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The finance team isn't shrinking — it's being redefined, top to bottom
Finance leaders in roundtable discussion at the Richmond Finance Directors' Forum
What the HSBC UK Corporate Tracker Tells Us About the CFO Agenda Right Now
The second edition of the HSBC UK Corporate Tracker reveals a mid-market that has come through the crisis period in better shape than expected. EBITDA has outpaced debt growth, leverage has improved, and companies are beginning to invest again. Here's what that means for finance leadership.
UK Startup Creation Is Cooling — But the Real Story Is What Happens Next
The latest UK startup data paints a nuanced picture of the entrepreneurial landscape.
On the surface, new company formations dipped slightly in 2025. But beneath the headline, the UK business base continues to expand — and for founders, investors and finance leaders, that distinction matters.
For growing businesses, the question is no longer simply about starting up.
It is about surviving, scaling, and professionalising finance earlier in the journey.
UK Turnaround Demand Remains Firm — But the Real Pressure Is Beneath the Surface
The latest quarterly snapshot from the turnaround market paints a picture that will feel familiar to many UK boards and investors.
Activity in restructuring and turnaround remains robust.
Distress levels are edging upward.
And while insolvency numbers have softened slightly, the underlying pressure on UK businesses has not gone away.
For finance leaders and investors alike, the message is clear:
stress is building quietly rather than breaking loudly.
CFO Turnover Is Rising Globally — But the Real Risk Is Poor Succession Planning
Across global markets, one trend is becoming impossible for boards and investors to ignore:
CFO turnover is no longer an occasional disruption. It is becoming a structural feature of modern governance.
Recent global data shows CFO appointments reached a seven-year high in 2025, reinforcing that elevated transition levels are not a short-term correction but an enduring shift in leadership dynamics.
The Rise of Women Angel Investors — and Why It Matters for UK Growth
A recent report from Beauhurst highlights a quiet but meaningful shift taking place inside the UK’s early-stage investment ecosystem: the rapid growth of women angel investors.
At first glance, this might look like a diversity story.
But look a little deeper and it becomes something far more significant — a signal about how capital, innovation, and leadership are evolving across the UK economy.
UK Private Equity in 2025: Not a Slowdown — A Selection Event
UK Private Equity in 2025: Not a Slowdown — A Selection Event
Periods of market adjustment are often described in terms of decline:
fewer deals, slower momentum, weaker sentiment.
But the UK equity market in 2025 tells a more interesting story.
Deal volumes fell again — yet capital deployment held firm and average deal sizes increased.
In other words, activity didn’t disappear. It became more selective.
AI Gets Physical: What the Rise of Humanoid Robots Means for the Future CFO
The next wave of AI isn’t just software automating spreadsheets or dashboards. It’s humanoid robots stepping into factories, warehouses, healthcare and logistics, taking on repetitive, physical and often hard-to-fill roles.
What the World Economic Forum’s Jobs Report Means for Finance Leaders
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 makes one thing unambiguous:
the labour market isn’t evolving — it’s reshuffling at scale.
“It’s better to be a lion for a day than a sheep your whole life.”
— Elizabeth Kenny