was responsible for the management of the overall sales and profit generated by three sales channels; Service Centers, Golf Courses, and Key Accounts.

 

From 12/91 until 8/95 John was Vice President Stores at Roses Discount Stores, Henderson, NC.  From 07/84 – 12/91 John worked in senior positions at Target Stores, Minneapolis after a spell at Macy’s Department Stores, Kansas City, MO.
 

 

Investment Director

 

Chris is a Chartered Accountant, who trained with one of the UK‘s largest restructuring practices and has nine years experience in assisting companies in financial distress. During this time Chris has worked on some of the largest corporate restructuring projects undertaken in recent years.

 

Chris has undertaken crisis management roles and has experience in maximizing value in the telecommunications, engineering, retail and automotive sectors.
 

 

Henry Foster

Investment Director

 

Henry is a chartered accountant with over seven years experience in corporate recovery and restructuring.  During these seven years, Henry has advised various stakeholders in a number of corporate restructurings in sectors including manufacturing, engineering, telecommunications and retail.  These engagements have involved companies with turnovers ranging from £1 million to in excess of £1 billion.  Henry's roles have included cash flow management and crisis stabilisation as well as restructuring options analysis and implementation in order to preserve asset values and enhance and maximise the future value of businesses.
 

Ben Shapiro

Investment Director

 

Ben Shapiro recently joined Hilco with ten years of corporate finance and restructuring experience across the retail, property, manufacturing, telecoms & media.   Trained at the Kalchas Group as a Strategy Consultant, Ben subsequently worked for NTL during which he was part of the CRO team on the NTL Europe restructuring before and after NTL’s exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

 

Ben’s recent corporate finance and restructuring roles have included advising on the reverse take-over of underperforming quoted media business, refinancing of a distressed UK manufacturer, product and customer rationalisation for loss-making UK leisure business and secondary acquisition of an underperforming portfolio of Scandinavian private equity investments.  Ben also has experience of SME transactions having founded Freehold Solutions Limited, an investment vehicle focussed on executing sale and leasebacks for SMEs in financial distress.

 

 

Steve has undertaken a number of cash flow management and stakeholder advisory roles, advising on restructuring options and their implementation in order to deliver improved performance and optimise stakeholder value.

Prior to joining Hilco, Revan worked as a consultant in the Strategy & Operations practice of Deloitte Consulting, and as a manager at Archstone Consulting and SD Retail Consulting, based in London. She has experience in the consumer products, telecom, insurance, healthcare and retail sectors. Skills include oraganisational design, customer experience and in-store enhancement, IT implementation support and risk mitigation, outsourcing, business process mapping and re-design, strategic cost reduction, and new business development.