What is the typical base salary for a Finance Director in an SME?

In SMEs with £20M–£250M turnover, Finance Director base salaries generally range from £100,000 to £160,000, depending on sector, scale, and ownership structure.

What bonus structure is standard for SME Finance Directors?

Bonuses for SME Finance Directors typically range from 20% to 40% of base salary, based on key performance indicators like EBITDA, margin, or funding milestones.

Do Finance Directors in SMEs receive equity or long-term incentives?

Yes, many SMEs — particularly those backed by private equity — offer equity, share options, or long-term incentive plans (LTIPs) to attract and retain strategic finance leaders.

How long does it take to hire a Finance Director?

Finance Director search projects typically take between 6 and 10 weeks, depending on complexity, seniority, and market dynamics.

What type of businesses do you place Finance Directors into?

We place Finance Directors into SMEs turning over £20M–£250M — including private equity-backed scale-ups, family businesses, and mid-market firms undergoing growth or transformation.

Executive Search I

Finance Director Recruitment

Appoint a Finance Director who brings strategic control, commercial insight, and financial leadership to your next stage of growth.

We help SME owners and boards recruit finance directors who go beyond the numbers — driving performance, improving decision-making, and preparing the business for scale, investment, or exit.

Arrange a call back

Do you need to recruit a Finance Director for your SME? Speak to our Managing Director, Oliver Adderley.

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We recruit Finance Directors for SMEs with turnovers between £20M and £250M - businesses that need strategic financial leadership to support growth, enhance control, and drive performance.

Appoint a Finance Director Who Can Lead Your Next Financial Chapter

Whether you're professionalising your finance function, preparing for investment, or improving operational efficiency, we deliver Finance Directors who combine commercial insight with strategic rigour. Our approach is agile, precise, and designed for growing businesses — not priced like a FTSE search firm.

In the past two years, we’ve filled 100% of our retained senior finance roles - placing Finance Directors who’ve gone on to strengthen reporting, improve cashflow, lead funding rounds, and support successful exits.

From founder-led businesses bringing in their first FD to private equity-backed scale-ups needing financial strategy, we deliver leaders who don’t just manage numbers - they shape the future.

How It Works: Our Search Process

Recruit director level talent in 12 weeks or less.

We begin every project with a formal strategy discussion to fully understand your business, structure, growth plans, and the leadership challenges you face. We confirm the scope of the role, commercial objectives, timescales, and fee terms before initiating any search activity.
Once terms are agreed, we prepare a detailed Assignment Brief outlining the role, responsibilities, business context, cultural environment, and ideal candidate profile. This document is approved by you and used to brief candidates consistently and professionally throughout the process.
We carry out a focused headhunting campaign across relevant sectors and leadership networks. This includes direct outreach, discreet advertising, referrals, and competitor mapping — tailored to attract commercially aligned directors with the capability to lead in fast-paced SME environments.
All shortlisted candidates are interviewed by our senior consultants and complete our in-depth Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ). This provides deep insight into each candidate’s leadership style, career history, and operational decision-making — going well beyond a standard CV.
We present a carefully curated shortlist including candidate CVs, detailed consultant commentary, and SAQ insights. You’ll receive clear, structured feedback and comparative recommendations to support your selection process.
Once you’ve progressed to second-stage interviews, we conduct thorough, confidential verbal referencing. This includes targeted conversations with past colleagues to verify performance, leadership impact, and cultural fit — giving you complete confidence in your final decision.
We support you through salary discussions, offer negotiation, and onboarding. Because our fees are fixed and not linked to salary level, we maintain complete objectivity — focusing solely on securing the right long-term appointment for your business.

What sets us apart?

Specialist, Senior-Led Delivery

Every assignment is led by an experienced consultant - never passed to junior staff. We bring commercial acumen, market insight, and real leadership experience to every project, ensuring your search is handled with the focus and expertise it deserves.

Deeper Candidate Insight: The SAQ

Our proprietary Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ) gives you unrivalled insight into each candidate’s leadership style, motivations, and behaviours. It goes far beyond a CV, helping you make better-informed decisions.

Unrivalled Candidate Reporting

Every candidate is presented with detailed consultant commentary, behavioural insight, and performance history, not just a CV. Our reports give you clarity, comparison, and the confidence to assess fit across strategic, cultural, and operational dimensions.

Fee Structures Built for SMEs

We offer transparent, fixed fees designed around the realities of SME budgets, without the inflated pricing models of traditional firms. You receive board-level quality with flexible terms and no hidden extras.

Access to Exceptional Talent

With over 30 years of experience, we have built deep networks across leadership functions. We find proven directors and rising leaders who are ready to create impact in fast-moving, scaling businesses.

Agile, Focused, Results-Driven

We’re an agile business, able to move quickly, adapt to your timelines, and stay aligned with your goals. We typically deliver fully assessed shortlists within 4–6 weeks, without compromising quality or process.

“SMEs don’t need FTSE-level search fees or to be delegated to a junior consultant. They need a bespoke service that understands their business, the stage of growth, their budget, and their urgency. That’s exactly what we offer.”

— Oliver Adderley, Managing Director

SME Finance Director Recruitment Questions Answered

A Finance Director (FD) provides strategic financial leadership, overseeing budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and cash flow management. They ensure financial control, improve decision-making, and support growth, investment, or exit planning.
It’s time to hire an FD when your business is growing in complexity, preparing for investment, looking to scale sustainably, or needs improved financial control and insight to drive performance.
An FD sets financial strategy and provides leadership at board level, while a Financial Controller is typically focused on day-to-day financial operations, reporting, and compliance. FDs are more commercially and strategically involved.
Yes. We recruit Finance Directors for founder-led SMEs, family-owned companies, and private equity-backed businesses — always matching experience to ownership structure and strategic goals.
They should have a proven background in financial leadership, with experience improving reporting, managing stakeholders, supporting funding rounds, and aligning finance with business strategy.
We typically present a shortlist within 3–4 weeks. Most roles are filled within 6–8 weeks depending on complexity and notice periods.
Our fixed-fee, three-stage retained model ensures transparency, budget certainty, and full commitment — with no percentage-based fees tied to final salary.
For SMEs with £20M–£250M turnover, Finance Director base salaries typically range from £100,000 to £160,000, depending on sector, complexity, ownership structure, and reporting responsibilities.
Annual bonuses usually range from 20% to 40% of base salary and are tied to performance metrics such as EBITDA, cash flow, margin improvement, or funding milestones.
Yes. Particularly in private equity-backed or exit-preparing SMEs, equity, share options, or LTIPs (long-term incentive plans) are often part of the package. These are used to align incentives and reward strategic impact.