About
Who we are
Planning for the Best works with ambitious SMEs preparing for growth, transition, or integration. We are a strategic partner, not a consulting firm.
Experience
About the founder of Planning for the Best
Tony Mulvahil is a business advisor and mentor. He has worked with owner-managed businesses in the UK for over a decade.
Tony’s business advisory practice Planning for the Best focuses on growth strategy, governance frameworks, and exit planning for small and medium businesses in a wide range of sectors.
Manufacturing and fabrication
Food production and supply chain
Transport and logistics operations
Credentials
Tony’s professional background
Before Planning for the Best, Tony spent over 30 years in business roles across financial services in London, including HSBC and Barclays.
He now works with businesses across London and the UK. His clients span hospitality, professional services, retail, leisure, design, and social enterprise.
Tony delivers mentoring through the national Help to Grow programme, which gives government-backed support to senior SME leaders. He also mentors privately, working directly with owners and directors on strategy, leadership, and business transitions.
He is a senior lecturer at Claude Littner Business School, where he leads Knowledge Exchange. He connects academic staff with industry leaders to support business growth.
Approach
What sets Tony’s work apart
Tony offers clear insights that allow owner-managers to introduce structure and accountability into their businesses. This approach helps his clients move from running the business day-to-day to stepping up as an owner.
Focusing on both mentoring and coaching, Tony uses a balanced approach that is determined by the clients’ needs and the stage of the engagement.
Tony is also naturally oriented toward mentoring and draws on his extensive commercial and academic experience to offer frameworks, challenge assumptions, and open valuable strategic perspectives for his clients.
Unique style
Why it works
Tailored to You
No two businesses or leaders are the same. Tony adapts his approach to your goals, situation and working style, combining mentoring and coaching to give the right support at the right time.
Honest Challenge
Tony brings an experienced, independent perspective and isn’t afraid to ask the difficult questions. He’ll challenge your assumptions, explore the bigger picture and have the conversations that can lead to better decisions.
Focused on Action
Good conversations need to lead somewhere. Each session ends with clear, practical next steps and a commitment to action, helping you turn fresh thinking into meaningful progress.
Three principles guide everything we do at Planning for the Best
How we support our clients
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Clear conversations
Honest feedback backed by clear direction is how real progress happens
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Practical action
Implementation matters more than theory, and we’re here to support you along the way
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Partnership
Working alongside you, not above you, providing a practical, personal approach
Leadership
Tony brings decades of operational leadership
When working with Planning for the Best, you get an experienced business advisor who fully understands your world.
Some of our areas of expertise are:
Factory floor management and production scaling
Supply chain optimization and logistics restructuring
Team building and organizational transformation
The sectors our clients come from
⚙︎ Manufacturing and fabrication
⚙︎ Food production and supply chain
⚙︎ Transport and logistics operations
⚙︎ Industrial services & multi-site businesses
What people say about working with us
❝ Planning for the Best helped us bring more structure to the business. The work gave us clearer roles, stronger operational thinking, and greater confidence about how to grow. Tony brought clarity, structure and practical momentum to our growth plans.❞
- Ruth-Anne Lynch - Director of Finance and Administration, TPYL
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