How is everyone feeling? (and a prediction for 2026)
Wow. Nearly there. 30 sleeps until Christmas.
So, what have been the themes of 2025 for the clients we work with and what’s their current outlook for the year ahead?
Well, it’s been tough in the main. There’s no getting away from it.
For lots of people in our network this year has been the business equivalent of getting on the scales after 11 months of disciplined dieting & fastidious exercise and weighing exactly what you did on 1st Jan!
The majority of the MDs, FDs, FCs and qualified accountants we speak to each day describe 2025 as a bit of a long old slog of a year.
They all spent this year doing all of the right things with a high level of gusto and energy… focused on growth strategies, cost management, profit retention, people development… and unfortunately for many the outcome has been not very exciting…
As a nation we’ve peddled very hard to stay static and stoic!
Lots of finance functions and board rooms feeling strain and pressure and lots now experiencing fatigue and the need for a Christmas break & recharge.
But on a positive note, there have been pockets of insanely great results for some businesses and finance folk that I work closely with.
We’ve worked with businesses this year that have more than doubled turnover, groups that have executed rapid acquisition sprees, businesses that have scaled internationally.
Owners and FDs who have navigated successful exits, individuals who have fast tracked their careers through promotions or exciting career moves…
It’s not been all bad out there.
But in the main most people would put this this year in one of the “nothing much to see here”, “bang average” or “dreadful” buckets rather than the “vintage year of stellar performance” collection.
So what does it all mean for 2026???
This week the budget lands. And we probably have a decent idea of what’s coming based on the month of “pitch rolling” that we’ve experienced. Some tax hikes in one way shape or form…
We enter a December when unemployment is up (and rising), vacancy numbers are down (and falling) and the economy is flatlining.
All pretty sobering and depressing right.
Well…. Maybe…
But there’s a weird sense of ‘stiff upper lip mentality’ which were rarely seen during downturns of 2008 or Covid.
A resigned “this might be tough but we will get through it” message from most of my clients. Whether they are owner led businesses, PE or VC backed or larger PLC we aren’t sensing much panic…
A la Barry from Eastenders, there’s almost a feeling of “we’re gonna do it anyway… whatever the government, economy or international landscape gives us we will grit our teeth and make it work”.
That’s the sentiment heard and felt most frequently when we’re meeting or working with MDs and FDs.
And this fills us with reasonably high (maybe contrarian?) optimism for the next year.
We might well see an unexpected burst of activity and improvement.
Not necessarily because businesses owners, investors or finance leaders feel that the government is doing the right things to help them… but because they are just going to tenaciously deliver growth whether it rains or shines.
There’s a kind of collective determination that we are sensing. A steel that people will come out fighting.
Maybe that’s all a bit twee and in reality it’s all going to be a mess with carpets stained with blood… but there just doesn’t seem to be that mood of panic or pessimism at the moment.
So that’s our prediction for 2026… that boardrooms and finance teams will kick us to positivity kicking and screaming whether the government helps them or not.
- In terms of recruitment it’s likely the same trends of 2025 will play out mid market – massive demand for business-facing management accountants & finance business partners and commercially focused newly qualified accountants from both practice and industry routes.
- We will see the same level of solid demand from SMEs looking for FCs / Heads of Finance to steer them through potentially choppy water.
- There may also be an uptick in that senior market (£100k+ salary level)… that FD / CFO market has been damp for 12 – 18 months. It has dramatically slowed from the firm market of 2022 / 23. Lots of people have opted to hunker down in their roles and that might change as we progress through 2026. The brakes may ease off that market and the merry-go-round might kick back off.
One thing is for certain – your finance team (and you!!) probably need a break, a mince pie and a large glass of Baileys this month… it’s been a gruelling year for the business community and we need to give each other an empathetic ear, a day off and a mulled wine.
So in summary as we enter P12 2025 and think about the plan and forecast for 2026, We’re keeping our glass half full – most likely with either Baileys or strong Mulled wine…
If you have recruitment needs that you are keen to brief us on then you know where we are!!
There are still some exciting roles that we are coordinating which will be offered before end of 2025. Happy P12.
Thanks as always for reading!
