Fundraising & Transaction Support

About Our Founder — Adrian Lawrence FCA

FD Capital was founded by Adrian Lawrence FCA, a Fellow of the ICAEW with over 25 years of senior finance experience across private equity-backed businesses, fundraising rounds and transaction-led mandates. Adrian holds an ICAEW practising certificate in his own name and oversees every fundraising and transaction support mandate personally — there are no junior account managers running our searches.

Fundraising and transaction support is one of the areas where experience compounds most. The CFO who has already closed a Series B, navigated a Big 4 due diligence process, or run the finance workstream through a sell-side transaction brings a fundamentally different calibre of execution from someone doing it for the first time. FD Capital’s network includes CFOs and FDs who have completed equity raises, debt facilities, M&A deals and exits across PE-backed SMEs, scale-ups and owner-managed businesses since 2018.

FD Capital is a recognised Living Wage Employer and accredited by the Good Business Charter. Companies House registration number 13329383.

FD Capital places interim and fractional CFOs and Finance Directors into UK businesses going through a fundraising round, an M&A transaction, a debt refinancing, or an exit. These are situations where the finance function is suddenly under intense scrutiny from investors, lenders, advisors and regulators — and where the quality of the CFO leading the workstream often determines the valuation, the terms, and whether the deal completes at all.

Our network includes CFOs with direct, repeat experience of the processes that define a successful raise or transaction: building the financial model investors will interrogate, managing the BVCA-standard data room, running a Big 4 due diligence workstream, negotiating term sheets alongside corporate finance advisors, and stewarding the business through to completion. Whether you are raising Series A equity, refinancing a senior debt facility, preparing for a trade sale, or managing a management buy-out, the right interim CFO brings calm execution to a process that can otherwise overwhelm a growing finance team.

Call 020 3287 9501 or email recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk. Typical time-to-shortlist is 5–10 working days.

When You Need a Fundraising or Transaction Support CFO

The trigger for most fundraising and transaction support mandates is a forthcoming event — a raise, a sale, a refinancing — combined with a recognition that the existing finance team cannot absorb the additional workload without compromising either the transaction or business-as-usual operations. Common scenarios we recruit for:

Series A, B or C equity fundraising — investor-grade financial modelling, KPI validation, data room preparation, Q&A management, board-level support through to completion
PE buyout or minority investment — vendor due diligence support, management presentations, historical financial analysis, covenant design discussions
Debt refinancing or growth debt facility — lender packs, forecasting against covenants, relationship management with the credit team
Sell-side M&A and exits — information memorandum support, financial due diligence responses, working capital negotiations, completion accounts
Buy-side M&A — target company due diligence, integration planning, synergy validation, deal model construction
Management buy-outs (MBOs) and management buy-ins (MBIs) — structuring the deal, managing the lender relationship, preparing the business plan

In each of these cases the interim or fractional CFO sits alongside the corporate finance advisor, the legal team and the existing management — bringing finance-function depth that outside advisors cannot replicate and that the permanent FC or FD often does not yet have. See also our interim CFO service and fractional CFO service for adjacent engagement models.

What Distinguishes a Good Fundraising CFO

Any qualified accountant can produce a set of accounts. Far fewer can sit across from a PE investor’s financial due diligence team and defend the assumptions in a three-year forecast with the specificity and composure that protects valuation. The difference between a good and poor fundraising CFO is rarely visible on a CV — it shows up in the way they handle the process.

Specific capabilities we verify at interview for fundraising and transaction mandates:

Investor-grade financial modelling — three-statement models with scenario analysis, cohort analysis, unit economics, sensitivity tables. Most candidates claim this; not all can demonstrate it under time pressure
Data room management — experience building and maintaining a structured data room, not just uploading documents to a shared folder
Due diligence response management — specifically, experience responding to financial, tax and commercial due diligence queries from ICAEW-regulated advisors
Completed transactions on their CV — ideally in the range and sector relevant to yours. A CFO who has completed three Series A rounds brings materially different execution than one who has completed zero
Working relationship with corporate finance advisors — comfort operating alongside the deal team rather than delegating everything to them
Ability to continue running the business — a deal that goes well but destroys operational performance during the process is not a good outcome

For a deeper view of the CFO’s role across different stages of fundraising, see our article on the optimal role of an interim CFO during fundraising and our piece on how an outsourced CFO can increase company valuation before fundraising or exit.

