CFO HEADHUNTER UK — FRACTIONAL · INTERIM · PERMANENT

CFO headhunter UK: fractional, interim and permanent CFO placement

Fractional Quest is a UK CFO headhunter specialising in fractional, interim and outsourced Chief Financial Officer placements. We work alongside retained executive search firms when a board-level permanent CFO search is the right answer — and instead of them when the cost, timeline or commitment of a six-figure retained search is the wrong tool for the job. This page sets out the rate cards, the leading UK CFO headhunters, and an honest map of when each engagement model fits.

Reviewed 27 May 2026 by Editorial Team

£700–£2,500

Fractional CFO day rate

By company stage — SME through pre-exit. FACTS row 11–15.

£5k–£14k/mo

Fractional retainer

Monthly, no NI / pension / notice. FACTS row 18.

20–30%

Recruitment fee, full-time

Of first-year salary — £44k–£66k typical. FACTS row 17.

20–35%

Retained search fee

Big Five / UK independents. FACTS row 93.

Brief us on your CFO search →

Fractional CFO

£700–£2,500per day · by stage

Monthly retainer

£5k–£14kno employer overhead

Full-time CFO salary

£150k–£300kbase · £225k–£250k loaded

Time to start

1–3 weeksfractional · 3–6 mo retained

How this guide is put together

Editorial criteria:

Every day rate, retainer band and recruitment fee on this page traces to a row in our public facts log (FACTS.md), each with a primary-source URL.
Per-firm facts in the listicle below (founded year, HQ, offices, practice areas) come from each firm's own official About or History page only — never from third-party aggregators or Wikipedia.
No firm in the UK CFO headhunter market publicly publishes a fee schedule. The industry-band table shows the public picture; per-firm fee cells read 'Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief.'
Fractional Quest appears as the featured fractional / interim CFO specialist. We are honest about it — the listicle below also names the leading retained search firms because for a permanent FTSE-100 CFO, they are the right answer and we are not.

Independence: Fractional Quest does not take referral fees from any firm listed below. The other firms named are not partners or clients of Fractional Quest; they are listed because they are the most publicly-verifiable firms operating in the UK CFO search market.

Source policy: Per-firm claims are footnoted to each firm's own site and refreshed when their About pages change. Rate cards refresh when the underlying FACTS.md rows refresh.

What a CFO headhunter actually does

Three engagement models — retained, interim, fractional — and which one fits when.

What a CFO headhunter actually does

A CFO headhunter is a specialist recruiter focused on appointing Chief Financial Officers and senior finance leaders. The defining feature is proactive search — the headhunter identifies and approaches candidates who are not on the open job market, runs structured assessment, and is paid for the process rather than for posting a job. The term covers three quite different engagement models, and the right one depends on what the company actually needs.

Retained executive search — permanent CFO

The standard model for permanent, board-level CFO appointments. The firm is paid an upfront retainer (typically in three instalments — at engagement, at shortlist, at placement), the engagement is exclusive, and the firm invests in market mapping (100–250 candidates), structured interviews, and reference work before any candidate signs an offer. Fees are 20–35% of the placed candidate's first-year cash compensation. Timeline 3–6 months from signed brief to offer accepted. This is the right tool for a multi-year, identity-defining appointment.

Interim CFO placement

A fixed-term, full-time CFO parachuted in for a defined phase — bridging a fundraise, leading a turnaround, covering a permanent vacancy during a retained search, owning a system migration. Typically 3–12 months at £1,200–£2,500/day. Headhunter fee structure varies — some retained, some day-rate margin. Time-to-start is 2–4 weeks because the interim CFO market is a pool of experienced career interims rather than a search through the wider executive population.

Fractional CFO placement

A part-time CFO — typically 1–3 days per week on a monthly retainer — for companies that need senior finance capability but do not need (or cannot yet justify) a full-time C-suite hire. £5,000–£14,000/month depending on company stage. The headhunter that places fractional CFOs typically runs a curated network rather than a search, so time-to-start is 1–3 weeks. This is the model that did not exist at scale until ~2018 and is the one Fractional Quest specialises in.

