Fractional FP&A Recruitment

FD Capital places fractional FP&A professionals for UK businesses - experienced financial planning and analysis specialists who work across multiple businesses simultaneously on a day-rate basis, typically committing one to two days per week to each client. The fractional FP&A model gives growing businesses access to senior FP&A capability - robust financial modelling, structured budgeting and forecasting, and commercial finance analysis - at a cost proportionate to the business's current scale.

Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder of FD Capital and a Fellow of the ICAEW, leads our senior finance recruitment practice.

Adrian Lawrence FCA - Founder, FD Capital
Fellow of the ICAEW ICAEW-Registered Practice Fractional and permanent finance placements since 2018

The fractional FP&A model works best when a business has clear, recurring FP&A requirements - a monthly forecasting cycle, a quarterly reforecast, an annual budget process - but not enough volume to justify employing a dedicated FP&A professional. The fractional professional builds the model, runs the process and delivers the output on their allocated days, providing senior level analytical rigour without the overhead of a permanent headcount addition. For businesses that need someone employed on a reduced hours basis rather than working across multiple clients, our Part Time FP&A service is the better fit.

What a Fractional FP&A Professional Delivers Budget and forecast model ownership

The fractional FP&A professional builds and owns the business's financial model - the integrated three statement model or the driver based planning model that the business uses for its annual budget, rolling forecast and scenario analysis. Many growing businesses have financial models that were built by the founder, the CFO or an external accountant as a one off exercise and have never been properly structured, documented or maintained. The fractional FP&A professional's first priority is typically to assess the existing model, redesign it if necessary, and bring it to a standard that the business can rely on for decision making and for presenting to investors or lenders.

Monthly and quarterly forecasting

The fractional FP&A professional runs the recurring forecasting cycle - updating the model with actuals each month, refreshing the forward assumptions with the management team, producing a revised full year forecast and presenting the variance analysis and forward outlook to the CFO or CEO. In businesses with a monthly management accounts cycle, the fractional FP&A professional works alongside the finance team to ensure the management accounts feed cleanly into the forecast model rather than requiring manual rekeying.

Budget process management

Running an annual budget process is a significant exercise that typically involves coordinating inputs from multiple departments, building the consolidated financial plan, stress testing assumptions and producing a board ready budget pack. A fractional FP&A professional with experience of running budget processes in businesses of a similar scale handles this systematically - bringing a structured approach that the business's finance function may not have had previously. For PE backed businesses, the budget process also involves preparing the financial plan in the format the sponsor requires and aligning it with the investment case targets agreed at the time of the deal.

Commercial finance analysis and investor reporting

Beyond the core planning cycle, the fractional FP&A professional provides commercial finance analysis on request - investment appraisals, pricing models, unit economics analysis, acquisition modelling and the financial input into strategic decisions. For businesses with investor reporting obligations, the fractional FP&A professional prepares the financial sections of the investor or board pack, ensures the KPI reporting is consistent and accurate, and provides the narrative analysis that translates the numbers into a clear strategic picture.

Fractional FP&A vs Part Time FP&A - The Key Difference

The distinction matters practically and structurally. A fractional FP&A professional works across two or three businesses simultaneously on a day rate basis. They are self employed or operating through a limited company, outside IR35 in most cases, and their time is divided between clients. They bring broad cross sector modelling experience and commercial independence, but they are not exclusively available to a single business on their working days.

A part time FP&A professional is employed by a single business on a reduced hours contract - typically two to three days per week - with full employment rights and benefits. They are available exclusively to that business on their contracted days and build continuity of understanding over time. If the business needs its FP&A professional to attend management meetings, be reachable on their working days as the primary analytical contact, and build institutional knowledge alongside the finance team, the part time employed model is usually the right choice. If the business needs a skilled professional to run specific FP&A processes and deliver defined outputs, fractional typically works well.

When Fractional FP&A Works Best Businesses preparing for fundraising or exit

The most common trigger for a fractional FP&A engagement is an imminent capital raise or exit process, where the business needs investor grade financial modelling and planning capability that the existing team cannot provide. A fractional FP&A professional with fundraising modelling experience - three statement models, cap table management, scenario analysis for investor presentations - can be deployed quickly and delivers immediately without a lengthy onboarding process. FD Capital's broader Fractional CFO practice means we regularly place fractional FP&A professionals working alongside fractional CFOs as a coordinated finance leadership team for fundraising situations.

PE backed businesses building investor reporting infrastructure

PE sponsors investing at smaller deal sizes often find that portfolio companies need to upgrade their financial reporting and planning infrastructure quickly after investment - the weekly cash flow, the monthly management accounts, the quarterly reforecast and the KPI dashboard that the sponsor requires. A fractional FP&A professional can build this infrastructure, train the finance team to maintain it, and be redeployed once the systems are established. This is a more cost effective model than a permanent FP&A hire at a stage when the business is still building the financial management capability the sponsor expects.

Scale ups between finance hires

Growing businesses often find themselves between finance hires - the founder or CFO has been managing the planning function but the business has outgrown that capacity, yet the revenue and EBITDA profile does not yet justify a permanent FP&A headcount. A fractional FP&A professional bridges the gap, maintaining planning quality while the business grows to the point where a permanent appointment makes commercial sense. FD Capital helps clients transition from fractional to permanent FP&A when the time is right, with the fractional professional often playing a role in the specification and onboarding of their permanent successor.

Fractional FP&A Day Rates UK 2026

Business Context

Typical Day Rate

Typical Commitment

Start up / early stage (pre Series A) £300 - £450/day - 1 day/week

Scale up (Series A-B, £2m-£15m revenue) £400 - £550/day - 1-2 days/week

Mid market (£15m-£50m revenue) £450 - £650/day - 2 days/week

PE backed portfolio company £475 - £675/day - 1-2 days/week

Fundraising / exit modelling (project) £500 - £750/day - Project basis

Day rates are quoted outside IR35. For the part time employed equivalent see our Part Time FP&A page. For permanent FP&A salary benchmarks see our FP&A Recruitment page.

Related FP&A and Senior Finance Services

FD Capital places fractional FP&A professionals for UK businesses - day rate, multi client model, one to two days per week. Qualified, experienced specialists available within days. Introductions within three to five working days.

FD Capital Recruitment Ltd is registered at Companies House (no. ) and has been providing CFOs and Finance Directors since 2018 and is operated by an ICAEW registered practice. Our founder Adrian Lawrence FCA holds an ICAEW practising certificate.