The number of permanent Finance Director appointments made in the last quarter across Yorkshire continued to gather pace in the past quarter. Levels were back up to levels seen before Covid-19. We analyse the whole market (not just our placements). Some of the key headlines from our analysis of the last quarter;

• The number of appointments grew by 14% in the quarter September to November, compared to the June to August quarter.
• 24% of these appointments were in newly created roles – in either growing OMBs or created on the back of PE transactions.
• Only 23% of these appointments were women. Although this is an increase from the previous quarter (17%) and higher than the FTSE 100 figure (15%), this is still a very low representation.
• Healthcare, Technology and FMCG sectors accounted for 36% of the appointments and are the leading sectors. Financial Services (11%) and Retail (9%) have also been well represented.
• Although our analysis is on permanent appointments, the interim market is returning at a faster pace. We registered and completed more interim assignments in November than in September & October combined.

The number of applicants for our campaigns has increased by just under 30% compared with our 2019 figure. This comes as no surprise when we discuss it with our market, it is the growing number of opportunities that surprises many. Last quarter, I rounded off this post by saying that “I feel obliged to add a caveat to this article and to temper it with a more apprehensive conclusion” than the positive messages from the appointments in that quarter. Even though we had not predicted a second lockdown at that point, I am glad that I did not ultimately add that caveat! December shows every sign of being busier in 2020 than in “normal” years. Although I am even more confident of not adding a caveat to the positive tone of this post, I am still not bold enough to start making predictions!