George Lilley
Business Advisor @Lilley Advisory
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WORK HISTORY
Business Advisor @Lilley Advisory
GB
I deliver advisory services to shareholders who value independent opinion. My areas of expertise include scaling up, exit, re-structure, turnaround, transformational change, digitisation, team development.I have 30 years experience at Board level, mostly as Managing Director. I have started up and exited my own business via trade sale. I taken a privately owned business from £1M to £50M turnover in 7 years. I have successfully transformed divisions within large PLC\'s.Please see my projects list but kindly note that I am currently re-building my Linked In profile so that it reflects my capabilities rather than my employment record. Please ask for a CV if you want one!
EDUCATION
Leeds Beckett University
BA Hons, Management and Administration
FT Board Director Programme
Diploma for Non Executive Directors (BTEC level 7)
Leeds Beckett University
BA (Hons) Management and Administration, Business Administration and Management, General Marketing Specialism
SKILLS
ABOUT GEORGE LILLEY
By July 2025 I will have been working for 50 years. The first five of these years were spent in Boldon Colliery, which, although didn’t transfer many business skills, afforded me a great understanding of work ethic and motivation in challenging working environments. Of the remaining 45 years, 35 have been spent at Board Level within SME’s, with the majority at Managing Director Level, delivering services in a B2B environment.During my career I have presided over the full business life cycle— from the birth of my own business on the dining room table, to exiting via trade sale to a subsidiary of British Land PLC. From 1987 to 1997, at George S Hall, I moved quickly from Branch Manager to Regional Director to Managing Director in 1990. I increased revenue from £1M to £45M, whilst remaining cash positive and delivering above sector profitability. In I witnessed a business reaching the end of its life due to greed and poor leadership. Despite my best endeavours I could not prevent the receivership. The die was cast well before I joined, but I will never forget the anxiety and hardship caused to hundreds of employees. Ultimately this experience equipped me with the techniques required to turn both business, and large contract, performance around. They have positioned me well to advise at any stage of business growth.Business growth is too often confused with developing marketing plans or returning bids— true selling is about deal origination. This route delivers sustainable growth but is a dying art. Ultimately, business growth is at my core. It is more than just increasing revenues, it is about positioning business at the intersection of people, systems, and processes: • Process is fundamental for a business to be scaled up. It is at the centre of optimising profits and managing cash— the lifeblood of any business.• Systems are essential to drive efficiency, but functionality should not be turned to control or micromanagement.• People are, by far, the most important ingredient to deliver growth. People need to be engaged and want to give their best. I find this often requires an increase in trust, and the opportunity to work with more autonomy and responsibility. From experience, most people are capable of much more than they deliver. I believe passionately in my approach to business growth and have implemented it with high levels of success on many occasions. Growing a business is a difficult balancing act with many moving parts. I am an expert at balancing these parts and excel at deal origination and employee engagement.
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