locations

FD Capital Locations — UK & International Coverage

FD Capital recruits and places Finance Directors and CFOs across the UK and internationally. Our coverage spans every major UK business centre, the British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, and the key international financial centres where UK-qualified finance executives are sought. Every mandate — wherever the client is based — is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder and Fellow of the ICAEW. Each location page below provides detailed sector context, salary benchmarks, and engagement model guidance specific to that market.

FD Capital places on all four engagement models — fractional, part-time, interim, and permanent retained or contingent search — across every location. Permanent placement fee: 20–25% of first-year salary with a 12-week rebate guarantee. Call 020 3287 9501 or email recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk to discuss any UK or international mandate.

UK Locations

London

London is FD Capital’s primary and largest market. The City, Canary Wharf, Mayfair, Shoreditch, and the wider Greater London area generate the broadest range of senior finance mandates of any UK market — from fractional CFOs for Series A technology businesses to permanent CFO appointments for FTSE-listed and PE-backed companies across every sector. FD Capital also covers London Financial Controller recruitment and London Head of Finance recruitment with dedicated pages for each role level.

Oxford

Oxford’s business community spans university spinouts at Oxford Science Park and Harwell Campus through to established manufacturing, technology, and professional services businesses across the Thames Valley corridor. FD Capital places across Oxford city and Oxfordshire, with particular strength in life sciences and deep technology spinout businesses at Series A and B stage.

Cambridge

Cambridge’s Silicon Fen cluster — home to ARM Holdings, AstraZeneca, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and over 5,000 technology and knowledge-intensive businesses — is one of Europe’s most active venture capital markets. FD Capital places fractional, interim, and permanent CFOs for Cambridge life sciences, semiconductor, and software businesses with specific expertise in grant accounting, R&D tax credits, and milestone-based investor reporting.

Birmingham

Birmingham is the UK’s second city and a major financial services, manufacturing, and professional services centre. HSBC UK’s headquarters, the Colmore Business District, JLR supply chain, and an active PE mid-market create consistent demand for CFOs and Finance Directors across the West Midlands. FD Capital places across Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, and the wider West Midlands.

Leeds

Leeds is the UK’s largest financial centre outside London, with over 30,000 people employed in financial and professional services. First Direct, Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, Asda, and an active PE mid-market generate substantial CFO demand across West Yorkshire. FD Capital places across Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate, and the wider Yorkshire region.

Manchester

Manchester is the UK’s largest city outside London with a £75 billion city-region economy. MediaCityUK, the Co-operative Group, an extensive technology cluster, and one of the most active PE mid-markets outside London create broad CFO demand across Greater Manchester. FD Capital places across Manchester, Salford, Altrincham, and the North West.

Newcastle

Newcastle is the economic capital of the North East, anchored by Sage Group PLC, Greggs PLC, Newcastle Building Society, and a growing cyber security and technology cluster around HMRC’s Benton Park View complex and Newcastle Helix. FD Capital places across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham, and the wider North East.

Cheltenham & Gloucestershire

Cheltenham’s business community is shaped by GCHQ and the Golden Valley cyber security development, Ecclesiastical Insurance, the Cotswolds owner-managed business community, and the county’s proximity to Bristol and the M5 corridor. FD Capital places across Cheltenham, Gloucester, Cirencester, Stroud, and the wider Gloucestershire county.

Bristol

Bristol combines a globally significant aerospace cluster — Airbus Filton, Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace — with Hargreaves Lansdown, Aardman Animations, BBC Natural History Unit, and one of the UK’s strongest technology and fintech communities. FD Capital places across Bristol, Bath, and the wider South West.

Cardiff & Wales

Cardiff is home to Admiral Group (FTSE 100), BBC Wales, S4C, Principality Building Society, and the Welsh Government’s growing devolved public sector. FD Capital places across Cardiff, Newport, and South Wales, with specific expertise in Welsh Government-funded programme accounting and cross-border trading with the Republic of Ireland.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the UK’s second-largest financial centre by assets under management, home to Baillie Gifford, abrdn, Standard Life, Scottish Widows, RBS/NatWest Group, and over £1 trillion in managed assets. FD Capital places Investment Management, insurance, banking, and fintech Finance Directors across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Northern Ireland

Belfast has become a global hub for financial services technology, with Citi, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Allen & Overy, and Baker McKenzie all operating major Belfast centres. Northern Ireland’s unique Windsor Framework position gives businesses dual UK and EU market access. FD Capital places Finance Directors across Northern Ireland with specific Windsor Framework and cross-border trading expertise.

Sheffield

Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Greggs-adjacent retail and FMCG community, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, and two research-intensive universities create a diverse Finance Director market across South Yorkshire. FD Capital places across Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, and Doncaster.