Retained search vs Interim CFO vs Fractional CFO

Head-to-head on cost, timeline, commitment and fit. Day-rate and fee figures trace to FACTS.md rows 11–15, 17 and 93.

Retained search vs Interim CFO vs Fractional CFO

Metric	Dimension	Retained search (permanent)	Interim CFO	Fractional CFO
Engagement	undefined	Permanent, full-time hire	Fixed-term, full-time (3–12 mo)	Ongoing, part-time (1–3 d/wk)
Headhunter fee	undefined	20–35% of first-year salary	Day-rate margin or retained fee	Built into monthly retainer
Day rate / cost	undefined	£150k–£300k salary loaded	£1,200–£2,500 per day	£700–£2,500 per day
Monthly cost	undefined	~£18k–£25k loaded	£24k–£50k (full-time)	£5k–£14k retainer
Time to start	undefined	3–6 months	2–4 weeks	1–3 weeks
Notice period	undefined	3–6 months either side	Per contract — usually 1 month	30 days, no employer NI
Best for	undefined	FTSE / PE permanent CFO	Fundraise, turnaround, gap cover	Ongoing CFO leadership at Series A–B / SME
Replacement guarantee	undefined	12 months (Big Five)	Per contract	30–90 days (varies)

Engagement

Dimension

undefined

Retained search (permanent)

Permanent, full-time hire

Interim CFO

Fixed-term, full-time (3–12 mo)

Fractional CFO

Ongoing, part-time (1–3 d/wk)

Headhunter fee

Dimension

undefined

Retained search (permanent)

20–35% of first-year salary

Interim CFO

Day-rate margin or retained fee

Fractional CFO

Built into monthly retainer

Day rate / cost

Dimension

undefined

Retained search (permanent)

£150k–£300k salary loaded

Interim CFO

£1,200–£2,500 per day

Fractional CFO

£700–£2,500 per day

Monthly cost

Dimension

undefined

Retained search (permanent)

~£18k–£25k loaded

Interim CFO

£24k–£50k (full-time)

Fractional CFO

£5k–£14k retainer

Time to start

Dimension

undefined

Retained search (permanent)

3–6 months

Interim CFO

2–4 weeks

Fractional CFO

1–3 weeks

Notice period

Dimension

undefined

Retained search (permanent)

3–6 months either side

Interim CFO

Per contract — usually 1 month

Fractional CFO

30 days, no employer NI

Best for

Dimension

undefined

Retained search (permanent)

FTSE / PE permanent CFO

Interim CFO

Fundraise, turnaround, gap cover

Fractional CFO

Ongoing CFO leadership at Series A–B / SME

Replacement guarantee

Dimension

undefined

Retained search (permanent)

12 months (Big Five)

Interim CFO

Per contract

Fractional CFO

30–90 days (varies)

Fractional advantages:

Cost effectiveBalanced approachTrade-offs

CFO rate comparator

Day rate · monthly retainer · annualised — fractional, interim and full-time at the same scale.

CFO rate comparator

●Currency: GBPVERIFIED · INSTITUTIONAL DATA

Unit

Engagement mode

DAY · FRACTIONAL
ASSUMPTIONS: 220 BILLABLE DAYS · 1.42× LOADED FOR FT

CFO / Finance Directorrange · £700–£3k/day

£700

low

£2k

mid

£3k

high

CFO day rates by company stage

Fractional and interim CFO day rates band by company revenue and stage. Sourced from FD Capital and ScaleWithCFO 2026 rate guides (FACTS.md rows 11–15).

CFO day rates by company stage

Company stage	Revenue	Day rate	Monthly retainer	Typical commitment
SME / owner-managed	£1–5m	£700–£1,000	£3,000–£6,500	1–2 days per week
Scale-up / VC-backed	£5–10m	£900–£1,400	£4,500–£10,000	2 days per week
Mid-market	£10–50m	£1,000–£1,600	£5,500–£12,000	2–3 days per week
PE-backed portfolio	£20–100m	£1,200–£2,000	£7,000–£15,000	2–3 days per week, covenant-led
Pre-exit / fundraising	£10m+	£1,500–£2,500	£8,000–£18,000	3+ days per week, transaction-led

