Hire a fractional C-suite leader — analysed, not just listed.

A fractional executive search firm places experienced C-suite leaders into part-time, ongoing roles — typically one to three days a week — instead of permanent full-time hires. For UK scale-ups and PE-backed companies, it is how you get a £150k–£300k calibre of CFO, CTO, CMO, COO, CPO or CHRO at a Series A budget, without the loaded cost, the 20–30% recruitment fee, or the three-month notice period of a permanent appointment.

Unlike a traditional retained search — which starts a 6–12 week sourcing process from a blank sheet — a fractional placement matches against an existing, pre-vetted network. The shortlist is graded on the things that de-risk the hire: day rate against the live market, demand for the role, and IR35 structure. You meet a small set of operators who have done the job before, not a 200-CV inbox.

Fractional vs interim vs permanent

The three models solve different problems. Permanent suits a mature, full-load role you will staff for years. Interim is full-time but fixed-term — built for a crisis, a turnaround, or cover — and, because it looks like employment, is more often assessed *inside* IR35. Fractional is part-time and ongoing: a slice of senior capacity, usually structured *outside* IR35, that flexes with the company.

The right question isn't "fractional or full-time?" — it's "how much senior leadership does this stage of the company actually need?"

Fractional day rates run roughly £700–£2,000 depending on function, seniority and company stage, with London commanding a 15–20% premium over regional markets. A fractional CMO at 2.5 days a week (about £1,000/day) costs around £130,000 a year, versus roughly £154,000 for a loaded full-time CMO once you add employer National Insurance, pension and benefits — a saving of about 16%. Sources: Robert Half UK Salary Guide, Morgan McKinley.

Two costs disappear entirely with a fractional engagement. Employer National Insurance rose to 15% in April 2025, applied to every permanent salary — gov.uk. And recruitment fees for a permanent C-suite hire typically run 20–30% of first-year salary, often £44k–£66k before the person starts — Robert Half. A fractional placement carries neither.

The trigger for a fractional hire is usually a gap between the strategic need and the workload. A Series A company needs CFO-grade financial leadership for the board, the raise and the model — but rarely five days a week of it. A scaling product business needs a CTO to set architecture and hiring standards long before it needs a full-time one.

As a rule of thumb: if the function needs senior judgement more than senior bandwidth, fractional fits. Finance, marketing, technology, operations and people leadership at the £2M–£50M revenue stage are the classic cases — the point where a full-time C-suite hire is premature but the expertise is essential.

Every operator in the network is vetted on track record, references and engagement history before they appear in a shortlist. When you submit a brief, we grade candidates on three signals — rate percentile against the FACTS.md rate index, demand, and IR35 structure — and show you the working, not just a name.

You meet three to five operators, each with the analysis attached. If the first set isn't right you get a free re-shortlist, and a replacement guarantee within the first 90 days, with structured 30 and 90-day check-ins to catch scope drift early. Every engagement ships with an outside-IR35-ready contract template you can have your own accountant review.