Delivering Strategic Financial Leadership for HPS Services FM and Edozo

Background

HPS Services FM is one of the UK's leading providers of integrated facilities management services to the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and higher education sectors. Supporting a nationwide portfolio and employing more than 500 people, the business has built a strong reputation for service quality and sector expertise.

Alongside HPS Services FM sits Edozo, a property technology business providing automated data, valuation and workflow solutions to UK property consultancies. Operating in the fast-moving PropTech market, Edozo has ambitious growth plans supported by a clear long-term strategy.

As both organisations entered a significant period of expansion, they needed an experienced Group Finance Director who could provide strategic financial leadership across two complementary but operationally distinct businesses. Maxwell Stephens was engaged to run the search.

The Challenge

This was a specialised senior leadership appointment. The Group Finance Director would need to operate across both facilities management and technology, overseeing the financial direction of two growing organisations while supporting ambitious commercial objectives, operational scalability and long-term value creation.

The remit was broad. Key areas of responsibility included:

• Group financial leadership and governance — financial reporting, board-level reporting and stakeholder engagement across both entities.
• Planning and performance — strategic business planning, budgeting and forecasting, and the development of performance reporting and KPIs.
• Cash and liquidity — cash flow and liquidity management across a multi-entity structure.
• Operational efficiency — margin improvement and efficiency initiatives in both businesses.
• Corporate activity — mergers, acquisitions and investment readiness, together with exit planning and value creation initiatives.
• Team leadership — leading and developing the finance function.

What made the search difficult was the combination. The role demanded someone who could balance hands-on financial management with strategic leadership, while supporting two businesses in different sectors and at different points in their growth cycles. Finance leaders who have scaled a people-heavy services business are not always the same people who have built the financial model for a technology company, and this brief needed both. Strong commercial awareness, leadership capability and experience of guiding businesses through transformation and expansion were essential.

Our Approach

Understanding the Requirement

Maxwell Stephens worked closely with senior stakeholders across both organisations to build a thorough understanding of their growth objectives, financial structures and long-term strategic plans. That work shaped the candidate profile: a finance leader who could operate confidently across multiple business models, provide clear financial leadership and support future expansion.

Executive Search

Drawing on our network across facilities management, property services and professional services, we conducted a targeted search for senior finance leaders with experience of multi-entity finance leadership, growth and scale-up environments, facilities management businesses, professional and technology services, strategic financial planning, operational transformation, M&A activity and transaction support, and exit preparation and value optimisation.

Particular emphasis was placed on candidates with strong commercial instincts, proven leadership capability and the ability to influence strategic decision-making at board level.

Candidate Assessment

Candidates were assessed against a range of technical, commercial and leadership competencies:

• Financial strategy and planning, and commercial finance expertise
• Forecasting and reporting capability
• Cash flow and working capital management
• Team leadership and succession development
• Stakeholder management and board engagement
• Operational improvement and efficiency delivery
• Experience supporting business growth and transformation

The aim throughout was to identify a finance leader who could deliver immediate value while supporting the long-term ambitions of both organisations.

The Outcome

Maxwell Stephens placed an experienced Group Finance Director with a strong track record of leading finance functions through periods of growth, transformation and strategic development. The successful candidate brought extensive experience of managing complex financial operations and the commercial acumen needed to support ambitious business objectives.

Their key strengths included:

• Extensive multi-entity financial leadership experience
• Strong commercial and operational finance expertise
• Proven success supporting business growth and scalability
• Experience leading high-performing finance teams
• Expertise in forecasting, reporting and cash flow management
• Strong stakeholder engagement and board-level communication skills
• Experience supporting transaction readiness and strategic business planning

Following their appointment, the Group Finance Director assumed responsibility for the financial leadership of both HPS Services FM and Edozo.

Both organisations now have a senior finance leader capable of supporting continued expansion while helping position the businesses for long-term value creation.

Why This Placement Worked

Group finance appointments that span unrelated business models tend to go wrong when the search is anchored to one of them. A candidate chosen for services-sector credentials alone can struggle with the different revenue profile and investment case of a technology business, and the reverse is equally true.

By taking the time to understand both organisations before defining the profile, and by assessing candidates against the full range of competencies the combined role demanded, this search produced a leader equipped to serve both businesses rather than favouring one.

Maxwell Stephens supports organisations across facilities management, property, technology and professional services with senior leadership and executive appointments, including Finance Directors and CFOs, facilities, property and estates leadership, commercial and operational directors, growth and transformation roles, and board and senior management recruitment. If you are planning a similar appointment, get in touch with our team.