Company stage:SME / owner-managed

Revenue:£1–5m

Day rate:£700–£1,000

Monthly retainer:£3,000–£6,500

Typical commitment:1–2 days per week

Company stage:Scale-up / VC-backed

Revenue:£5–10m

Day rate:£900–£1,400

Monthly retainer:£4,500–£10,000

Typical commitment:2 days per week

Company stage:Mid-market

Revenue:£10–50m

Day rate:£1,000–£1,600

Monthly retainer:£5,500–£12,000

Typical commitment:2–3 days per week

Company stage:PE-backed portfolio

Revenue:£20–100m

Day rate:£1,200–£2,000

Monthly retainer:£7,000–£15,000

Typical commitment:2–3 days per week, covenant-led

Company stage:Pre-exit / fundraising

Revenue:£10m+

Day rate:£1,500–£2,500

Monthly retainer:£8,000–£18,000

Typical commitment:3+ days per week, transaction-led

CFO headhunter fees — the public picture

No UK CFO headhunter publishes a fee schedule. The bands below are the publicly-cited industry conventions (FACTS row 17 for permanent recruitment, row 93 for retained executive search). Treat as orientation, not a quote — always ask for a written fee letter.

CFO headhunter fees — the public picture

Search model	Public fee band	On a £220k CFO salary	Typically used for
Retained executive search (Big Five)	30–35%	£66k–£77k	FTSE / PE permanent CFO, board-level
Retained search (UK independents)	25–33%	£55k–£73k	FTSE 250 / mid-market plc CFO
CFO-specialist boutique (retained)	20–30%	£44k–£66k	PE-backed, scale-up, Series A–C
Engaged / hybrid	20–28%	£44k–£62k	Mid-market functional finance leadership
Contingency (uncommon at CFO level)	18–25%	£40k–£55k	Below CFO; FC / FD / FP&A roles
Fractional / interim retainer	Built into rate	£5k–£14k/mo	Part-time and full-time interim CFO

Search model:Retained executive search (Big Five)

Public fee band:30–35%

On a £220k CFO salary:£66k–£77k

Typically used for:FTSE / PE permanent CFO, board-level

Search model:Retained search (UK independents)

Public fee band:25–33%

On a £220k CFO salary:£55k–£73k

Typically used for:FTSE 250 / mid-market plc CFO

Search model:CFO-specialist boutique (retained)

Public fee band:20–30%

On a £220k CFO salary:£44k–£66k

Typically used for:PE-backed, scale-up, Series A–C

Search model:Engaged / hybrid

Public fee band:20–28%

On a £220k CFO salary:£44k–£62k

Typically used for:Mid-market functional finance leadership

Search model:Contingency (uncommon at CFO level)

Public fee band:18–25%

On a £220k CFO salary:£40k–£55k

Typically used for:Below CFO; FC / FD / FP&A roles

Search model:Fractional / interim retainer

Public fee band:Built into rate

On a £220k CFO salary:£5k–£14k/mo

Typically used for:Part-time and full-time interim CFO

When each CFO engagement model is the right answer

Four scenarios. The cost of getting this wrong is either a six-figure retained fee on the wrong type of hire, or a full-time CFO salary on a phase that didn't need one.

Series A → Series B

Fractional

Two days a week of senior finance leadership, £5k–£10k/month, board-pack ready in 90 days. The Series A → B phase rarely justifies a £225k full-time CFO.

Bridging a fundraise / exit

Interim

Full-time CFO at £1,200–£2,500/day for 6–12 months to lead the round or the sale. Convert to permanent post-close if the fit is right.

PE portfolio bench

Fractional

A portfolio CFO across 2–3 PE-backed companies at £7k–£15k/month each. Covenant management, MI, prep for sale.

Permanent FTSE / PE CFO

Retained

Spencer Stuart, Heidrick, Korn Ferry, Russell Reynolds, Egon Zehnder or Odgers. 3–6 months, £60k–£100k+ fee, 12-month replacement guarantee. The right tool for a permanent appointment.

