It is ahead of the same quarter last year and only slightly down from the Spring quarter. There are some clear trends within the detail that I shall outline below.

I was reporting this time last year that the market for executive finance appointments was a lot stronger than most preconceptions. Our team have definitely felt the confidence onetwork grow over the past twelve months. It will surprisea few that we are reporting on a market that isbuoyant at present. That shows how far things have come since we emerged fromthe first lockdown.

Lockdowns have posed many challenges to recruitment processes. Some of these changes may be here to stay, but certainly not all of them. Every employer, candidate and recruiter has found a way to get on with the process and make things happen. Since we entered lockdown last March, we have seen almost 325 finance executives start new positions in the Yorkshire region.

My analysis of the appointments over the last quarter (not limited to just our placements);

• Private equity invested businesses represent over 40% of the businesses that have hired a Finance Director. Although some of these are replacements, the majority of these are on the back of a transaction and show just how much deal and investment activity is being undertaken across our region.
• Manufacturing and Engineering Sectors account for 39% of the placements with all of the other main sectors represented (10% in Insurance and FS, 8% in Retail and 23% in Services). Technology was not as active as previous quarters, but with an expected rise back to the end of the year.
• Female appointments accounted for 25% of the total – this is consistent with the previous quarter and represents a pronounced improvement on the 12-monthrolling trend.

Interim appointments within SMEs are at the highest levels that we have seen. Change management, pre & post deal work and supporting existing FDs / finance departments have been the dominant reasons for the creation of these roles –significantly more than turnarounds. We have had a few comments that the turnaround market will potentially pick up as we move away from furlough and government support.

 Despite the imminent winding up of the Job Retention Scheme, supply chain issues and the “behaviour” of the virus, the pulse of the region is definitely at its strongest in a while as we enter this quarter. The volume of ongoing recruitment campaigns would suggest that we will be reporting on a very busy period in three months’ time.

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