Demand for finance professionals fuels record year for recruitment consultancy

A surge in businesses seeking finance professionals has resulted in a record year for Leeds-based recruitment consultancy, Headstar.

The company, which recruits all areas of a finance team from entry level to CFO in addition to providing part-time FD services, saw a 33% growth in turnover for the 12 months to the end of 2023, rising from £2.26m in 2022 to £3m last year – the highest in the company’s history.

Over the course of 2023, Headstar says it placed a record 260 candidates in finance roles across the UK, and added an additional 62 clients, including large corporates such as Whitby Seafoods, MRC Global, Weir Minerals and the Institute of Directors.

In order to keep up with growing demand for its services, Headstar expanded its own 26-strong team of recruitment experts and consultant finance directors, making nine appointments.

James Roach, managing director, said: “While each of our three specialist recruitment and finance consultancy divisions has performed well, we’ve seen a particularly strong increase in demand for our permanent and executive search services over 2023, as large and medium sized businesses have looked to strengthen their finance teams with senior-level hires.

“The challenging backdrop, combined with a greater awareness of our unique offering, has also driven strong demand for our finance consultancy services, with our team of finance directors supporting more businesses than ever on turnaround and transformation projects.”

Headstar, originally known as FD Yorkshire Ltd, was established 37 years ago and has grown significantly in recent years, expanding its client and contractor base which consists of a range of SMEs, as well as larger corporates including Next, RSM, NG Bailey and British Garden Centres.