£7.2m
Capital raised & structured
Fractional CFO · engineering & innovation
Financial clarity for hard problems.
Senior finance leadership for founders turning ambitious engineering into companies — without the cost of a full-time CFO. Models that survive contact with reality, fundraising you can defend, and numbers your board actually trusts.
£7.2m
Capital raised & structured£500k
R&D claims supported£20m+
Grant funds secured & supportedpre‑seed→B
Stage focus
§01 / Capabilities
What I do
Embedded, hands-on finance — sized to your stage. Take the whole function, or just the part you're missing.
01
LeadFractional CFO
Embedded finance leadership a few days a month — strategy, hiring, board prep, the entire function — at a fraction of a full-time hire.
A few days / month
02
ModelPlanning & forecasting
Scenario models tied to your R&D milestones, so every decision is priced in months of runway — not vague optimism.
Scenario-tested
03
FundRaise & diligence
Data rooms, diligence and the numbers behind your raise — with SEIS/EIS structured properly from the start.
SEIS / EIS
04
ClaimR&D tax & grants
Claim what your science is owed. R&D tax relief and Innovate UK grant support, documented to withstand scrutiny.
Innovate UK
05
ReportBoard & investor reporting
Reporting your investors read without a follow-up email. One source of truth, on a rhythm they can rely on.
One source of truth
For the builders
You're building the hard thing. I'll keep the numbers honest.
Finance that moves at the pace of the people making it
§02 / Track record
By the numbers
£500k
R&D claims supported6days/mo
Typical engagement10
Founders & teams backed12yrs
In engineering & innovation finance4mo+
Average runway extension
§03 / Approach
How I work
01 — Embedded
Inside the company
Not advice at arm's length. I work as part of your team, in your tools, with my hands on the actual model.
02 — Sized to stage
As much as you need
A few days a month at pre-seed, scaling as you grow. You carry senior finance without carrying a salary.
03 — Built to defend
Numbers that hold up
Every model, claim and report is built to survive an investor, an auditor and HMRC reading it closely.
§04 / Who it's for
Built for engineering & innovation
Long R&D timelines, capital intensity and technical risk break ordinary financial planning. That's the work I do best.
Stage: pre-seed to Series B
§05 / About
Who you'd work with
James de Couter · Founder & Director
James de Couter is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) and the founder of Focused Performance, with over twenty years bringing financial rigour to ambitious organisations.
He works as a fractional CFO and finance director to engineering and innovation companies — including aerospace innovator Skyfly Technologies, where he is helping the business raise its Series A and move from prototype toward market. His background runs from motorsport engineering at Prodrive to leading finance for a £30m sustainability group, giving him a rare feel for businesses where hard technical work has to become a fundable, well-run company.
His approach is simplification and transparency — making financial performance genuinely understood so leadership teams can make the best decisions for sustainable growth. He is at his best alongside teams who care deeply about their product and want to make a dent in the world.
Based in Oxfordshire, working with founders across the UK and remotely.
20+years in finance leadership
FCCAfellow chartered accountant
10founders & teams backed
Start a conversation
Let's look at your numbers.
A short call to understand where you are and whether I can help. No deck required.