UK Finance Pay: Key Findings, October 2026

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1. Large companies pay finance leaders 44% to 52% more

Median base salary at companies with more than 1,000 staff against companies with 200 staff or fewer. Number of people in brackets.

Roles	1,000+ staff	200 or fewer	Gap
CFO and Group Finance Director	£229,000 (12)	£150,000 (62)	+52%
Finance Director and Commercial Finance Director	£148,000 (16)	£103,000 (36)	+44%
Head of Finance, Group Financial Controller and Head of FP&A	£123,000 (14)	£85,000 (25)	+44%

2. Half of finance staff with a bonus scheme were paid below their potential

Of 215 people who told us both their potential bonus and what they were actually paid last year, 51% received less than their potential and one in eight received nothing at all. For those paid short, the median shortfall was £10,000. The result is the same for people who have been in their role for at least a year (51%, 13% and £10,500).

3. Private equity pays 20% to 32% more at senior level

Median base salary at private equity backed companies against privately owned businesses.

Roles	PE-backed	Privately owned	Gap
CFO and Group Finance Director	£180,000 (29)	£150,000 (41)	+20%
Finance Director and Commercial Finance Director	£150,000 (16)	£114,000 (33)	+32%
Head of Finance, Group Financial Controller and Head of FP&A	£120,000 (15)	£95,000 (27)	+26%

4. London Finance Directors earn 30% more

Finance Directors and Commercial Finance Directors in London earn a median £130,000 (51 people), against £100,000 elsewhere in the UK (22 people). See all finance salaries in London.

How these were tested

Permanent UK roles, one entry per person, shared anonymously. Medians rounded to the nearest £1,000.
At least 10 people behind every figure, and seniority compared like for like.
A gap is reported only if it holds up statistically: a bootstrap 90% interval on the difference in medians that excludes zero.
Not reported because they did not pass: a London premium at CFO and at Head of Finance level, and the company size and private equity gaps at Financial Controller level. That does not mean there is no gap, only that this data does not prove one yet.

Full method: how the index works. Live figures by role, which update daily: UK finance salary guide.

Using these findings

You’re welcome to quote them with a credit to “The Finance Pay Index (financepayindex.com), October 2026”. For a particular cut of the data, email dan@financepayindex.com.