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Fractional Commercial Director
Turning operational chaos into clarity and profit

Hands-on when things are stuck, strategic when it’s time to grow

About Me

I'm Mark Charleton, and I help small business owners who've hit a wall.

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Perhaps cash is tight, but you're unsure why. Maybe departments are losing money and nobody's noticed. Or you're growing too fast and your systems can't keep up.

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Many small businesses are run on spreadsheets, disconnected systems, and guesswork. I bring clarity.

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I step in, find the bottlenecks, and fix what's broken to help you scale.

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What Makes Me Different
 

I don't come from a single discipline. My strength is connecting the dots across finance, operations, IT, sales, and marketing. That breadth means I can step into whichever part of your business needs support and join it up into a profitable, working model.

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I've spent 25 years building and running businesses across technology and property:

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  • Co-founded and scaled a software distributor to £15m revenue

  • Led business model transformations 

  • Turned around multi-million pound property developments, refinanced, restructured, delivered

  • Owned P&L for 25+ years

  • Designed and deployed ERP/CRM and e-commerce systems to improve efficiency 
     

I'm not a theorist. I've managed cash flow under pressure, negotiated finance deals, rebuilt broken systems, and kept businesses operational during challenging periods. I know what works because I've delivered it.
 

How I Work
 

I may not have formal qualifications, but what I bring is 25 years of practical, commercial judgment; building businesses, fixing what's broken, and making things work.
 

Every decision I guide is built on a simple principle: "Does it save time, save money, or make money?"
 

I get my hands dirty. I do what I say I'm going to do. And I leave you with systems that actually work.

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How I can Help

I provide Fractional Commercial Director support in two ways:

Profitable but stretched

For profitable businesses that want clarity and growth

When you’re wearing every hat, it’s hard to know where to focus. I provide the sounding board and commercial discipline to test ideas, prioritise opportunities, and decide where to invest. Every decision comes back to one simple question: "Does it save money, or make money?"

  • A sounding board for big decisions

  • Guidance on where to invest time and money

  • Joined-up strategy across finance, operations, sales, marketing and IT

  • Build automation and better operations, streamlining processes

Under Pressure

For businesses where profit has slipped or projects have stalled

When profit drops, costs rise, or projects stall, fast action matters. I step in quickly to stabilise cash flow, restore discipline, and rebuild momentum. Whether it’s refinancing, renegotiating, or filling a leadership gap, I step in quickly to stabilise cash flow, restore discipline, and rebuild momentum.

  • Stabilising cashflow and controlling costs

  • Filling leadership gaps and rebuilding confidence

  • Resetting stalled projects and restoring momentum

Industry Experience

Technology

I’ve spent 25+ years in the software industry, co-founding and scaling a two-tier distributor. I worked across the full ecosystem, vendors, resellers, MSPs, and partners and led the shift from licence sales to recurring revenue. That experience means I understand how to help technology businesses adapt, stay relevant, and build sustainable growth models.

Property

I’ve managed residential new build projects from groundworks through to sales, working with surveyors, architects, planners, banks, and funders. I know the commercial pressures and risks of development first-hand, and help businesses streamline delivery, control costs, and protect margins.

 

Alongside residential work, I co-founded a commercial property company. Over 15 years I oversaw acquisition, finance, refits, tenant leases, and long-term asset management securing planning for redevelopment and achieving a profitable exit.

Automotive

I’ve worked in the automotive sector both hands-on and in an advisory capacity. From running a second-hand dealership to advising a growing retailer, I’ve helped overcome operational barriers that unlocked growth. Most recently, my guidance supported the acquisition of a new retail site. I combine on-the-ground experience with commercial acumen to help dealerships streamline operations, expand, and improve profitability.

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