There is a particular kind of strain that creeps into a business before it becomes visible on the balance sheet. A few departures that should not have happened. A once-reliable customer who starts asking sharper questions. A leadership team that spends more time reacting than leading.
It is in that space, between “things feel harder” and “we are in trouble”, that turnaround has become increasingly relevant. Not as a last-minute rescue, but as a disciplined way to regain control while there are still options.
To get a clearer view of what modern turnaround looks like, and what boards and CEOs should be paying attention to now, we sat down with Milly Camley, CEO of The Institute for Turnaround (The IFT). We asked her how the market is changing, why UK businesses so often wait too long, which early warning signs matter most, and how new tools are reshaping what is possible.
Turnaround has expanded “much further up the decline curve”
Milly is clear that the popular image of turnaround is out of date. Fifteen to twenty years ago, she says, “the focus was more on cash crises and financial restructuring”. That work still matters, particularly when liquidity tightens, but it is no longer the whole story.
What she sees now is turnaround being applied earlier, “much further up the decline curve”, to address competitiveness and operating performance before a company is forced into action. That shift reflects the environment most leaders recognise: disruption arrives from multiple sources all at once. Technological change, cost volatility, tighter capital, shifting customer expectations, and many others. In that context, the turnaround mindset becomes less about rescue and more about decision-making under pressure.
A market asking for hands-on operators, with blended skills
That change in definition has been matched by a change in demand. Businesses are increasingly looking for professionals who will work alongside management teams, rather than simply diagnose from the outside.
“We’re seeing more use of an operational and financial blended skill set,” Milly explains, and “more demand from businesses for trusted professionals that can come into the business, be hands on, getting their hands under the bonnet to help during a period of change”.
The sponsor base has broadened too. Turnaround work was once more closely associated with mainstream lenders. Now, Milly notes, independents are increasingly being brought in by business owners, private equity and larger advisory firms, often where someone needs to step into an executive or director role with clear accountability. She also points to a growing US-style dynamic in the UK, with lawyers increasingly acting as brokers of turnaround expertise for boards.
“Adapt. Transform. Succeed.” as a practical leadership stance
The IFT’s strapline, Adapt. Transform. Succeed., is a useful shorthand for how Milly thinks about the discipline.
“The phrase demonstrates that a turnaround approach is about finding the value of a business through transformational methodologies that last and deliver tangible change,” she says. It is constructive, solution-focused, and designed to create conditions where a company can “stay in control and thrive”.
She links that directly to a wider economic point: productivity. The UK has a strong start-up culture, but long-term performance depends on established organisations being able to adapt and improve, particularly when external conditions keep shifting.
The scale of impact, and the scale of need
The IFT’s 2024–25 Societal Impact Report puts numbers against the outcomes that can otherwise feel abstract. It estimates that IFT members:
- Safeguarded 59,562 jobs
- Increased shareholder value by £2.8 billion
- Secured £2.1+ billion of new money to support business turnarounds
The same report also shows why the conversation matters now. It highlights rising distress across sectors, with real estate up 22% and energy up 20%, and reports that 76% of IFT members expect an increase in turnaround demand over the next year.
Spotting the warning signs early, before options narrow
When we asked what leaders should look for, Milly went beyond pure finance.
“Often it’s a lack of profitability,” she says. Beyond that, the signals can include competitor challenge, reduced ability to respond to shocks, loss of key staff, loss of customers, or a change in customer requirements. What matters is having enough visibility to act early. Many IFT members advise companies to keep a rolling 13-week cashflow alongside strong management information, so emerging pinch points are visible, and decision-makers stay ahead of events.
The UK tendency to wait, and what it costs
Why do businesses still leave it late?
Milly calls it a “curiously British attitude”. Sometimes it is avoidance, sometimes it is incomplete information, often it is cultural. Leaders do not want to disappoint stakeholders or funders. In family-owned businesses, emotion can be tightly bound up with identity.
The IFT’s research backs that up. In its latest reporting, 77% of independent members cite cultural and psychological resistance as a key barrier to accessing turnaround support. The report also notes that nearly 60% of businesses are unaware of issues until it is too late.
Her view is that this should change. Turnaround support should not be treated as a last resort. It should be a normal part of good governance to examine profitability, performance and resilience, and to seek help when needed.
When to bring in a turnaround professional, and what “great” looks like
Milly’s guidance on timing is direct. “Definitely in a cash crisis,” she says, but ideally earlier than that.
On choosing the right person, she emphasises accreditation and clarity of scope. An IFT-accredited professional offers reassurance around references, track record and a code of conduct. Fit matters, as does being clear on outputs.
She also makes a useful distinction between sector experience and situational capability. Some practitioners have sector specialisms, but when the stakeholder environment is unfamiliar and the clock is ticking, she recommends “situation first”.
New tools, and more space to deliver operational change
Modern turnaround also has a broader toolkit than it once did. Milly points to the Part 26A restructuring plan under the Companies Act framework as an example of how the legal environment has evolved.
Her point is practical: it can be a solvent process, which keeps directors and owners in control, while creating space to right-size liabilities and enable operational turnaround to take place. Used well, it can turn a narrowing set of options into a structured runway for change.
Technology, AI, and the human work that cannot be automated
On technology, Milly is pragmatic. The principles of operational improvement remain the same, but AI can create efficiencies and support invest-to-save models that improve productivity and free senior talent to focus on innovation and growth.
The IFT’s recent operational research reinforces the point that operational turnaround is intended to stick. In its survey, the most cited outcomes were increased profitability, cost savings, and culture change plus more effective management or governance.
Still, Milly returns to the human foundations of the work.
“Turnaround really is about leadership skills, beyond the technical skills,” she says. It is the ability “to create one version of the truth, to create certainty in an environment of uncertainty, and to create a shared journey”. Her summary is emphatic: “communication, communication, communication”, within the business and with all stakeholders.
The pressure leaders are carrying into the next cycle
Looking ahead, Milly points to ongoing cost pressure and energy volatility, with a further issue that is less discussed but increasingly visible: fatigue.
“Management fatigue is a big issue,” she says. After years of cumulative disruption, leadership teams are “stressed and challenged”, and external support can raise energy and add bandwidth at the point it is most needed. The IFT’s 2024–25 report reflects that, with management fatigue cited by 50% of members as a major issue.
A final piece of advice, and where Valtus UK can help
We ended by asking what she would say to a CEO facing difficult restructuring or change decisions.
“Undoubtedly take control of the situation before it takes control of you,” Milly says. Bring in external expertise in time, and leaders often find the process more empowering than they expected.
At Valtus UK, we work with boards, owners and stakeholders to provide experienced interim leaders who stabilise quickly, create clarity, and deliver change at pace, including turnaround CEOs, CROs, CFOs and COOs. If you want to explore what earlier, more controlled intervention could look like in your situation, we would be pleased to talk.