Noctis

Unlocking value : Driving growth

Finance Director

Matthew Halstead

I'm an entrepreneurial, energetic and pragmatic Finance Director with 16 years' experience supporting non-profit and for-profit organisations to achieve profitable growth.

I love a challenge and enjoy working with ambitious SMEs that offer novel technologies and tech-enabled propositions to disrupt B2B and B2C markets. I've worked across sectors including automotive, real estate, international & national charities, and mental health, and have a broad range of leadership, professional and technical skills that I apply at Executive and Board levels.

In addition, I'm a self-funded PhD Candidate in Quantum Chemistry, and a Trustee / Board Director of Catch22, a social business that designs and delivers public services that build resilience and aspiration in people and communities. My research work, focussing on the issue of oil extraction in the Niger Delta, is included for interest and reference!

Services

Strategic & operational finance
Finance, operations, fundraising & restructuring to achieve sustainable business models that balance ambitious growth and profitability.

Executive Management
Building and developing high-performing finance, operations, and growth teams to drive change and achieve lean and profitable growth.

Data-driven analysis & strategy
Financial modelling, business intelligence & go-to-market strategy execution to drive effective decision-making.

CLIENTS

I am proud to work with my clients...

Testimonials

...and greatly appreciate their feedback

Fundraising & Strategic Finance

I sought Matt's help when gearing up to raise our next rounds of investment (Seed, Series A & Series A+). His ability to sit back and take a wider view of the business without diving straight into the nitty gritty blew me away. He understood our business inside and out and this truly showed through the forecasting model and business intelligence dashboard he built for us. I genuinely and literally use this model to drive our business strategy. This granular detail has helped us clearly communicate with VC's and Angels and helped raise our next round of investment.
Mike Grindy
CEO and Founder at Dropless
Project Management

On Our Radar worked with Matt to deliver our 2019 Nigeria Elections Reporting project.

Matt was critical to the success of the project, supporting us to (1) win the work and structure the contract, (2) facilitate the co-design process and (3) project manage the deployment and delivery of the solution; a customised version of our Radius software.

The project was a great success enabling election observers to confidently report on incidences around the election period. Matt's attention to detail, responsiveness and care throughout the project was exceptional.

We have worked with Matt for many years and really value his expertise, attitude and approach. We very much look forward to working with him again in the future.
Laura Jump
CEO at On Our Radar
Strategic & Operational Finance

Matt came in initially to help us improve our financial and operational systems which significantly relieved the stress they gave us day-to-day. He then went on to build a complete financial model of our business which in its detail, is incredible, and also really easy to use.

The bad news for Matt is that we now can't let him go and can't recommend him highly enough for those in need of his services. He's a pleasure to work with.
Leo Mellis
Founder at The Cotton Story
Research

Matt's creative and analytical approach was a great asset to our recent work on the economics of artisanal oil refining in the Niger Delta. The topic is complex and opaque, but using vast sets of field data, Matt generated a rigorous economic model and graphical visualisations to highlight trends in the evolution of the informal industry, supported by a clear and comprehensive narrative.

We have since used this information to develop evidence-based policy recommendations for the Federal Government and international oil companies, which were well received. This will go a long way towards advancing the debate on finding solutions to a problem that has hindered economic development, damaged the environment, and stabilisation in Nigeria for decades.
Stakeholder Democracy Network
Strategic Finance

I was very impressed with the simplicity in which Matt conveyed complex ideas. This is one of my favourite business model formats I've seen to date.
Adib Bamieh
Director and Interim COO for Technology Startups
Fundraising & Strategic Finance

We engaged Matt to help us rebuild our financial model and forecast. From the start he was very engaged and his understanding of B2B SaaS metrics and our general business requirements meant he was able to capture the detail quickly. The end product is excellent and we would have no hesitation recommending Matt to other businesses.
Fergal O'Mullane
CEO and Cofounder at Validify
Research

As part of our development of a complex piece of research looking at the environmental performance of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, we engaged Matt to carry out an independent review and assessment of the underlying database.

We asked him to replicate and critique our analysis, and help us understand how to make it more robust. He went over the research with a fine-tooth comb, and his written evaluation and formal discussion of the methodology provided us with very clear recommendations on how we could improve our analysis.

Ultimately this has helped improve the quality of our work, and we are looking forward to seeing it published.
Kevin McCann
Research & Policy Officer at Stakeholder Democracy Network
Strategic Finance

Matt worked with Latis to develop a commercial model and help us decide whether to enter the coworking space market via mixed-use development acquisitions. His knowledge of the coworking market, operating models and UK property resulted in a detailed financial model that took into account the intricacies of residential and commercial property development and asset management, tiered debt finance and multivariable sensitivity analysis across a five-year portfolio of acquisitions, benchmarked across national and global property funds.

High level operational and investor metrics and graphical visualisation allowed us to get our heads round a complex opportunity and ultimately enabled the best decision for our business. We really enjoyed working together and look forward to the next time.
Robin Edwards
Investor & Director at Latis Homes
Data-Product Prototyping

Impactt worked with Matt to develop an innovative, simple and efficient worker voice and compliance algorithm, complimented by an in-house supply chain visualisation tool. Matt's ability to translate tough and dense supply chain data and elevate worker voice was essential to the success of the project.

Further, his ideas and depth of knowledge made the entire process smooth and efficient. Very easy to work with, with great clear, outputs, sticking to deadlines each time. We hope to work with him again soon!
Luke Smitham
Senior Project Manager at Impactt
Strategic Finance

Matt worked with us to facilitate our post-merger strategy plan and develop a financial growth model. Our strategy session resulted in a clear, concise and accountable strategic plan; Matt kept us organised and focussed to ensure we covered all priority areas whilst encouraging dialogue and participation – a real team effort!

The financial model incorporated historical accounting information and forecast earnings based on a range of growth assumptions and metrics. This enabled our Management team to consider and test a broad range of scenarios to support decision making around our strategic growth plan.

We loved working with Matt, he balanced professionalism and proactiveness with a great sense of humour and look forward to working together again soon!
Rich Hurtley
Managing Director at Rich Insight
Strategic & Operational Finance

Matt joined us as an member of our Advisory Board after a successful partnership with his former organisation, SDN. He gave us sound financial and operational support as we worked through unique challenges related to our social enterprise.

When a vacancy arose, we appointed him into a new role as Head of Finance and Operations in 2016. In this role, he led on organisational and project operations and established our financial systems, as well as being happy to step in to help with new business and creative aspects of our work. He then led as Acting CEO during my 6 months of maternity leave, giving the team a firm anchor during an important transition.

Since his departure he has remained a friend to On Our Radar and recently stepped back in to support us with our annual accounts submission. He has always been pleasure to work with and I would recommend his partnership.
Libby Powell
Founder at On Our Radar