Your business is profitable.
It's also bleeding cash.

The Slow Bleed exposes the hidden velocity problem killing otherwise healthy businesses — and gives you the framework to fix it. The Cash Conversion Velocity methodology, built from 45 years of operating across four continents.

70%
of failures are profitable
companies that ran out of cash
45
years of practitioner
experience behind the framework
4
continents of real-world
operating model data
Buy the book Read chapter one free
Choose your format

Four ways to read
The Slow Bleed

Direct from the author. No middlemen. Better price, full support, and your purchase directly funds independent publishing.

📕
Signed first edition
Hardback
£39.95 + P&P
Perfectbound, 8.5×11, duplex matte covers. Signed by the author, shipped with the CCV diagnostic worksheet. UK delivery 3–5 days.
Order signed copy
📖
Paperback
£29.99
Same content, lighter format for travel and everyday reference.
Coming soon
📱
Best value
eBook
£19.95
Instant download — EPUB & PDF included. Read on any device.
Buy & download
🎧
Audiobook
£24.95
Read by the author — 6+ hours of unfiltered practitioner insight.
Coming soon
Secure checkout — all major cards accepted
💳 Visa / Mastercard / Amex Apple Pay 📱 Google Pay 🏦 Bank transfer
Prefer to pay by bank transfer?
Transfer to: Redline Press
Sort code: 00-00-00  |  Account: 00000000
Reference: SLOWBLEED + your surname
Email nick@theslowbleed.co.uk with your payment confirmation and we'll dispatch within 24 hours.
Also available on
Amazon Apple Books Kobo Barnes & Noble Waterstones Libraries
Nick Ayton — author of The Slow Bleed

Nick Ayton

45
Years in practice
4
Continents
UAE & UK
Based

Not a consultant. A practitioner. Nick has spent four decades inside operating businesses — restructuring, building, fixing the cash conversion problems that the Big 4 charge you millions to diagnose and then leave you to solve.

He runs an advisory firm helping businesses expand into the Middle East, working with founders and CEOs across the UAE and UK who need their cash cycle fixed, not theorised about. The Slow Bleed is the book he wishes someone had handed him in year one.

Beyond the book

CEO advisory services

The book gives you the framework. These sessions apply it to your specific business — with the author in the room.

🔍
Cash conversion diagnostic
90 minutes
£750
A focused session applying the CCV framework to your business. Walk away with your conversion velocity score, the three biggest leaks, and a prioritised fix list.
12-week cash sprint
12 weeks
From £5,000
Hands-on advisory embedding the CCV methodology across your finance function. Weekly sessions, live dashboards, measurable cycle-time reduction.
🎤
Keynote & workshop
Half or full day
POA
Bring The Slow Bleed to your leadership team, board offsite, or industry event. Tailored to your sector with live CCV analysis.

Book Nick as a guest

Ready-made talking points for your audience. No fluff, no theory — real operating stories that land.

  • 01 Why 70% of profitable businesses run out of cash
  • 02 The CCV framework — measuring what CFOs miss
  • 03 Cash conversion lessons from four continents
  • 04 Why the Big 4 won't tell you about cycle time
  • 05 The practitioner vs consultant divide

Booking details

Nick is available for remote and in-person podcast appearances, panel discussions, and fireside chats. Audiences: CEO, CFO, founder, private equity, family office.

Format: 30–60 min conversations preferred
Tech: Riverside, Zoom, in-studio
Lead time: 2 weeks minimum
Fee: No fee for podcasts (advisory referrals welcome)
Assets: Bio, headshot, and episode brief supplied

Request a booking

Get the first chapter free