Private Equity

FD Capital is one of the UK’s most active specialist recruiters of finance professionals for private equity-backed businesses — placing PE FDs, PE CFOs, portfolio finance directors and fractional finance professionals across buy-and-build, growth equity, buyout and venture-backed portfolios. This page brings together our full library of private equity finance resources, recruitment services and guides.

FD Capital places finance professionals specifically for PE-backed businesses — on a permanent, interim, fractional and portfolio basis.

• Private Equity FD
• Private Equity FD or PE FD
• Finance Directors for Private Equity Portfolio Companies
• Private Equity CFO Search
• CFO Recruitment for PE-Backed Businesses
• Recruiting a CFO with PE Experience
• Finding the Ideal Private Equity-Backed CFO for Your Business
• Fractional CFO for PE/VC-Backed Companies
• Fractional CFOs for PE-Backed Companies
• Private Equity / PE-Experienced NED
• How to Recruit a Private Equity Chief Investment Officer

Raising Private Equity

For businesses preparing to raise private equity finance or working through an investment process, these pages cover the financial leadership and preparation required.

• Raise Private Equity
• Navigating Private Equity: A Guide for Entrepreneurs
• What is Private Equity?
• Private Equity vs Venture Capital: Understanding the Differences
• Venture Capital vs Private Equity: What CFOs Need to Know
• Private Equity Terminology
• The Art of Fundraising in Private Equity: Strategies, Structuring and Marketing
• Co-Investments in Private Equity: A Growing Strategy in the UK
• Secondary Buyouts: Weighing the Advantages and Disadvantages
• Buy-and-Build Strategies: Transforming Industries with Private Equity
• How does a UK Company Go About Raising Private Equity? (Podcast)

These guides address the specific demands placed on CFOs and Finance Directors working within PE-backed businesses — from investment to exit.

CFO and FD Profile for PE

• The PE-Ready CFO: 7 Traits Investors Demand Before They Write the Cheque
• The Ideal CFO Profile: Expectations from Private Equity and VC Investors
• The Importance of a Seasoned CFO in a Private Equity Infusion
• Private Equity CFOs: Managing Growth Under Pressure
• How Private Equity Firms Assess Finance Teams Before Investing
• Ready for PE Investment? Finance Team Checklist
• Financial Modelling Secrets Every PE-Backed CFO Should Know
• The Hidden Metrics PE Firms Use to Judge Portfolio CFO Performance
• The CFO Hub Model Used by PE-Backed Portfolio Companies

Value Creation and Portfolio Management

• PE-Backed Firms: How Finance Drives Rapid Expansion
• PE Governance Expectations and How Fractional CFOs Deliver
• Building Dashboards for PE Investors: Fractional CFO Templates
• Building a Private Equity Value-Creation Plan with a Fractional CFO
• Value Creation Roadmaps: Crafting PE Metrics with a Fractional FD
• How Fractional CFOs Use Predictive Analytics to Anticipate PE Demands
• Data-Driven Screening: How Fractional CFOs Help PE Identify Hidden Value
• Fractional CFOs and EBITDA Enhancement: Practical Tactics for PE Firms
• How Fractional FDs Help PE Firms Avoid Financial Pitfalls
• Cash Flow Optimisation in PE-Backed Businesses: Fractional CFO Strategies
• Optimising Working Capital: Fractional CFO Tips for PE-Backed SMEs
• PE Portfolio Risk Management Through Fractional FD Oversight
• Private Equity Compliance and Reporting Simplified by a Fractional FD

Exit and Transactions

• PE Exits and Fractional FDs: Ensuring Financial Readiness
• Fractional CFO Guides PE-Backed Exit Strategy
• Exit Readiness for SaaS: Fractional CFO Insights on Metrics PE Buyers Care About
• Driving Strategic M&A Deals as a Fractional FD in PE-Backed Businesses
• Fractional CFOs in Buy-and-Build Strategies: Unlocking Synergies for PE Firms
• The CFO’s Role in Pre-Pack Administrations: Private Equity Rescue Cases
• PE-Backed Growth: When to Shift from Interim CFO to Permanent FD
• When Private Equity Calls: Optimal Roles of Interim CFOs During Fundraising
• When to Bring in a Fractional FD During a PE Acquisition

The fractional finance model has become firmly established in private equity-backed businesses. These pages explain why and how.

• How Fractional CFOs Support Private Equity-Backed Businesses: Real-World Playbooks
• Why Private Equity-Backed Firms Benefit from Fractional CFOs
• How Private Equity Firms Use Fractional CFOs to Grow Faster
• Fractional FDs vs Interim CFOs in Private Equity: Comparisons and Value
• Growth Buyouts: What PE-Backed Firms Expect from Fractional CFOs
• How a Fractional CFO Prepares Companies for PE Due Diligence
• Long-Term Value in PE-Backed Businesses: Fractional CFO Best Practices
• Navigating Growth: The Impact of Fractional CFOs on PE-Backed Firms
• PE Playbooks: How Fractional FDs Drive Value Pre- and Post-Investment
• How Fractional FDs Drive Value in PE-Backed Tech Companies
• Private Equity Fundraising Support: Fractional FD Engagement Strategies
• Integrating New PE Funds: A Fractional FD Helps with Smooth Transition
• PE-Led Digital Transformations and the Role of a Fractional FD
• Fractional CFOs as Bridge Builders Between PE Firms and Founders
• Fractional CFOs as Risk Architects in PE-Backed Businesses
• How Fractional FD & FD Capital Collaborate with PE Sponsors
• Private Equity Value Creation 2.0: Using Fractional CFOs for Data-Driven Portfolio Monitoring
• Scaling via PE Capital: Fractional CFO Help You Maximise ROI
• Unlocking PE Value: The Fractional CFO Playbook

Understanding Private Equity: Guides for Finance Leaders

Reference guides for CFOs and FDs working with or preparing to work with private equity investors.