Top UK CFO headhunters covering 2026

A ranked editorial profile of the leading firms operating in the UK CFO search market. Position numbers reflect order on this page — they are not a quantitative ranking. All facts below come from each firm's own official site (linked at the bottom of each card).

Featured · Fractional & Interim

Fractional Quest

Fractional · Interim Specialist

HQ:: London, United Kingdom
UK offices:: London
Practice areas:: Fractional CFO · Interim CFO · Outsourced CFO · Finance Director · Financial Controller · FP&A · Scale-up / SME / PE-backed
Fee model:: Built into monthly retainer (£5k–£14k/mo) or day rate (£700–£2,500/day)

Best for: Fractional, interim and outsourced CFO placements for SMEs, scale-ups and PE-backed companies

Fractional Quest is the UK platform for fractional, interim and part-time CFO placements. We run a curated network of senior finance leaders rather than a one-off retained search — time-to-start 1–3 weeks rather than 3–6 months, monthly retainer rather than a six-figure search fee. We are explicit about where we are not the right answer: permanent FTSE board CFOs sit with the retained firms listed below.

Spencer Stuart

Big Five

HQ:: Chicago, USA
UK offices:: London
Practice areas:: Financial Services · Technology · Consumer · Industrial · Healthcare · Private Equity
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: FTSE 100 / S&P 500 permanent CFO and board appointments

Founded 1956. The firm states it has 'more than 60 offices in over 30 countries' and describes itself on its own site as having 'over 70 years' experience in leadership consulting.' Its CFO practice is one of the deepest in the Big Five.

Heidrick & Struggles

Big Five

HQ:: Chicago, USA
UK offices:: London
Practice areas:: Financial Services · Technology · Private Equity · Healthcare · Consumer · Industrial
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: PE-backed permanent CFO, CEO & board search, on-demand interim talent

Founded 1953 in Chicago. Describes itself on its own site as 'a premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions.' Lists offices across 29 countries on its locations page. Heidrick's CFO practice is one of the most active in PE portfolio company appointments.

Korn Ferry

Big Five

HQ:: Los Angeles, USA
UK offices:: London
Practice areas:: Board & CEO Services · Total Rewards · Assessment & Succession · Business Transformation
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: Full-service CFO appointment with leadership consulting wrap

Founded in Los Angeles in 1969 by Lester Korn and Richard Ferry. Describes itself on its own site as 'a global consulting firm that powers performance.' The largest of the Big Five by revenue and the most diversified — executive search is one line alongside organisational consulting, total rewards, and assessment & succession.

Russell Reynolds Associates

Big Five

HQ:: New York, USA
UK offices:: London
Practice areas:: Financial Services · Private Equity · Technology · Healthcare · Industrial · Consumer
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: Financial-services and regulated-industry permanent CFO

Founded 1969 on Madison Avenue, New York. The firm publishes 47 offices across 25 countries on its own site. States its purpose as 'to improve the way the world is led.' Particularly active in FCA-regulated and listed financial-services CFO appointments.

Egon Zehnder

Big Five

HQ:: Registered Berlin; CEO based Zurich
UK offices:: London
Practice areas:: Financial Services · Private Capital · Technology & AI · Consumer · Health · Industrial
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: CEO and board succession with an 'all-partner' collaborative model — including CFO-succession briefs

The firm publishes 71 offices in 37 countries on its locations page and describes its 'One Firm' partnership model. Egon Zehnder does not publish a founding year or single HQ city on its own About, Imprint, or Board pages (industry sources cite Zurich, 1964; we cite only what appears on the firm's own pages).

Odgers (Odgers Berndtson)

UK Independent

HQ:: London, United Kingdom
UK offices:: London
Practice areas:: Financial Services · Private Equity & Venture Capital · Technology & IT Services · Healthcare & Life Sciences · Consumer & Retail · Industrial · Public Impact
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: UK plc and FTSE 250 permanent CFO, UK public-sector finance leadership

The UK's largest home-grown executive search firm. The firm describes itself as having 'nearly 60 years' of history (no specific founding year published on its current About page) and operates 'across 33 countries.' Member of AESC (stated on its own site). One of the deepest UK CFO benches outside the Big Five.

