Permanent FP&A Recruitment

FD Capital recruits permanent FP&A professionals for UK businesses - from FP&A Analysts and FP&A Managers through to Heads of FP&A. Every candidate we place holds a recognised accountancy or finance qualification and has demonstrable experience in financial modelling, budgeting, forecasting and commercial finance analysis.

We place FP&A professionals across technology and SaaS businesses, PE-backed portfolio companies, financial services firms and mid-market corporates. Permanent FP&A recruitment requires precise brief definition before sourcing. A business that needs a technically deep financial modeller to own the three-statement model and support a fundraise has a different brief from one that needs a commercially oriented FP&A Manager to partner with the sales and marketing functions and drive revenue visibility.

Both are FP&A but the candidate profiles are different. FD Capital spends time at brief stage understanding the specific analytical output the business needs, not just the job title it wants to fill.

• FP&A Analyst: The FP&A Analyst is the entry point to the function - responsible for building and maintaining financial models, preparing management reporting packs, performing variance analysis and supporting the budget and forecast cycles. Typical backgrounds include newly qualified ACA, ACCA or CIMA professionals with two to four years of post-qualification experience in a commercial finance environment. Strong Excel modelling skills are a minimum requirement; experience with planning tools such as Adaptive Insights, Anaplan, Vena or Planful is increasingly common and commands a premium.
• FP&A Manager: The FP&A Manager owns the planning cycle - running the budgeting and forecasting process, managing a small team of analysts, producing the management reporting and working directly with the CFO or Head of FP&A on strategic financial analysis. Candidates typically hold ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualifications with four to eight years of post-qualification experience, including demonstrable exposure to the full FP&A cycle rather than just financial reporting.
• Head of FP&A: The Head of FP&A leads the entire planning and analysis function - setting the methodology, owning the long‑range plan, managing the team, and acting as the senior commercial finance partner to the CEO and CFO. This is a senior appointment typically reporting to the CFO and requiring significant prior experience of running an FP&A function rather than simply working within one.

What FD Capital Looks for in Permanent FP&A Candidates

The defining technical skill for FP&A professionals is financial modelling - the ability to build clean, auditable, dynamic financial models that the business can rely on for planning and decision support. FD Capital assesses modelling capability directly in the screening process, not by proxy through qualification status. The quality, structure and auditability of a candidate's models matters more than the complexity of the tools they use.

The best FP&A professionals are commercially curious - interested in understanding what drives the numbers, not just reporting them. They build relationships with operational and commercial colleagues, challenge assumptions in the budget process constructively, and provide analysis that influences real decisions rather than analysis that is filed and forgotten.

Demand for FP&A professionals with experience of dedicated planning platforms has grown significantly as businesses invest in replacing spreadsheet‑based planning with purpose‑built tools. FD Capital maintains a candidate pool that spans both traditional Excel‑based FP&A and platform‑native professionals, and we match systems experience to the specific technology environment the hiring business operates rather than assuming platform skills are universally applicable.

Sectors Where FD Capital Places FP&A Professionals

• Technology and SaaS: SaaS businesses have specific FP&A requirements that differ from traditional corporate finance environments.
• Private equity‑backed businesses: PE‑backed businesses operate to a more rigorous financial reporting cadence than most independent businesses.
• Financial services and FCA‑regulated firms: FP&A in financial services involves additional complexity.

Permanent FP&A Salary Guide UK 2026

• FP&A Analyst – London £48,000 - £68,000, Regional £42,000 - £58,000 (ACA / ACCA / CIMA NQ – 3 years PQE)
• Senior FP&A Analyst – London £62,000 - £80,000, Regional £52,000 - £68,000 (ACA / ACCA / CIMA 3-6 years PQE)
• FP&A Manager – London £72,000 - £95,000, Regional £60,000 - £80,000 (ACA / ACCA / CIMA 5-10 years PQE)
• Head of FP&A – London £90,000 - £130,000, Regional £75,000 - £110,000 (ACA / ACCA / CIMA 8+ years PQE)

Bonus structures vary significantly – PE‑backed businesses and financial services firms typically include performance bonuses of 15-30% of base at manager level and above. Planning platform expertise commands a 10-20% salary premium over Excel‑only candidates at equivalent experience levels.

FD Capital places permanent FP&A Analysts, FP&A Managers and Heads of FP&A for UK businesses. Qualified, pre‑screened candidates with verified modelling and commercial finance experience. Shortlists within three to seven working days.