• Private Equity Partnerships: How to Prepare Finance Teams
• Private Equity and FTC CFOs: A Perfect Match for Portfolio Companies
• What Makes a Great NED in Private Equity-Backed Firms?
• The PE CFO Toolkit: Managing Leverage, Covenants, and Liquidity in Tech Portfolios
• How to Build a Clean Audit Trail: Fractional FD Tips for PE-Ready Firms
• How to Use a Fractional CFO to Strengthen Internal Audit in PE Portfolio Firms
• Financial Models PE Firms Love Built by Fractional CFOs
• How to Use Fractional FD Expertise to Beat PE KPIs
• Fractional FD’s Checklist for Technology Due Diligence in PE Deals

• Taking on the role of company ambassador with internal and external stakeholder management.
• Boost the company’s value by acting as a value extractor to create a positive investor story.
• Utilising predictive analytics and translating financial forecasting to inform better decision-making throughout the organisation.
• Driving transformation across departments by implementing streamlined financial systems and investing in digital tools.
• Providing leadership by developing a strategy to boost employee retention with a diverse talent pool throughout the organisation.

Companies seeking private equity investors will recruit a CFO with enterprise-level experience. They’ll have a track record of managing every aspect of company finances, including overseeing FP&A, conducting audits, and adapting regulatory changes. Solution-oriented CFOs will cut through the noise of competing stakeholders to tackle challenges as they pop up.

FD Capital was founded by Adrian Lawrence FCA, a Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the ICAEW with over 25 years of experience working with senior finance professionals, boards, investors and business owners across the UK. He holds an ICAEW practising certificate in his own name. FD Capital has been placing finance professionals in private equity-backed businesses since 2018. FD Capital is accredited by the Good Business Charter and is a recognised Living Wage Employer.

To discuss a PE-sector finance requirement, call 020 3287 9501 or visit our Private Equity FD or Raise Private Equity pages.

Private equity CFOs are increasingly becoming data drivers, leveraging real-time data, and forecasting through AI and automation. Data enables CFOs to identify new opportunities for value creation and quickly act upon potential leads.

Companies that lack data tracking and analysis capability fail to realise value-creation opportunities. Recruiting a private equity CFO or FD is an investment that will pay for itself through data-driven strategies that lead to value creation. CFOs will leverage digital technology to maximise data benefits within weeks or months, rather than the time delay that can come from integrating enterprise-resource-planning systems.

Low-cost tech investments can provide private equity-back companies with almost immediate benefits. FD Capital will connect you with a private equity CFO who is a digital native with a track record of overseeing technology investment to maximise value creation.

The evolution of the role of CFO means that companies are no longer locked into recruiting strictly on a full-time basis. Organisations have the freedom to choose to recruit a CFO on a part-time or interim basis as well. Part-time CFO positions offer SMEs and start-ups access to industry-leading talent on terms that make fiscal and operational sense for them.

A start-up may recruit a CFO with private equity experience on an interim part-time contract to oversee the initial 100 days of a private equity deal, including putting KPIs and technology investment in place. A private equity CFO will lay the foundation for the company’s growth strategy by putting the right systems and structures in place to improve financial transparency and identify value-creation opportunities.

FD Capital is witnessing increasing demand for recruiting CFOs with private equity experience on a part-time and remote basis, reflecting the changes in the industry as the role evolves beyond traditional financial management.

Companies seeking private equity funding must establish an investment thesis to provide their funding efforts with momentum. CFOs will set out how to create value from a cost and revenue point of view, directing resources accordingly. A private equity CFO will establish several transformation initiatives that align with the company’s long-term goal and eventual exit strategy.

Private equity CFOs perform the dual roles of influencing and challenging strategies within their company. They’ll not be afraid to challenge the status quo and be a driving force for innovation. CFOs will conduct regular reviews and work alongside other C-suite leaders and departmental management. They’ll adopt an unbiased approach to business activities, ensuring that operational decisions fall in line with the overarching investment thesis and long-term growth strategy.

CFOs act as the CEO’s right hand and provide a bridge between them and the private equity fund by driving negotiations and communicating with both sides.

While the role of CFO has evolved in recent years, CFOs at private equity-backed companies are facing additional challenges and added responsibilities as industries become more regulated. Investors now expect CFOs to provide more data insights and financial transparency throughout the investment agreement, as well as information on environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

CFOs are expected to be able to speak about the company’s operational decisions, as well as its financial strategy. Private equity investors are expecting CFOs to be able to prove their company’s financial resilience through business continuity planning and investing in relevant technology, particularly cybersecurity following the remote working revolution. Risk management is therefore becoming an even greater responsibility for CFOs.

The valuation process is another way that the role of CFO is changing within private equity-backed companies. Valuations were previously compliance-driven, but more regulation means that CFOs must maintain oversight throughout every stage of the deal and its eventual exit strategy to ensure that correct procedures are followed to prevent overstating the company’s valuation.

Outsourcing your CFO recruitment to a specialist agency is the most effective way to find a financial executive with the private equity skills and experience that match your company’s needs. We offer both traditional recruitment services and CFO headhunting services, tailoring the recruitment process to fit the requirements of your organisation.

We’ll start the recruitment process by identifying the specific needs of your company and whether you need an industry specialist to oversee regulatory compliance. Our team will tailor each step of the recruitment process to fit your company’s needs.

FD Capital connects companies with private equity house CFOs throughout the UK and beyond. Start the process of recruiting a CFO with private equity experience by contacting our team at recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk or 020 3287 9501.

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