Career case study

HousingAnywhere: EBITDA transformation and finance platform build-out

Group CFO ownership in a digital marketplace with 300+ employees and GMV above €0.5bn, focused on growth, EBITDA, acquisitions, financing and audit-ready governance.

In brief

Erik led a full financial turnaround, improving EBITDA from roughly -20% to +20% while revenue growth accelerated from single digits to 20%+ YoY. He secured a €26m loan to fund acquisitions, supported M&A and integration, and built Finance, Legal and IT into an audit-ready operating platform.

Situation

HousingAnywhere was a high-growth European digital marketplace operating in a post-merger and acquisition context. The business needed stronger financial discipline without slowing commercial momentum.

What changed

  • Introduced Zero-Based Growth and a sharper commercial ROI lens.
  • Reshaped cost structures, pricing discipline and organisational ownership.
  • Secured a €26m loan to support acquisitions and accelerated growth.
  • Led M&A financial due diligence and post-merger integration of acquired businesses.
  • Built Finance, Legal and IT functions with stronger controls, forecasting and board cadence.

Outcome

  • EBITDA moved from roughly -20% to +20% within 18 months.
  • Revenue growth accelerated to 20%+ YoY.
  • The company delivered its first EY-clean consolidated audit post buy-and-build, including PPA.
  • Finance became a stronger management system for decisions, not only reporting.

Relevance for CFO mandates

This case is most relevant for boards and CEOs dealing with scale-up professionalisation, acquisition integration, investor expectations, cash discipline and the shift from entrepreneurial finance to enterprise-grade control.

Discuss interim CFO fit