The C-suite you need. Not the cost of one.
Vetted fractional, interim and advisory C-suite operators — matched in 48 hours, day-rate transparent, and cheaper than a loaded full-time hire. Build a single role or a whole fractional leadership pod.
Leadership is the bottleneck, not the budget.
Every scale-up hits the same ceiling: you need C-suite capability to unlock the next stage, but the traditional hiring model breaks at both ends — it’s unaffordable at full-time rates, and too slow when the market is moving in quarters, not years.
Too expensive
A permanent CFO runs £250–350k loaded — too rich for a Series A company that needs guidance, not a full-time seat.
Too slow
6–9 months to hire a C-suite exec — assuming they don’t get poached at the finish line. The market won’t wait.
Wrong capacity
You don’t need 5-day CMO coverage; you need 2 days of strategy and execution. But you can’t hire 40% of a person.
Four models, one process.
Whether you need a single fractional CFO, an interim CEO for transition, board-level advisory, or a whole leadership pod stood up in parallel — we run the same vetted, transparent process. The right structure for your stage, not a one-size mandate.
Fractional
1–3 days / weekBoard-level leadership on a part-time retainer. The seniority of a permanent hire, at a fraction of the cost and commitment.
Interim
full-time · fixed termA full-time operator for a defined window — covering a departure, leading a transformation, or bridging to a permanent hire.
Advisory
board-level · ad hocA seasoned executive on call for the board — strategic counsel, investor prep and pattern-matching, without a standing seat.
Embedded pods
multi-role · coordinatedA whole fractional leadership layer — CFO, CTO and CMO working in concert — stood up in weeks, not the year it takes to hire three.
The same leadership, for less.
Fractional isn’t a discount on quality — it’s a discount on capacity you don’t need. A two-day-a-week CFO at the published UK average costs under half a loaded full-time hire, and you are not buying the three days a week you had no work for.
Fractional CFO vs full-time — year 1
Full-time: the bottomof the published £200,000–£350,000 total annual cost of a UK CFO — salary, employer NI, pension, benefits and recruitment fee. Take the top of that range and the gap widens.
Both figures: FD Capital, 2026, citing Glassdoor, Robert Half and Morgan McKinley.
And it compounds across a pod.
Brief to boardroom in days.
We run a tight, transparent process. You tell us the mandate; we return a vetted shortlist in 48 hours, you meet your favourites, and the chosen operator starts — outside IR35, on a day rate, with no long-term lock-in.
Brief
A 30-minute call to scope the mandate, cadence, budget and the outcomes that matter.
day 0Shortlist
3–5 vetted operators, each with rate benchmark, track record and IR35 status attached.
within 48hMeet
You interview your favourites. We handle scheduling, references and rate negotiation.
day 3–7Start
Contract signed outside IR35, operator embedded, with a 30-day fit checkpoint.
week 2Every operator clears a 5-stage vetting process.
Speed means nothing if the shortlist is weak. We reject the overwhelming majority of applicants before anyone reaches you — for track record, references, and genuine fit to your specific mandate. See the full vetting method →
Transparent pricing, no surprises.
Day-rate bands as published by the UK guides named in the table — not our own estimates. No hidden fees, no success charge, no long-term lock-in. You pay the operator’s day rate plus our margin, transparently disclosed. See the full rate calculator →
| Role | UK day-rate band | 2 days/wk · year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CFO | £700 – £1,400 | £64k – £129k | FD Capital, 2026 |
| CTO | £1,000 – £1,600 | £92k – £147k | Leadership Services, 2026 |
| COO | £800 – £1,600 | £74k – £147k | fractional-csuite.com, 2025 |
| CMO | £700 – £1,300 | £64k – £120k | ITJobsWatch, 2025 |
| CPO | £850 – £1,450 | £78k – £133k | Creation Recruitment, 2026 |
| CHRO | £900 – £1,500 | £83k – £138k | Robert Walters, 2026 |
We built this because we needed it.
Every founder hits the same wall: you need C-suite capability yesterday, but the traditional model breaks. We’ve placed hundreds of fractional operators because we understand both sides — what boards need, and how seasoned operators want to work.
Price truth
Real day rates from real placements. No “call for quote” gatekeeping.
Speed
48 hours to shortlist, 2 weeks to start. Not the 6-month slog of permanent search.
Structure
Outside IR35 by default. Clean contracts, no disguised employment risk.
Team build
We can stand up a whole pod — CFO, CTO, CMO in parallel, not sequential.
No lock-in
30-day fit checkpoint. If it’s not working, we find someone else.
UK coverage
London to Edinburgh, Cardiff to Belfast. Remote, hybrid, or on-site.
Bring the brief.
We architect the team.
Tell us what you need — a single fractional CFO, an interim CEO for transition, or a whole leadership pod. We’ll aim to return a shortlist inside two working days.