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Europe’s energy capital — the operational hub of the North Sea oil and gas industry and, increasingly, the UK’s offshore energy transition. Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, Ithaca Energy, Harbour Energy, Subsea 7, and the broader oilfield services community create highly specialised CFO demand including IFRS 6 exploration accounting, decommissioning liability provisioning, and joint venture accounting. FD Capital places Finance Directors for both conventional energy and energy transition businesses.

Surrey

Surrey’s M3 corridor technology cluster — including the world’s largest video games development concentration around Guildford — combines with McLaren, Samsung UK, KIA UK, and a high concentration of PE-backed owner-managed businesses. FD Capital places across Guildford, Camberley, Woking, Reigate, and all Surrey business centres.

Home Counties

The Home Counties — Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, and Kent — represent one of the UK’s most commercially significant regions. Microsoft, Vodafone, Oracle, GlaxoSmithKline, Airbus Defence and Space, and thousands of PE-backed and owner-managed businesses generate broad senior finance demand across the M25 corridor. FD Capital places locally-based Finance Directors and CFOs across all Home Counties.

Remote CFO & Finance Director

Remote and hybrid Finance Director arrangements serve businesses across the UK regardless of geography — from rural areas without a local senior finance talent pool to fully distributed technology businesses and international companies with UK subsidiaries. FD Capital places remote CFOs and Finance Directors on fractional, part-time, interim, and permanent bases with agreed on-site commitments structured to each business’s requirements.

International Locations

Dubai & UAE

FD Capital’s most active international market. Dubai’s DIFC and ADGM financial free zones, mainland UAE corporate tax (9% from June 2023), family offices, real estate, hospitality, and technology businesses create broad CFO demand. FD Capital places for DFSA-regulated entities, mainland UAE businesses, and family offices with specific UAE corporate tax and QFZP compliance expertise.

Saudi Arabia

Vision 2030, the UK-Saudi GREAT FUTURES programme (£3.7 billion in bilateral deals since 2024), Saudi Arabia’s new 2025 Investment Law, and the PIF’s global investment activity create demand for CFOs navigating both UK and Saudi regulatory environments. FD Capital places client-side only — not a placement service for UK executives seeking Gulf employment.

Bermuda

The world’s leading reinsurance domicile. Bermuda’s 15% corporate income tax (from January 2025 under CITA 2023) for MNEs with €750m+ revenue, BMA-regulated reinsurance classes, IFRS 17 insurance accounting, and ILS fund management create highly specialised CFO demand. FD Capital has direct operational Bermuda knowledge through a founding director who worked in Hamilton.

Cayman Islands

Over 70% of global hedge funds are registered in Cayman. CIMA regulation, IFRS 9 fund accounting, FATF compliance, and institutional ODD requirements create specific CFO demand across fund managers, family offices, reinsurance businesses, and structured finance vehicles.

Isle of Man

Europe’s leading international life assurance jurisdiction and a major online gaming centre. IOMFSA regulation, IFRS 17 life assurance accounting, Gambling Supervision Commission gaming licence compliance, and the Island’s 20% income tax cap create a distinctive senior finance market.

Malta

Europe’s dominant iGaming jurisdiction and a major EU financial services hub. Full EU passporting, MGA gaming licence compliance, MFSA regulation, Solvency II insurance, and the VFA/MiCA crypto framework create broad CFO demand. Key post-Brexit EU domicile for UK financial services businesses.

Singapore

Asia’s pre-eminent financial centre. MAS-regulated fund management, VCC fund accounting, MAS family office 13O and 13U schemes, commodity trading, fintech PSA regulation, and UK businesses with APAC headquarters create consistent CFO demand for UK-qualified executives.

Jersey

Jersey’s £1.7 trillion in assets under administration spans PE fund administration, private banking, and trust and fiduciary services under JFSC regulation. FD Capital places Finance Directors and CFOs for fund administrators, trust companies, private banks, and family offices across the Bailiwick.

Guernsey

Europe’s largest captive insurance domicile. GFSC regulation, IFRS 17, Solvency II SFCR and ORSA reporting, Protected Cell Companies, and PE fund administration create Finance Director demand specific to the Guernsey market.

Gibraltar

A global online gambling centre and DLT pioneer. GFSC regulation, Gibraltar Licensing Authority gaming compliance, distributed ledger technology framework (world’s first blockchain regulation, 2018), and the GFSC-UK mutual recognition arrangement for financial services create a distinctive Finance Director market.

Channel Islands

Jersey and Guernsey together manage trillions in assets across fund administration, private banking, trust services, and captive insurance. FD Capital places across both islands for businesses that operate across the two bailiwicks.

International Hub

FD Capital’s international hub page covers the full range of territories, engagement models, and the specific requirements — multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance, transfer pricing, multi-currency reporting — that international CFO mandates involve. All international mandates are client-facing only.

Related Services

Fractional CFO | Part-Time Finance Director | Interim CFO | CFO Recruitment | Finance Director Recruitment | Outsourced CFO | Financial Controller Recruitment | CFO Salary Guide