Welcome to our Blog
FD Capital Blog
Welcome to our new website and blog, FD Capital is now up and trading and we are active in the specialist niche area of Portfolio / Part-Time Finance Directors but also the mainstram FD recruitment niche. Our backgrounds are as Finance Directors ourselves so we know first hand all about the role of an FD, we training with Medium sized accountancy practices ourselves then moved into Industry, reaching the top roles after a few years within private companies and Plc’s.
We’ve also been entrepreneurs ourselves (and are again now!), we ran a online community site back in 2006 which grew to over 550,000 members and then a E-Commerce business offering Domain Registration, Web hosting, web design and app development, so we are comfortable in the entrepreneurial space and tech savy also. Our first business was backed by an angel investor, that gave us the funds to invest into our second business, so we were the backers for that, and therefore know what it means to have “skin in the game”.
Our plans are to build up FD Capital, initially finding work for our internal team, then in time, to expand out and recruit FD’s for our customers.  Here at FD Capital we are working with Private Equity houses to bring in work and at the same time marketing ourselves online to attract SME customers.  We see these two channels as the most appropriate, we know of similar companies in this niche who pick up work from the banks and their turnaround teams, so while we don’t have contacts in this area it is something we would like to develop over time. If you work in a bank’s recovery team and are reading this blog, then make sure to reach out to us!
Initially we are working out of serviced offices in Telford Shropshire, but we plan to open our main office in London later in 2019. Check back our contact us page for our locations.  Our team at FD Capital is divided between Shropshire which serves well to cover the area from South Cheshire (Knutsford) down to Droitwich and the areas around Birmingham airport, and North London, which is then ideal to service all areas within the M25 and certainly any business close to an underground station.
Many of our team are ICAEW qualified accountants.
Why Recruit a Part-Time FD using FD Capital?
We really enjoyed working in practice but wanted to make more of a difference to the businesses we worked for, that was the motivation for moving into industry, an opportunity arose and we took it to be our own bosses and that was a great experience. Working as a Part-Time FD for more than one business at a time is known as a Portfolio FD and this combines together all of the factors and aspects of our experience, it allows for enough time to be spent with a business to make a real difference, whilst spending sufficient time within each client business for the FD concerned to feel valued, and part of the senior management team. SME’s find that bringing in an experienced financial professional makes a huge difference to their business and its success and for the FD concerned its something of the best of all worlds, varied work, busy and efficient use of time, a lot of input and guidance required and a lot of satisfaction in seeing the benefits of the work done.
Of course as with any fractional ownership model there are cost benefits, you get pay a good day rate, but only need the resource for a proportion of the week or month, this makes it affordable for the company concerned, but still gives the FD a good day rate income. That is how the concept for FD Capital came about.
We find that working 4 days per week is about the optimal for a Portfolio FD, as that means there is some additional capacity always available for extra work such as fund raising, budgetting, forecast modelling and when not active on client work, that time can be spent on business development and networking, or depending on personal circumstances on work life balance matters, it for example is an ideal arrangement for a parent of young children looking to return to work but not full time.
How are we planning on finding Part-Time work?
As mentioned at FD Capital we have a growing network of contacts in the Private Equity space which we want to develop further, Private Equity is a good channel as we enjoy working with investors, business angels, venture capitalist and PE Houses, we also have strong skills with Search Marketing and SEO so it makes sense to use those skills to bring in enquiries and leads, we understand that the Senior recruitment and Part-Time FD market is very much a niche, and is mostly built upon contacts and networking.
One of our team is a former recruiter himself so we have a good network already through him which can be harnessed, as with all sales activity its a case of reaching out to contacts and making new ones and then keeping in touch with these regularly so when opportunities come along we are in the minds of the right people.
FD Capital What disciplines are we covering?
Our focus at FD Capital will be on Finance Directors, Part-Time, Full Time and Portfolio, then CFO’s Part-Time and full time, we see ourselves as a specialist niche provider, offering to be the Part-Time FD ourselves or to use our network to find the perfect candidate if we are not available ourselves.  The areas where our skills most add value are:-
Turnaround situations and corporate rescue, we’ve worked in some challenging situations where cash has run out or is forecast to shortly run out and there is an urgency to source fresh finance either in the form of bank debt or as an equity injection. We know that these opportunities can be fraught and pressurised but we we’ve been through these and had the satisfaction of seeing losses turned around back to profits.
Private Equity FD, having worked with PE Houses, business angels and venture capitalists we know the expectations of external investors and how important it is to keep a busines focussed and moving forward with the right amount of energy and momentum. Reach out to FD Capital to make use of our expertise.
E-Commerce FD, we owned and built up two E-commerce businesses from scratch so know how hard it is to get results online and the issues with Google and their algorithm updates. This area is becoming tougher and tougher and ever more expensive as more companies move their operations online and more consumers are using the internet for a greater proportion of their purchases.  We can only see this going one way, tougher and tougher.  Google has many quality filters now which push down website that are not either fast or give a great user experience, we’ve been involved in this almost from the first days Google was trading so have really strong insights into this niche and area. FD Capital have Digital skills which gives us a real Unique Selling proposition compared to other boutiques.
How can FD Capital help?
If you are looking for a Part-Time FD for your business then make contact with FD Capital, we have an experienced and skilled team available to start at short notice, and a network of professionals we have dealt with previously which we can match you with.  Full Time FD’s are always available we have a great network across the London area and the West Midlands we can introduce you to, so if you are thinking of recruiting an FD for your business please get to touch.
Call us today for a no obligation initial discussion
CALL 020 3287 9501
Adrian Lawrence FCA with over 25 years of experience as a finance leader and a Chartered Accountant, BSc graduate from Queen Mary College, University of London.
I help my clients achieve their growth and success goals by delivering value and results in areas such as Financial Modelling, Finance Raising, M&A, Due Diligence, cash flow management, and reporting. I am passionate about supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs with reliable and professional Chief Financial Officer or Finance Director services.
