Finance Director Placement for Established Retail Chain

Finance Director Placement for Established Retail Chain

Client: UK-Based Retail Business
Sector: Retail
Turnover: £25M
Role: Finance Director
Time to Hire: 6 Weeks

The Brief

An established retail chain approached us amid declining margins and growing operational inefficiencies. The business required a Finance Director with deep restructuring experience — someone capable of restoring financial control, improving forecasting accuracy, and guiding recovery efforts with urgency.

This was a key leadership role, and the incoming FD needed to bring both strategic direction and hands-on delivery to a commercially stretched finance function.

The Challenge

The ideal candidate needed to:

• Tackle rising operational costs and streamline spend

• Improve cash flow forecasting and inventory management

• Renegotiate debt to relieve financial pressure

• Support senior leadership with data-driven decision-making

Our Solution

We delivered a targeted executive search, focusing on senior finance leaders with a strong record in restructuring, cost control, and commercial turnaround within retail and consumer sectors.

Key Results

📌 47 individuals shortlisted
📌 10 CVs submitted
📌 5 interviews conducted
📌 1 Finance Director appointed
📌 Time to hire: 6 weeks from brief to offer

The Outcome

Within 6 months of appointment, the new Finance Director had delivered measurable commercial improvements:

🔹 Costs reduced by 18%
🔹 Inventory cycles optimised
🔹 Debt successfully renegotiated

Their impact restored financial confidence across the business and laid the foundation for more sustainable growth.