Fractional CEO Recruitment

Fractional CEO Recruitment UK

FD Capital recruits fractional CEOs for UK businesses — experienced Chief Executive Officers who work across two or three businesses simultaneously, dedicating a defined number of days per week to each. The fractional CEO model gives businesses access to genuine C-suite leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time appointment, with the flexibility to scale the engagement as the business grows. Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder of FD Capital and a Fellow of the ICAEW, pioneered the fractional executive model for finance leadership — placing fractional CFOs and fractional Finance Directors into growing UK businesses since 2018 — and applies the same model to CEO recruitment.

The fractional CEO is the right solution when a business needs experienced, strategic leadership but is not yet at the scale, stage or financial position to justify a full-time permanent CEO appointment. It is also the right model for experienced executives who have run businesses before and want to apply their skills across multiple organisations rather than committing exclusively to one. FD Capital’s network includes fractional CEOs with backgrounds across technology, financial services, professional services, manufacturing, healthcare and consumer sectors.

Call 020 3287 9501 or email recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk. Introductions typically arranged within one to two weeks of brief.

What Is a Fractional CEO?

A fractional CEO is a senior executive who works with multiple organisations simultaneously — typically two to four businesses at any one time — dedicating a defined portion of their week to each. The engagement is structured around a day-rate or retainer, covers a defined number of days per week, and typically runs for a sustained period of six months to two years rather than as a short-term interim assignment.

The fractional CEO differs from an interim CEO in two important ways. First, a fractional CEO is working with other businesses at the same time — they are not available on a full-time basis and are not trying to be. Second, a fractional engagement is designed to be ongoing rather than to fill a temporary gap; the fractional CEO is a sustained part of the leadership team, not a placeholder while a permanent hire is recruited. This distinction matters when assessing whether the model is right for a specific situation — see the comparison section below.

Fractional CEOs are, almost without exception, experienced executives who have held full-time CEO or MD roles previously and who have actively chosen the portfolio model. They bring the judgement that comes from having run businesses — having made difficult decisions, managed crises, built teams and driven exits — not simply from advising businesses or observing them at close range.

Who Benefits Most from a Fractional CEO

Growing businesses that have outgrown founder leadership

The most common situation FD Capital encounters is a business with £2m to £20m revenue where the founder has built something genuinely valuable but recognises that taking it to the next stage requires a different kind of leadership. The founder may be excellent at the product, the client relationships or the technical work — but scaling a team, professionalising processes, managing cash flow under growth conditions and building the commercial strategy requires CEO-level skills that not every founder has developed. A fractional CEO can provide that leadership two or three days per week — enough to make a material difference without displacing the founder’s own contribution.

Scale-up businesses planning investment or sale

Businesses preparing for a fundraising round, a trade sale or PE investment frequently need more senior leadership than they currently have. Investors and acquirers evaluate the management team as carefully as the financials — a business that arrives at an investment process without credible CEO-level leadership is at a significant disadvantage. A fractional CEO can strengthen the leadership team for the duration of the process and provide the credibility that institutional buyers and investors look for in a management team presentation.

Businesses between permanent CEO appointments

When a permanent CEO departs and the business needs time to recruit a replacement properly rather than hastily, a fractional CEO provides leadership continuity without locking the business into a full-time cost base or a lengthy interim commitment. The fractional CEO can also help define what the permanent CEO specification should look like — having lived in the role, they understand the requirements more concretely than any search brief written before they arrived.

Professional services and advisory businesses

Professional services firms — accountancy practices, law firms, management consultancies and financial advisory businesses — frequently operate with a senior partner or managing partner carrying CEO responsibilities alongside a fee-earning role. A fractional CEO can take the operational and strategic leadership burden off the fee-earners, freeing them to focus on client work while the business is managed professionally.

PE portfolio companies at early stages

PE sponsors investing in businesses at the lower end of their deal range — typically sub-£20m EBITDA — sometimes find that the business does not yet justify the cost of a permanent CEO at the level the investment thesis requires. A fractional CEO with relevant sector experience can provide the leadership quality the investment plan demands while the business generates the earnings growth to justify a full-time appointment. FD Capital’s PE executive search practice works with sponsors across all deal sizes.

What a Fractional CEO Does

Strategic leadership within contracted days

The fractional CEO provides the same strategic leadership as a full-time CEO — setting direction, making key decisions, managing the senior team — but within a defined number of days per week. Most fractional CEOs working two to three days per week find that the highest-value leadership activities — senior team management, strategic decision-making, Board and investor management, and key commercial relationships — can be delivered effectively at that cadence, provided the business has a functioning operational team underneath the CEO level.

