Group Chief Financial Officer (Fractional) in London

About the group

This group of family owned businesses encompasses two long established and well-regarded businesses in the built environment sector: Pipers Model Makers, a global leader in architectural model making, and NLA, the leading membership body for professionals shaping London's built environment. In addition, we have recently created a joint venture with London & Partners; Opportunity London, which works in partnership with the City of London, London Councils, the Mayor of London and a growing consortium of public and private sector industry partners committed to attracting the next £100bn of capital investment into London real estate.

While the individual entities have been in place for a number of years, a formal Group Board is now being created to enhance governance, accelerate growth, and unlock synergies across the businesses. Pipers and NLA are wholly owned by family shareholders who are completely aligned around a 5-year horizon to extract value from the combined businesses through sustainable growth, operational efficiency, and potential liquidity pathways. 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of NLA. This milestone has served as the launchpad for an ambitious five-year growth plan designed to increase membership, expand international reach, invest in digital systems, and significantly scale revenue and EBITDA. Pipers Model Makers holds a pre-eminent market position amongst London's built environment community and is now working on opportunities to expand its customer base, both in London and further afield.

The Role

We are seeking a commercially and strategically minded fractional Group CFO (circa 2-4 days per month) to serve as a key member of the newly formed Group Board. The CFO will provide high-level financial leadership across the Group, oversee the outputs and effectiveness of the existing finance function, and work closely with the Chair and CEOs to guide the organisation toward long-term value creation for its family shareholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Financial Leadership: Define and steer the Group's financial strategy in alignment with its 5-year growth and value creation goals. Work with the Chair and shareholders to explore and shape routes to value realisation, such as improved profit generation, reinvestment planning, or exit readiness. Lead long-term financial modelling to underpin shareholder decision-making.
• Oversight of Finance Function: Provide governance, oversight, and strategic direction for the existing finance team across both businesses. Ensure accuracy, rigour, and insight in all financial reporting and analysis outputs. Identify opportunities to strengthen financial controls, processes, and forecasting capabilities.
• Governance, Risk & Performance: Build Group-level reporting and governance frameworks that consolidate financial insight across NLA and Pipers. Lead regular board-level reviews and annual budget planning. Advise on risk management strategies and ensure regulatory and compliance standards are upheld.
• Cashflow, Investment & Capital Strategy: Closely monitor Group cashflow, particularly through the next 18-24 months of planned investment and tight liquidity. Guide capital allocation decisions, balancing operational requirements with longer-term shareholder returns. Evaluate and support investment in initiatives such as CRM systems, sales infrastructure, and international expansion.
• Board & Shareholder Advisory: Provide clear, trusted financial counsel to the Chair and family shareholders. Create an optimum group structure for the trading entities that exist today and provide maximum flexibility in the future. Facilitate transparent reporting and strategic dialogue around financial performance, risk, and growth opportunities. Support the creation of incentive structures or share schemes that align executive effort with long-term value creation.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Essential Experience:

• Board-level CFO or FD experience, preferably in a multi-entity or group structure.
• Track record supporting privately held, family-owned or founder-led businesses through growth and value realisation phases.
• Strong strategic planning, cashflow management, and commercial finance capability.
• Experience managing or overseeing existing finance functions and developing team capability.
• Experience advising on investment readiness, exit planning, or business restructuring.

Desirable:

• Familiarity with sectors such as built environment, professional services, media, or membership organisations.
• Understanding of group share structures and value participation mechanisms.

Personal Attributes:

• Strategic thinker with hands-on sensibility; comfortable diving into detail when necessary.
• Commercially minded and value-driven, with strong financial discipline.
• Calm, trusted, and collaborative in close-knit business environments.
• High integrity and strong communication skills at board and team levels, with an ability to build external networks with customers, collaborators, financiers, and professional service providers.
• Clear alignment to our values are deeply embedded in the business and we expect you to bring these attributes to the role.

Operational Characteristics:

• Informed – Relentless about data quality and market best practice.
• Rigorous – Detail-oriented; builds robust, scalable processes.
• Collaborative – Enjoys coaching non-technical colleagues and celebrating collective wins.
• Responsive – Iterates quickly, balancing speed with accuracy in a scale-up environment.

Terms:

• Board role, working in close collaboration with: Group Chair, CEO of Pipers Model Makers, CEO of NLA.
• Time commitment: circa 2-4 days per month, with flexibility around peak periods (e.g. budgeting, board prep).
• Remuneration: Competitive day rate, with anticipated participation in value growth/share incentives.
• Location: Hybrid; periodic in-person board meetings in London. NLA are based at The London Centre, 3 Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7BX. Pipers Model Makers are based at 27 Bevenden Street, London, N1 6BH. Board meetings will take place at either location.