DIRECTORBANK – MID-YEAR REVIEW 2026:
Over recent months, the Directorbank team has seen a clear uptick in client activity, following a more cautious start to the year amid political uncertainty and global shockwaves. We now see clear momentum, with renewed appetite for experienced, PE-proven leaders both to prepare businesses for exit and to strengthen teams behind newly completed buyouts and bolt-ons.
To read our latest UK Market Snapshot (Q2), click here – Directorbank_Q2 2026 Market Overview.
In the last quarter, demand has been particularly strong for CFOs alongside robust CEO/MD activity. There has also been growing drive for commercial leadership roles across Sales, Marketing, Revenue and Business Development as portfolio companies place emphasis on organic growth, pricing discipline and go-to-market execution as levers of value creation.
We’ve also seen increased demand for Non-Exec Chairs as portfolio Boards bring in the governance, sector expertise and constructive challenge needed to support both deal activity and value creation plans through to exit.
At the sector level, Industrials has performed strongly with a genuine rotation towards blue-collar services and industrial assets offering secure, sticky, recurring revenues. Business Services and Technology continue to perform well, although we have noted some caution around software businesses as investors assess the longer-term impact of AI on business models and valuations. Our German practice continues to perform excellently contributing more than a third of our overall business.
As a leading search partner to mid-market Private Equity investors and their portfolio companies in the UK and DACH regions, we remain focused on supporting entrepreneurial businesses at each stage of their growth journey through the identification of the best human capital available.
To view a summary of our activity and highlights, click here: Mid year review 2026