Chief Financial Officer

The CFO Practice; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruitment agency is seeking a Chief Financial Officer for a growing platform business in the UK. The ideal candidate will have a significant role in strategically guiding M&A initiatives and ensuring effective financial management across multiple entities. This position offers a hybrid working model and requires a recognized accounting qualification alongside experience in commercial finance and leadership. Join a dynamic team and contribute to a transformative growth strategy.

Qualifications

• Significant M&A exposure, with experience leading transactions or playing senior roles in diligence and integration.
• Experience in data-rich, commercially driven environments within software, payments, or technology-enabled sectors.
• Strong commercial instincts to translate data into actionable insights.

Responsibilities

• Act as a strategic partner to the CEO and Board for long-term value creation and growth strategy.
• Lead acquisition activity end-to-end in the buy-and-build strategy.
• Drive financial due diligence and deal structuring.
• Manage debt funding activities to support growth.
• Ensure strong financial control across the group.

Skills

Strategic thinking

M&A execution

Commercial performance management

Leadership

Financial analysis

Budgeting

Education

Recognised accounting qualification (ACA, CIMA or ACCA)

Job description

Chief Financial Officer (Buy & Build Strategy)

London/UK | Hybrid

The CFO Practice is recruiting a Chief Financial Officer for a growing, technology-enabled platform business embarking on an ambitious buy-and-build strategy.

The business has established a strong core platform with a high-growth, data-driven base and a live pipeline of acquisitions. It is now entering its next phase of development, focused on acquiring and integrating complementary software, payments and data-led businesses. Working closely with the CEO and Board, the incoming CFO will play a central role in shaping and executing this growth strategy.

The role

This is a high-impact CFO position combining strategic leadership, M&A execution and commercial performance management across a developing multi-entity structure. The successful candidate will partner closely with the CEO to scale the platform, secure funding for acquisitions and embed data-led decision-making across the group.

The right individual will thrive in an entrepreneurial, hands-on, and highly commercial environment, with the opportunity to drive a significant value-creation story across multiple businesses.

Key responsibilities

• Act as a strategic partner to the CEO and Board, supporting long-term value creation and group growth strategy
• Shape and execute the buy-and-build strategy, leading acquisition activity end-to-end across software, payments and data-led businesses
• Drive financial and commercial due diligence, valuation, deal structuring and post-acquisition integration, ensuring disciplined execution and synergy realisation
• Lead debt funding activity to support inorganic growth, including lender engagement, modelling and covenant management
• Oversee finance across the group structure, ensuring strong financial control, governance and reporting standards across both the core platform and acquired entities
• Provide commercial support to operating businesses, strengthening insight across pricing, margins, customer economics and recurring revenue performance
• Embed robust budgeting, forecasting and strategic planning processes across the group to support scale and capital allocation decisions
• Build and develop a scalable, high-performing finance capability capable of supporting a growing, multi-entity platform
• Act as a senior external representative of the business with banks, advisers, auditors, investors and potential acquisition targets

About you

This role will suit a commercially astute finance leader motivated by building and scaling businesses through acquisition and disciplined execution in a highly entrepreneurial environment.

You are likely to bring:

• A recognised accounting qualification (ACA, CIMA or ACCA)
• Experience operating in data-rich, commercially driven environments, ideally with exposure to software, payments or technology-enabled businesses
• Meaningful M&A exposure, whether leading transactions or playing a senior role in diligence and integration
• Strong commercial instincts, with the ability to translate financial and operational data into actionable strategic insight
• Experience overseeing or strengthening finance functions within group or multi-entity environments
• Confidence operating in fast-paced, change-oriented environments where hands-on leadership is required

This is an opportunity to join a leadership team at an inflexion point and play a defining role in building a scaled, acquisition-led platform.