Boyden

Global

HQ:: Not stated on firm site (partner-led federation)
UK offices:: London
Practice areas:: Financial Services · Industrial · Healthcare & Life Sciences · Consumer & Retail · Professional Services · Technology
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: Industrial, healthcare and cross-border senior CFO mandates

Founded in 1946 by Sidney Boyden. The firm states 'more than 75 offices in 45+ countries' on its own About page and presents itself as a partner-led global federation without naming a single corporate HQ city. Member of AESC and signatory to its Code of Professional Practice.

FD Capital

Sector Boutique

HQ:: London, United Kingdom
UK offices:: London (Great Portland Street)
Practice areas:: Fractional FD/CFO · Interim FD/CFO · Full-time FD/CFO · Fintech · SaaS · PE-backed
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: Fractional, part-time and interim FD/CFO for SMEs and PE-backed scale-ups

Founded 2018, based in Great Portland Street, London. A niche recruiter for FDs and CFOs across fractional, interim and full-time engagements with a stated specialism in fintech, SaaS and PE-backed companies. Self-described as 'a team made up of FDs and professional recruiters.' Publishes one of the most-cited UK fractional CFO rate guides (used as the primary source for several FACTS.md rate rows on this page).

Marks Sattin

Sector Boutique

HQ:: London, United Kingdom
UK offices:: London, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Reading
Practice areas:: Investor-led CFO Executive Search · Senior Finance Recruitment · PE-backed · Family Office
Fee model:: Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief

Best for: PE-backed and investor-led permanent CFO and senior finance search

Specialist finance recruiter with a dedicated CFO executive search practice. The firm describes itself on its own site as 'specialists in CFO recruitment' with 'over 30 years of experience.' Investor-led brand is positioned around PE-backed and growth-stage CFO appointments.

How we structure CFO engagements

Three pre-shaped bundles. We also write bespoke briefs — these are starting shapes, not the full menu.

PACKAGE

Fractional CFO (2 d/wk)

£3k/ weekPLACEHOLDER · INDICATIVE WEEKLY BURDEN

Senior CFO · 2 days per week
Monthly board pack + 13-week cashflow
FP&A model + KPI dashboard
30-day notice, no employer NI

RINGS

Best for: Series A–B · £2–10m revenue · pre-Series-B

PACKAGE

Interim CFO (full-time)

£8k/ weekPLACEHOLDER · INDICATIVE WEEKLY BURDEN

Full-time CFO · 5 days per week
Fundraise / exit / turnaround lead
3–12 month engagement
Convert to permanent if fit confirmed

RINGS

Best for: Series B+ · fundraise · sale process · turnaround

PACKAGE

PE-Portfolio CFO (3 d/wk)

£4k/ weekPLACEHOLDER · INDICATIVE WEEKLY BURDEN

PE-experienced CFO · 3 days per week
Covenant management + lender reporting
PortCo board attendance
Pre-exit prep playbook

RINGS

Best for: PE-backed portfolio · £10–50m revenue

Our CFO placement method

The five-stage Fractional Quest method — brief, map, screen, place, support — adapted for CFO mandates.

FRACTIONAL QUEST · OUR METHOD

A five-stage method for blended teams.

How we take a founder or board's brief and turn it into a delivery system across core, fractional, network, and outsourced functions.

CONFIRM — REAL PROCESS

01
Diagnose the shape
Stage · pressure · the work nobody is doing.
We run The Team Architect on every brief. Stage, headcount, sector, pressure. The output is the org shape we'd build with you — including the seats to hold for now. We turn briefs down here, gracefully, when the answer is 'not yet'.
02
Scope the seats
Core. Fractional. Network. Outsourced.
Each function gets a verdict and an intensity. Engineering core. Finance fractional at 2.5 d/wk. Paid-media on the network. IT helpdesk outsourced. We commit to days, IR35 status, and replacement terms in writing before search starts.
03
Source the operators
Network-first. Outbound where it needs to be.
Fractional candidates have portfolios, not job alerts. We run from our own network plus a structured outbound for the senior end. Shortlist in 8–12 days. Honest scoring against the rubric — no padding.
04
Embed the engagement
First-week plan. Success criteria. IR35 live.
Calibration calls. Onboarding plan written down. IR35 structure live before day one. We sit in the first cross-functional meeting if it helps. The replacement guarantee runs for 90 days.
05
Manage the workforce
Quarterly cadence. Bridge to core when right.
Monthly check-ins for the first quarter, quarterly after. We surface when a fractional should convert to core (Series A → Series B finance is the modal moment) and we own the bridge. Replacement, conversion, off-ramp — it's all the same firm.

