Financial Controller – B2C Consumer Tech

• Industry: B2C Consumer Technology
• Revenue: c.£100m
• Investment stage: Series B
• Hiring trigger: UK and European expansion with increasing franchising activity
• Process Metrics: Shortlist delivered within 48 hours
• Time to hire: 2 week brief-to-offer process
• Model Used: Amplify

Client Context

A fast-scaling B2C consumer technology business generating approximately £100m in revenue had recently secured Series B investment and was accelerating expansion across the UK and Europe.

Franchising activity was increasing, investor scrutiny was intensifying and commercial complexity was compounding.

However, finance infrastructure had not kept pace with growth. Reporting cycles were elongated, forecasting lacked robustness and leadership capacity within finance was constrained by operational load.

The organisation required structural reinforcement within core finance to support its next stage of scale.

The Business Problem

The Finance Director was operating across technical accounting, month-end delivery, process ownership and operational troubleshooting. Month-end was running at 12 days.

Revenue forecasting lacked consistency and reliability, directly affecting:

• Commercial planning
• Investor dialogue
• Expansion decision-making

Core accounting ownership was fragmented. Operational rigour was inconsistent. The Finance Director’s strategic bandwidth was absorbed by execution.

This created a structural bottleneck within the finance function.

The Risk

If unresolved:

• Forecasting credibility risked undermining investor confidence
• Territory expansion could outpace financial control
• Franchising growth could introduce unmanaged reporting complexity
• Strategic finance leadership would remain constrained by operational delivery

The business required strengthened financial architecture to protect growth.

Why the Market Was Difficult

This mandate required a tightly defined capability set:

• Franchising exposure within consumer-facing environments
• Experience operating across both corporate and SME structures
• Technical capability to materially compress reporting cycles
• Commercial acumen to support revenue planning
• Immediate operational impact

Franchising experience within consumer tech finance talent pools is niche. The individual needed to operate hands-on while enabling leadership capacity above them.

The Capability Required

✔ Experience stabilising finance during high-growth phases
✔ Demonstrated success reducing reporting timelines
✔ Multi-territory franchising exposure
✔ Strong commercial thinking supporting planning and partnerships
✔ Resilience within VC-backed environments

This hire was designed to release strategic capacity within the Finance Director role and upgrade core financial control.

Our Strategic Approach

The client engaged Talentedge through our Elevate model, enabling us to commit considerable resources to the search across our consumer technology finance network.

Within the first 2 days we:

• Mapped the relevant consumer tech and franchising finance segment
• Leveraged relationships across VC and PE-backed growth businesses
• Activated targeted referrals with direct franchising exposure
• Prioritised candidates with proven reporting compression outcomes

A focused shortlist of five highly relevant candidates was delivered within 48 hours. Three progressed to interview. The full process, from brief to accepted offer, completed in under two weeks.

Speed supported momentum. Precision protected quality.

The Impact

Immediate Impact (0–3 Months)

Within three months, the new Financial Controller:

• Reduced month-end from 12 days to 4
• Implemented an integrated stock management tool within Xero
• Strengthened operational reporting visibility and control
• Restored confidence in revenue forecasting accuracy

Strategic Impact (6–18 Months)

• Released the Finance Director to focus on UK and European expansion
• Improved investor engagement and credibility
• Supported the securing of a new commercial partnership shortly after appointment
• Re-established scalable finance infrastructure aligned to growth

Finance capability shifted from reactive and capacity-constrained to structured and scalable.

Why This Matters

Series B growth frequently exposes gaps in financial infrastructure. Expansion multiplies complexity, franchising introduces additional reporting layers and investor scrutiny increases performance pressure.

When strategic finance leadership is absorbed by operational execution, growth becomes exposed to control risk and forecasting weakness.

If your finance leader is spending disproportionate time on month-end and core process management, the issue may not be effort or headcount but rather the structural design within the finance function.

Our Technology Finance team have extensive experience of advising high-growth, investor-backed businesses on building out finance teams to support the wider business as it scales. Get in touch with Freddie Wrighton at freddie.wrighton@talentedge.co.uk to find out more.