Board and investor relationship management

Board meetings, investor reporting, and key shareholder communications fall squarely within the fractional CEO’s contracted scope. A fractional CEO attends all Board meetings, prepares Board papers, manages the relationship with the Chair and non-executive directors, and handles investor reporting and communications. In businesses with PE backing, the fractional CEO manages the sponsor relationship including the monthly reporting cycle and strategic review meetings.

Senior team management and accountability

The fractional CEO leads the senior team within their contracted days — typically through a weekly or fortnightly leadership team meeting, individual one-to-ones with direct reports, and oversight of the performance management framework. A well-structured fractional engagement includes clear protocols for how the senior team escalates decisions to the CEO between contracted days, ensuring the fractional model does not create leadership gaps in practice.

Commercial development and key client relationships

The fractional CEO engages in the business’s highest-priority commercial activities — major client relationships, significant new business opportunities, strategic partnerships and market positioning decisions. The specific balance of commercial versus operational work depends on the business and is agreed as part of the engagement brief.

Working alongside a fractional CFO

Many of the businesses FD Capital serves with a fractional CEO also have a fractional CFO or outsourced CFO in place — or need one. The combination of a fractional CEO and fractional CFO gives a growing business a complete senior leadership team at a cost that is typically 30–50% of employing both full-time. FD Capital can introduce both simultaneously, and the two frequently work together across multiple businesses in the FD Capital network.

Fractional CEO vs Part-Time CEO vs Interim CEO

The terms fractional CEO and part-time CEO are effectively synonymous and are used interchangeably across the UK market — both describe a CEO working with multiple businesses on a defined days-per-week basis. The distinction that matters is with the interim CEO model. An interim CEO is typically a full-time engagement for a fixed period — used to bridge a leadership gap, manage a crisis or oversee a specific event such as a sale or restructuring. A fractional CEO is a sustained, part-time engagement running alongside other engagements. For situations requiring full-time, focused CEO leadership — a business in distress, a live M&A process or a significant operational crisis — an interim CEO is likely the better solution. For ongoing strategic leadership in a growing business, the fractional model is usually both more appropriate and more cost-effective. See our CEO Recruitment and Part-Time CEO pages for the full model comparison.

Fractional CEO Costs UK 2026

Day rates vary by seniority, sector experience and engagement complexity. For context, a full-time CEO at an equivalent level would typically cost £200,000–£400,000 per annum in base salary alone — the fractional model at two days per week typically costs 15–30% of that. For fractional CFO pricing comparison see our Fractional CFO Pricing Guide.

How FD Capital Sources Fractional CEOs

FD Capital’s fractional CEO network has been developed alongside our fractional CFO and Finance Director practice since 2018. Experienced C-suite executives who want to work on a portfolio basis — taking on two or three part-time engagements rather than one full-time role — register actively with FD Capital because we are the recognised specialist in this model in the UK market.

When a business approaches us for a fractional CEO, we draw on this network first — which typically allows us to make introductions within one to two weeks. Every candidate we introduce has been personally interviewed by our team, has a verified track record at CEO or MD level in comparable businesses, and has been assessed for the specific requirements of the brief. We do not introduce candidates from a database without a current conversation — every introduction is a considered match.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days per week does a fractional CEO typically work?

The most common fractional CEO engagement is two to three days per week. One day per week is possible for businesses that are primarily in a strategic advisory relationship with the CEO rather than requiring day-to-day operational leadership. Three to four days per week is at the upper end of the fractional model and begins to approach the cost of a full-time appointment for some businesses. The right number of days depends on the complexity of the business and the specific leadership requirements of the engagement — FD Capital advises on this as part of structuring the brief.

Can a fractional CEO provide strategic continuity alongside a fractional CFO?

Yes — this combination is one of the most effective leadership structures for growing businesses. The fractional CEO provides strategic and operational leadership; the fractional CFO provides financial oversight, investor reporting and capital management. When FD Capital introduces both, we ensure the two individuals are compatible and experienced in working in a fractional C-suite model, which requires specific communication disciplines that not all executives have developed.

Is a fractional CEO suitable for a regulated business?

In FCA-regulated businesses, the CEO role typically carries an SMCR Senior Manager Function designation (SMF1 — Chief Executive Function). Whether a fractional CEO can hold this designation in a regulated firm depends on the FCA’s assessment of whether a part-time arrangement is appropriate for the firm’s complexity and risk profile. FD Capital’s FCA regulated firms recruitment practice can advise on this specific question for regulated businesses considering the fractional CEO model.

Related C-Suite and Executive Services

Businesses considering a fractional CEO appointment may also be interested in: CEO Recruitment | Part-Time CEO | Fractional CFO | Outsourced CFO | Fractional CFO Pricing | Part-Time CFO | Finance Director Recruitment | NED Recruitment | PE Executive Search | CFO Executive Search