The true cost of a full-time permanent CFO

Public salary data + retained-search fee maths. Both anchored to FACTS.md.

The true cost of a full-time permanent CFO

Public UK CFO salary data places permanent CFO base salaries at £150,000–£300,000+, loaded to approximately £225,000–£250,000 all-in once employer NI, pension contributions and benefits (typically 25–40% on top of base) are added [FACTS row 16, source: ScaleWithCFO 2026].

On top of that loaded cost, retained search or specialist CFO recruitment fees run 20–35% of the placed candidate's first-year compensation [FACTS rows 17 + 93]. On a £220,000 CFO salary, that adds £44,000–£77,000 before the executive starts. Replacement guarantees cover a re-search if the executive leaves within 6–12 months — they do not refund the fee.

The fractional comparison

A fractional CFO retainer of £5,000–£14,000 per month (FACTS row 18) sits at £60,000–£168,000 annualised — with no employer NI, no pension contribution, no recruitment fee, no notice period beyond 30 days. The decision is not 'fractional cheaper than full-time' in every case — at scale and complexity beyond £50m revenue a full-time CFO is usually the right answer. The decision is fitting the engagement model to the phase the company is actually in.

Finance-leadership roles we place

The CFO is one tier of a UK finance team. Day-rate bands trace to FACTS.md row 81 (FC / FD / CFO hierarchy) and the per-role pages.

Fractional CFO£700–£3k/dayLIVE · 0·DEMAND Fractional Finance Director£500–£2k/dayLIVE · 0·DEMAND Fractional Financial Controller£450–£1k/dayLIVE · 0·DEMAND Fractional FP&A£500–£1k/dayLIVE · 0·DEMAND Fractional CFO Cost£700–£3k/dayLIVE · 0·DEMAND Fractional CFO Salary£700–£3k/dayLIVE · 0·DEMAND

Not sure which CFO model fits the brief?

Two minutes with our Team Architect maps your phase, revenue and constraint set to a recommended CFO engagement model — fractional, interim, or retained-search-and-here's-why.

Run the Team Architect →

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about CFO headhunters, recruitment fees, and the fractional / interim / permanent decision.

What is a CFO headhunter?

A CFO headhunter is a specialist recruiter focused on appointing Chief Financial Officers. The defining feature is proactive search — the headhunter identifies and approaches senior finance leaders who are not on the open job market. The term covers three engagement models: retained executive search for permanent appointments, interim placement for fixed-term full-time cover, and fractional placement for part-time ongoing leadership. The right CFO headhunter for any given brief depends on which model fits the company's phase.

How much do CFO headhunters charge in the UK?

Who are the best CFO headhunters in the UK?

What's the difference between a CFO headhunter and a CFO recruiter?

How long does CFO recruitment take?

Should I use a CFO headhunter or hire fractional?

What's the difference between a CFO and a Finance Director in the UK?

How do CFO headhunter fees actually work?

What replacement guarantee do CFO headhunters offer?

Do CFO headhunters place fractional and interim roles?

What is AESC and does it matter for CFO search?

How do I brief a CFO headhunter properly?

Related resources

Internal pages and external sources cited above.

CFO headhunter UK: fractional, interim and permanent CFO placement

What a CFO headhunter actually does

Retained executive search — permanent CFO

Interim CFO placement

Fractional CFO placement

Engagement

Headhunter fee

Day rate / cost

Monthly cost

Time to start

Notice period

Best for

Replacement guarantee

Diagnose the shape

Scope the seats

Source the operators

Embed the engagement

Manage the workforce

The true cost of a full-time permanent CFO

The fractional comparison