CFO Recruitment Agency UK

FD Capital is a specialist CFO recruitment agency placing permanent Chief Financial Officers into UK businesses — from owner-managed SMEs making their first CFO appointment to PE-backed portfolio companies preparing for exit. Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder of FD Capital and a Fellow of the ICAEW, personally leads every senior CFO search. We are a recruitment firm in the traditional sense: we find the right CFO for your business, you employ them, and we charge a placement fee. We have been making CFO placements since 2018 and have over 160 to our name.

This matters because there is a meaningful difference between a CFO recruitment agency and a CFO services provider. Companies such as CFO Centre provide their own CFOs to businesses on a fractional or part-time basis — there is no placement fee because their CFO remains their employee. FD Capital operates both models. We provide fractional and outsourced CFOs directly through our outsourced CFO service. But this page covers a distinct offering: we recruit and place CFOs for businesses that want to make their own hire — permanent, full-time, part-time, or interim — and pay a search fee for the right candidate.

Call 020 3287 9501 or email recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk. Shortlists typically delivered within three to seven working days of confirmed brief.

“Adrian worked with us as our Fractional CFO for six months and we are genuinely grateful for the contribution he made. His financial expertise and calm, professional approach gave us confidence in our numbers and supported better decision-making across the business. I would recommend Adrian and FD Capital without hesitation.”

— Josh Haugh, MAS Technicae Group (International) Ltd, West Sussex

Why Use a Specialist CFO Recruitment Agency

Most finance recruiters treat a CFO mandate as the senior end of a generalist finance desk. A CFO search is briefed in the same way as a financial controller search, screened against the same competency framework, and presented to the same candidate pool — with a higher salary attached. The result is shortlists built from whoever is actively looking rather than from whoever is right.

FD Capital is not a generalist recruiter. Every search we run is for a CFO, Finance Director, or Financial Controller — senior finance leadership exclusively. Our team includes current and former CFOs who conduct candidate interviews themselves. That changes the quality of the assessment at every stage.

It also changes what happens before we speak to a single candidate. A CFO search can fail at brief stage when a client describes the CFO they think they need and a recruiter simply matches keywords. The CFO who excelled at restructuring a distressed manufacturing business is a poor fit for a Series A SaaS scale-up — and vice versa. Because our team has operated in the roles we recruit for, we challenge briefs early. We ask whether the requirement is genuinely for a permanent hire or whether a fractional CFO would deliver better value at this stage. That conversation — before we ever contact a candidate — is where good CFO recruitment starts.

What sets FD Capital apart as a CFO recruitment firm

The combination of ICAEW qualification, firsthand CFO experience in the search team, and a network built specifically around senior finance appointments gives FD Capital a specific advantage over both generalist recruiters and larger executive search firms. A generalist recruiter lacks the technical depth to assess a CFO properly. A large executive search firm will assign a junior researcher to your brief. FD Capital assigns Adrian Lawrence FCA.

We also maintain genuine candidate relationships. Over 4,600 pre-vetted FDs and CFOs are in our active network, many of whom are not registered on job boards and are not visible to recruiters who rely on database searches. A significant proportion of our shortlists are built from candidates we have spoken to in the past three months.

3. Assessment

Every candidate we present has been interviewed by a member of our team before you see them. Because our interviewers include current CFOs, including Adrian Lawrence FCA, these conversations go deeper than a standard recruiter screen. We probe for specific achievements, not job description descriptions. We look for evidence of commercial judgement alongside technical competence. We do not send long lists. A shortlist from FD Capital typically contains three candidates, each with a detailed assessment profile.

4. Shortlist and interview support

Our shortlist profiles include our assessment of each candidate’s strengths, any areas worth probing at interview, and the specific reason we believe they fit this mandate. We help structure interview stages and can advise on assessment approaches appropriate for CFO-level appointments. If we cannot find the right candidates we tell you, and we explain why.

5. Offer management and post-placement

We manage candidate communication throughout and handle offer negotiation. At CFO level this often involves package complexity beyond base salary — equity, bonus structures, pension, and for interim roles, day rate and contract terms. For permanent placements we provide a twelve-week free replacement guarantee. Over 50% of our permanent placements are still in post after two years.

“FD Capital has supported SBS Insurance Services over the past three years through the provision of a Fractional FD/CFO. Their expertise has made a significant difference in professionalising our finance function and delivering accurate, timely management information — exactly what our business needed to grow with confidence.”

— Tracey Rees, COO, SBS Insurance Services Ltd

About Our Founder

FD Capital was founded by Adrian Lawrence FCA, a Chartered Accountant with over two decades of experience in finance leadership and executive search. Adrian holds a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London and is a Fellow of the ICAEW. Before founding FD Capital he worked across private, listed, owner-managed and PE-backed organisations, giving him direct experience of the finance challenges and hiring decisions that CFOs are appointed to solve. He personally leads our most senior CFO searches and conducts candidate interviews himself — which is why our assessment process goes substantially deeper than a standard recruiter screen. He holds a practising certificate and this website is associated with his own ICAEW registered Practice. Every brief Adrian takes is informed by having sat on both sides of the table.

