Meet the SMF Capital Team

A small, senior team that recruits Senior Manager Function holders for FCA and PRA-regulated firms. Every search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA, with the regulator’s fit and proper test built in from the first conversation.

Tell us about your SMF hire Call 0203 745 0239

A Small Team Built Around Senior Manager Hiring

SMF Capital was set up for one kind of hire: the people a regulated firm names to the regulator as its Senior Managers. Under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, those individuals need regulatory approval before they can start, and once in post they are personally accountable for the areas set out in their Statement of Responsibilities. That changes how a search has to be run.

We keep the team deliberately small. You deal with the same people from the first call to the day your new Senior Manager starts, and the person who wrote your brief stays close to the search throughout. There is no hand-off to a junior team once the contract is signed.

Between us we cover the full process: briefing and designation advice, market mapping, candidate approach, assessment, shortlisting, offer and the approval application. Here is who you will work with.

Our Team

Adrian Lawrence FCA

Founder

Adrian founded SMF Capital to give FCA and PRA-regulated firms a recruitment partner that understands the Senior Managers regime from the inside. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and holds an ICAEW practising certificate in his own name (Chartered Accountant).

Before moving into recruitment, Adrian was a listed-company Finance Director, including as FD of a private equity-backed management buy-out. He holds a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London, and founded FD Capital in 2018 before building the group of specialist firms that SMF Capital belongs to.

Adrian takes every new client call himself, writes the brief and leads or supervises every SMF search, so the regulator’s fit and proper test is built into the search from the first conversation.

Jodie Garrington

Founder

Jodie is a founder of the group and a Partner at NED Capital, where she leads non-executive and board-level appointments. Her focus is the part of a search that a CV cannot show: how a candidate leads, how they behave under pressure and how they will work with an existing board.

That matters on SMF appointments, where the regulator looks at the person as well as their experience. Jodie is closely involved in assessing candidates and settling shortlists, and in the relationships with chairs and nominations committees that make board searches run smoothly.

She also brings a strong network of senior tax professionals, which helps on searches where tax, finance and governance overlap.

Sacha Tunks

Senior Recruiter

Sacha runs SMF searches day to day once a client has briefed us. She maps the market for each role, builds the longlist, approaches candidates, runs the first-stage conversations and keeps clients updated as the search moves forward.

She works closely with Adrian and Jodie to sharpen the search strategy as the market responds, and she manages shortlists, interviews and follow-up through to offer. For clients, Sacha is usually the person they speak to most during a live search.

Jessica Lawrence

Junior Recruiter

Jessica supports our live searches and is often the first person clients and candidates speak to. She coordinates interviews and diaries, prepares briefing documents and makes sure candidates know exactly what to expect at each stage.

She works alongside Sacha on candidate calls and shortlists, and is building her experience across the full range of Senior Manager and certified roles.

Sarah Partridge

Candidate Resourcer

Sarah finds the people. She searches our candidate database of around 10,000 senior finance, compliance and governance professionals, our pooled network across the group and the wider market to identify Senior Managers who match each brief.

She keeps candidate records accurate and up to date, makes first contact with potential candidates, and gathers the background on availability, notice periods and pay that shapes a realistic shortlist.

How We Work Together on an SMF Search

Every mandate follows the same sequence, adjusted for the designation, the size of the firm and whether the role is permanent, interim or fractional.

Brief and designation. Adrian takes the first call, agrees the brief and confirms which Senior Manager Function the role needs, so the search starts from the right designation and Statement of Responsibilities.
Market mapping. Sarah and Sacha map the market and search our database and network for people who match the brief, including those who are not actively looking.
Approach and first conversations. Sacha and Jessica approach candidates and run first-stage calls, testing experience against what the regulator will look for at approval.
Assessment and shortlist. Jodie and Adrian assess leadership and behavioural fit and agree the shortlist, so you only meet candidates we would back through a regulatory interview.
Offer and approval. We manage interviews, references and the offer, and stay involved through the approval process until your new Senior Manager is in post.

Why a Small, Senior Team Matters for Regulated Hiring

A Senior Manager appointment carries regulatory risk as well as business risk. If the regulator has concerns about a candidate, an application can stall for months, and a refused or withdrawn application has to be disclosed on future applications. The firm is left with a gap in a role it is required to fill.

That is why the people running the search need to understand the regime as well as the market. Our founder is a chartered accountant and former listed-company Finance Director, and the team works on regulated appointments every day. We test candidates against the regulator’s fit and proper criteria (honesty, integrity and reputation; competence and capability; and financial soundness) before they reach your shortlist, not after the offer. Our guide to the fit and proper test explains what the regulator assesses, and you can check any candidate’s approval history on the FCA Financial Services Register.

One point of contact

The same people from brief to start date, with Adrian involved in every search.

Regulatory understanding

Designations, Statements of Responsibilities and approval timelines are part of the brief, not an afterthought.

Discretion

Many SMF searches are confidential replacements. We run them quietly and protect both client and candidate.

Part of a Specialist Recruitment Network

SMF Capital is part of a group of specialist recruitment firms founded by Adrian Lawrence FCA. Each firm focuses on its own part of the market, and the network of senior candidates, many of whom also sit on boards as non-executives, is shared across the group.

Who will I deal with on my search?

Adrian takes the first call and agrees the brief. Day to day you will usually work with Sacha, supported by Jessica, while Sarah resources candidates in the background. Adrian and Jodie are involved in assessment and the final shortlist.

Is every search led by Adrian Lawrence FCA?

Yes. Adrian leads or supervises every SMF search personally, including the briefing, the designation advice and sign-off of the shortlist.

Do you recruit outside London?

Yes. We recruit across the UK, with dedicated pages for London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Edinburgh, and many SMF roles are now hybrid or fractional.

How do I speak to the team about my next role?

Register as a candidate or contact us. Every conversation is confidential, and we will only put you forward for a role with your agreement.

About Our Founder

SMF Capital was founded by Adrian Lawrence FCA, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales who holds an ICAEW practising certificate in his own name (Chartered Accountant). He is a former listed-company Finance Director with a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London, and has more than 25 years of experience working with boards, investors and owner-managers.

Adrian founded FD Capital in 2018 and has since built a group of specialist recruitment firms. He set up SMF Capital so that FCA and PRA-regulated firms could hire Senior Managers with the regulator’s fit and proper assessment built into the search from the first conversation.

View Adrian’s ICAEW profile · More about our founder

Talk to the Team

Tell us about the role, the designation and your timetable. We will come back within one working day with how we would run the search.

Tell us about your SMF hire Call 0203 745 0239