Executive search and interim management specialists HW Group has launched a new finance division, enabling it to offer a full multi-disciplinary service.

HW Finance, as the new business will be known, will be led by a four-strong team who have joined from the Leeds office of Marks Sattin which they built from a start-up 14 years ago. Rafi Davies, Ross Broad, David Clamp and Ryan Johnson between them have over 60 years’ experience in the recruitment sector. They will be based in Leeds and cover the whole of the North and the Midlands, with plans to expand nationally.

The launch of HW Finance comes in response to growing demand for finance talent, particularly in the North and the Midlands resulting from the number of companies relocating from London, the growth of regional cities such as Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham and the digital transformation agenda.

HW Finance will provide a professional talent acquisition service for ‘emerging leader’ roles with a salary level of up to £120,000 across all areas of finance including tax, treasury and audit. It will complement HW People, which focuses on ‘emerging leaders’ in disciplines other than finance, and HW Global, which focuses on C-suite appointments in the UK and internationally. It also has HW Global Interim Solutions which matches interim and change management executives with Plcs, large private companies, SMEs and private equity-backed organisations in the UK and globally.

HW Group – which has offices in London, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester – was founded in 2006 by Adrian Hitchenor and John Wakeford and serves clients including L’Oréal and Mars. The group has doubled revenue in the last three years to more than £30m and employs over 80 people.

“As a team we had achieved everything we set out to do at our previous firm and wanted a fresh challenge with the opportunity to build a national finance offering,” says Rafi Davies, Managing Director, “HW Global is one of the most respected executive search firms in the UK and their culture and ambition were a perfect fit.

“Although it is a time of uncertainty and political change, we are a resilient team, having launched our last venture during the credit crunch and ridden out recessions and seven Prime Ministers!” Added Davies. “The current climate means there will be a lot of movement within finance teams and this, together with relocations and other factors, means now is a perfect time to launch.”

Adrian Hitchenor, founder and Partner at HW Global, added: “Our work with financial services, retailers and FMCG organisations has highlighted the growing demand for financial skills, which was the one gap in our proposition. HW Finance is the missing piece of the jigsaw for HW Group. The launch reflects our ambition to offer a unique multi-disciplinary service to clients across all sectors and all parts of the country.”

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