Dessert lovers would probably describe Maliha Ahmed ACCA as having the ideal finance role. She is FD of Crosstown, a premium doughnut and speciality coffee chain that operates in 30 different sites across the UK, including shops, trucks and markets. Maliha joined the business back in 2019, initially as a management accountant, before being rapidly promoted.
‘People might not want to go to spend £100 on a meal but they’ll happily spend £10 on a doughnut and coffee’
Crosstown is less than a decade old, having launched as a stall on London’s Leather Lane market back in 2014. It is a fast-growing company with a ‘friendly and open’ culture that Maliha loves. She also loves having the opportunity to make a real impact on the business. During the pandemic, for example, she was able to secure a large VAT rebate that enabled the business to repay some outstanding loans. In 2021, she also played a pivotal role in helping Crosstown to obtain £3m in investment from private equity firm Foresight Group.
Problem-solver
Being a natural trouble-shooter helps Maliha in her role. ‘l love solving things,’ she explains. ‘So, I encourage people to bring me problems because they will come and bite us in five years’ time if we don’t catch them now. I see problems as an opportunity.’
It’s fortunate she has this mindset, given the current tricky economic climate. Rising prices are a challenge for Crosstown, driving up its cost base. As a result, Maliha is focused on helping the company to monitor its overheads, simplify its processes, manage its stock more effectively and generally operate more efficiently. She has also created management accounts that provide greater visibility around what is happening in the business.
‘If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person and they’ll go and do it’
Still, despite the challenges, Maliha is optimistic about Crosstown’s prospects. ‘In a recession, people might not want to go to a restaurant and spend £100 on a meal,’ she says, ‘but they’ll happily come to Crosstown and spend £10 on a doughnut and coffee because it makes them feel good about themselves.’ In addition, Ahmed believes Crosstown has a great opportunity to expand internationally.
Basics
2014
Year founded
30
Number of branches
200+
Number of employees
£8m
Turnover in FY2022/23
1.5 million
Number of doughnuts sold every year
From Karachi to London
It’s not surprising that Maliha has an international outlook, given that she grew up in Pakistan. She’s loved numbers ever since childhood and studied for a degree in commerce at the University of Karachi. At the age of 21, however, she moved to the UK, where she has now lived for more than two decades.
A career in finance seemed a logical progression from her degree studies, but Maliha’s lack of experience made it difficult for her to land a job in her new country. In the end, she did some voluntary bookkeeping work for a construction company, which helped her to gain employment with health and beauty retailer Superdrug, initially as an accounts payable clerk.
‘I love contributing to other people; I’m here to make a difference to the planet’
Maliha stayed with Superdrug for several years before moving on to wholesale stationery business Spicers, where she worked as a management accountant (and qualified with ACCA) and later property consultancy Valmax. The role at Crosstown followed on from there.
Pushing the limits
Being FD of Crosstown is a high-pressure role, but Maliha seems to thrive under the pressure. This is just as well, because in addition to being a single mother to ‘two amazing kids’, she also provides professional support to a fitness company in her spare time.
‘People say if you’re busy, you can’t do things,’ she says. ‘I think if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person and they’ll go and do it.’
Nevertheless, Maliha is also acutely conscious of the importance of mental health and the need to have a balance between work and life. She might work for a doughnut company, but she prioritises personal fitness and recently completed the London to Paris Bike Ride. She has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. As she puts it: ‘I’m in that space of how can I test what my potential is?’
‘I want to create a culture where women from all backgrounds can work together’
Another focus area for Maliha is personal development. She has done a leadership programme with San Francisco-based training provider Landmark and coached other people on Landmark programmes. In fact, supporting others is generally very important to her. One of things she enjoys about Crosstown is the fact she’s helping to create good jobs for young people. ‘I love contributing to other people,’ Ahmed says. ‘I’m here to make a difference to the planet.’
Having grown up with six brothers, Maliha is keen to connect with her feminine side. That’s why one of her dreams for the future is to launch her own wellness business targeted at women. She hasn’t quite hammered out all the details of exactly what that enterprise will look like, but she describes her vision this way: ‘I want to create my own business around women, to empower women, and to create a culture where women from all backgrounds can work together.’
But given her love of health and fitness, how does Maliha resist Crosstown’s delicious doughnuts?‘I don’t resist them,’ she happily admits. ‘I really enjoy my doughnuts because they are made of sourdough. And sourdough is my weakness.’