Published Research & Thought Leadership Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder of FD Capital, actively contributes to advancing the understanding of fractional and interim finance leadership in the UK. His recent peer-reviewed publications on ResearchGate explore the strategic impact of these flexible executive models on business growth, transformation, and scalability — particularly for SMEs, scale-ups, and PE/VC-backed companies.

• The Evolution of Fractional CFO Leadership in Modern UK Businesses (March 2026) — Examining how fractional CFOs are reshaping financial strategy in dynamic markets.
• The Strategic Role of Fractional and Interim Executives in Supporting Organisational Growth and Transformation (March 2026, co-authored) — Insights into how these roles drive efficiency, fundraising success, and long-term value creation.

These works build on Adrian’s 20+ years of hands-on experience in executive finance recruitment and reflect FD Capital’s commitment to evidence-based, high-impact solutions. Our placements draw directly from these principles to deliver shortlists in 3–7 days that align with real-world strategic needs.

FD Capital operates in accordance with recognised executive search standards and professional recruitment best practices. We support the principles outlined in the UK government’s executive search code of conduct

We work on both retained and contingency arrangements depending on the nature and seniority of the brief. We are transparent about fees at the start of every engagement and confirm them in writing before commencing work.

CFO recruitment for PE-backed businesses

PE-backed CFOs operate under specific pressures: tight reporting cycles, covenant compliance, investor relations, and exit preparation. We have placed CFOs into PE-backed businesses at every stage of the investment cycle. We understand what PE houses look for in a CFO and can advise on profile, package, and process.

CFO recruitment linked to fundraising

A CFO appointment timed around a fundraise needs to move fast and land right first time. We know what institutional investors want to see in a CFO candidate and have supported businesses through Seed, Series A, Series B, and later-stage raises. If your CFO appointment is linked to a funding round, tell us the timeline and we will structure the process accordingly.

CFO recruitment for exit preparation

A business preparing for trade sale or PE exit needs a CFO who has done it before. The quality of financial reporting, the state of the data room, and the credibility of the CFO in front of acquirers all directly affect valuation. We have placed CFOs specifically for exit preparation mandates and can move quickly when timelines are tight.

Interim CFO at short notice

If your CFO has resigned, been signed off ill, or the business has reached a point requiring immediate senior finance leadership, we have interim CFOs available at very short notice. Call 020 3287 9501 directly — we can often have candidates available for an initial call the same day.

Confidential CFO search

Where a business cannot advertise a vacancy, our network-based approach allows us to run a discreet search without public advertising. We manage candidate communication with full confidentiality and only disclose the client identity at shortlist stage with mutual agreement.

How long does CFO recruitment take?

For most permanent briefs, we present a shortlist within five to seven working days of confirmed instruction. Total time from brief to accepted offer is typically one to three weeks. For interim CFO appointments we can often present candidates within five working days, with some available within forty-eight hours for urgent situations.

What are your CFO recruitment fees?

Permanent CFO recruitment is charged as a percentage of first-year base salary, typically 20–25%. Interim and fractional placements are charged at a day rate of £750–£1,500 inclusive of both the candidate cost and FD Capital’s fee.

What guarantee do you offer on permanent placements?

We offer a twelve-week free replacement guarantee on permanent CFO placements. Over 50% of the permanent CFOs we place remain with the business after two years.

Do you work on retained or contingency basis?

We work on both. For senior or specialist CFO searches we recommend a retained arrangement. For more straightforward briefs where our existing network is likely to produce the right candidates quickly, a contingency arrangement works well. We will advise on which approach suits your requirement at the brief stage.

How is CFO recruitment different from using an outsourced CFO service?

An outsourced or fractional CFO service provides a CFO who remains employed or contracted by the provider. The business pays a monthly or daily rate and does not employ the CFO directly. CFO recruitment in the traditional sense means FD Capital finding and placing a CFO who you then employ or engage directly, with FD Capital charging a search fee. Many businesses come to us unsure which model is right. We will advise honestly — and if a fractional or outsourced arrangement is genuinely better value at your stage, we will tell you that.

Do you recruit CFOs outside London?

Yes. While we are London-based, we recruit nationally and have placed CFOs across the UK including Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge, and beyond. For part-time, fractional, and hybrid roles geography is rarely a constraint.

Can you recruit a CFO for an early-stage business?

Yes — and we will give you honest advice on whether a permanent full-time CFO is the right structure for your current stage. A business at £3m revenue does not require the same CFO capacity as one at £30m. For early-stage businesses, a part-time or fractional CFO appointment often delivers better value. We will advise on structure before we begin search.

Related CFO Services

CFO Executive Search | CFO Headhunters | CFO Executive Recruiters | Interim CFO | Fractional CFO | Outsourced CFO | How to Recruit a CFO | Finance Director Recruitment | Group CFO Recruitment | CFO Salary Guide

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