Engagement Models and Typical Cost

Fundraising and transaction support engagements are typically time-bound and outcome-focused rather than open-ended. Most fall into one of three structures:

Pre-transaction preparation (3–6 months before process launch) — usually 2–3 days per week. The CFO spends time cleaning the numbers, building the model, preparing the data room, and getting the business ready for scrutiny. This is the highest-value phase but often the one companies underinvest in
Active transaction management (process launch to completion) — typically 3–5 days per week for 3–6 months. Intense, deadline-driven, Q&A-heavy, requiring near-full-time availability during the live process
Post-completion integration (3 months post-deal) — 1–2 days per week. Handover to the permanent CFO, investor reporting cadence setup, covenant monitoring processes bedded in

Current UK day rates for fundraising and transaction-experienced CFOs in 2026:

£1,000–£1,400 per day — interim CFO with three to five completed transactions, mid-market experience
£1,300–£1,800 per day — senior interim CFO with PE portfolio experience and multiple completed exits
£1,500–£2,500+ per day — top-tier transaction CFO used to institutional PE processes, large deal sizes, regulated sectors

These rates reflect the scarcity of genuinely transaction-experienced CFOs in the UK market and the risk-adjusted value they bring. A single percentage point of valuation improvement on a £20m exit is £200,000 — a multiple of the total CFO cost. For benchmarking against adjacent roles, see our UK CFO salary guide.

How FD Capital Recruits Fundraising CFOs

Our process has been refined across more than 200 senior finance placements since 2018, with fundraising and transaction mandates forming a growing share of our recent work. For time-sensitive transaction roles, the process is compressed:

Briefing call (Day 1). A detailed conversation covering the transaction type, timing, sector, size of deal, existing finance team composition, and the specific gaps the interim CFO needs to fill
Role specification (Days 1–2). Written brief covering mandate, days per week, day rate, target start date. Signed off before we approach candidates
Candidate search (Days 2–5). We draw from our active database of transaction-experienced CFOs, with targeted outreach to known individuals with recent completions in your sector or at your deal size
Shortlist presentation (Days 5–7). Three to five vetted candidates, each with a written assessment covering their transaction history, strengths, gaps, day rate, availability, and our view on fit
Interviews and selection (Days 7–12). Coordinated interviews, structured feedback, decision support
Contract and onboarding (Days 12–15). Candidate typically starts within 15 working days of initial briefing. For urgent situations — breaking transactions, departing CFO mid-process — we can accelerate this further

Every mandate is overseen by Adrian Lawrence personally. For regulated sectors and larger deal sizes, Adrian will attend the briefing call and the initial candidate interviews himself.

“We needed an interim CFO within two weeks to take us through a Series B raise. FD Capital presented four candidates within five working days — the one we selected closed the round with a valuation 30% above our original target. Adrian was personally involved throughout.”

— Founder & CEO, PE-backed B2B SaaS business, £12m ARR

Sector Considerations

SaaS and technology. ARR, MRR, gross revenue retention, net revenue retention, CAC payback, LTV/CAC ratios — investor-grade SaaS metrics are non-negotiable. CFO needs current, direct experience with recurring revenue models. See our fractional CFO cluster for scale-up specific support.

E-commerce and consumer. Stock-holding, working capital cycles, channel and product margin analysis. Seasonality-aware forecasting. See our e-commerce CFO page.

Regulated financial services. FCA-regulated businesses require a CFO with regulatory reporting experience alongside transaction skills. See our financial services CFO page.

Healthcare and life sciences. R&D capitalisation, grant accounting, specific regulatory reporting. Sector-experienced CFOs are scarce and command premium rates.

Private equity portfolio companies. The reporting cadence, covenant discipline and value creation plan alignment expected by PE investors requires CFOs who have operated inside a portfolio company previously — not just completed one transaction.

Supporting Content & Resources

Articles from our insights team that sit alongside this service:

Frequently Asked Questions

How quickly can you place a fundraising CFO?
For genuinely urgent transactions we have shortlisted within 5 working days and placed within 15. Typical time-to-shortlist is 5–10 days; typical time-to-start is 2–3 weeks from initial briefing.

Will the interim CFO work alongside our existing finance team?
Yes, always. The interim CFO integrates with the existing finance function rather than replacing it — typically working alongside the FC or Financial Director who continues to run business-as-usual while the interim leads the transaction workstream.

Do you place for sell-side M&A as well as fundraising?
Yes. Our CFOs have completed sell-side processes, trade sales, secondary buyouts and public market exits alongside equity and debt fundraising.

Can the interim CFO continue part-time after the transaction completes?
Around half of our fundraising interim CFOs transition into a continuing fractional role post-completion, typically 1–2 days per week for 3–6 months to support investor reporting setup, covenant monitoring and handover to a permanent CFO.

What if the transaction falls through?
Engagements are structured with appropriate notice periods. If a transaction is withdrawn or delayed, the CFO can typically be retained at reduced days for ongoing work or released with standard notice. We build in flexibility during the briefing call.

How does cost compare to a full corporate finance advisor?
An interim CFO complements rather than replaces the corporate finance advisor. CF advisors typically charge a success fee of 1–3% of transaction value; an interim CFO provides the internal finance leadership that makes the advisor’s work possible. The two roles are distinct and both are typically required on transactions above £10m.