Fractional COO — London
A fractional COO for London businesses
Senior operations leadership for London and South East technology, hardware and manufacturing companies — one to three embedded days a week, on-site and remote. Led by Dr Gareth Mills, DBA, MBA, MSc, CEng.
The short answer
What does a fractional COO do?
A fractional COO is a senior chief operating officer who works with your business one to three days a week instead of full-time — doing the same job, carrying the same accountability, for a fraction of the cost of a permanent hire.
For London technology, hardware and manufacturing businesses, that means an operator who has run production at scale taking ownership of the operational side of the company while the founders focus on product, customers and fundraising. The work is hands-on, not advisory: decisions get made, not just recommended.
Own the operating plan
Turn the founder's or board's goals into a working plan for manufacturing, supply chain, quality and delivery — with owners, dates and numbers attached.
Run the operating cadence
The weekly and monthly rhythm of reviews, metrics and decisions that keeps a scaling business moving — so progress no longer depends on one person chasing.
Lead manufacturing and supply chain
Supplier selection and audits, contract manufacturing, cost-down programmes, lead-time and inventory decisions, and the route from prototype to volume production.
Build the operations team
Define the roles the business actually needs, hire them, and develop the managers who will run operations after the engagement ends.
Stand up quality and compliance
The quality management system, regulatory approvals and audit readiness that enterprise customers and investors expect to see.
Face investors and the board
Operational due diligence, board reporting and the credibility that comes from a senior operator who has answered these questions before.
Cost, in plain numbers
How much is a fractional COO?
Day rates run £900–£1,200 depending on scope and sector — the same nationwide, with no London premium. Most engagements run one to three days per week.
| Cadence | Monthly cost | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day per week | ≈ £3,900–£5,200 | Advisory weight — board support, key decisions, cadence |
| 2 days per week | ≈ £7,800–£10,400 | The most common pattern — operations leadership with room to execute |
| 3 days per week | ≈ £11,700–£15,600 | Heavyweight change — manufacturing transfer, turnaround, scale-up |
For comparison, a permanent COO in London costs £180k–£250k+ a year fully loaded before equity, and takes four to six months to recruit. Full breakdown on the pricing page.
Why London companies engage a fractional COO
The operational gap between a funded product and a shipping business
London builds extraordinary products. The failure point is rarely the technology — it is the operating system around it: manufacturing readiness, supply chain, quality and the cadence that keeps them moving.
On-site days where they matter
London and the South East put most of the country's venture-backed hardware and deep-tech businesses within a short journey — so on-site days can be spent on line walks, supplier visits and review meetings rather than travel.
Investor-facing operations
London-headquartered companies raise from London investors. Diligence asks the same operational questions every time: manufacturing plan, supply resilience, quality system, unit cost trajectory and the team that will deliver them.
A capital's cost base
A permanent COO in London costs £180k–£250k+ fully loaded before equity. A fractional COO gives you the same seniority for the two or three days a week the business actually needs.
Manufacturing outside the M25
Most London businesses build somewhere else — the Midlands, Europe, Asia. Managing a distributed manufacturing base from a London office is exactly the problem this engagement is built for.
Where I work
London, the South East and the corridors around it
On-site days are practical across London and the surrounding technology clusters; remote working covers the days in between and the rest of the UK.
- Central and Greater London
- Cambridge and the M11 corridor
- Oxford and the Thames Valley
- Reading, Slough and the M4 corridor
- Kent, Surrey and Sussex
- Remote nationwide between on-site days
Working outside the South East? The UK-wide fractional COO page covers rates, IR35 and how hiring works nationwide.
Common questions
Hiring a fractional COO in London
- How much is a fractional COO?
- In the UK, fractional COO day rates typically run £900–£1,200 depending on scope and sector. Most businesses engage one to three days per week, so the monthly cost is roughly £3,900–£15,600 — against £180k–£250k+ a year fully loaded for a permanent COO in London, before equity.
- What does a fractional COO do?
- A fractional COO does the same job as a full-time chief operating officer, on a part-time basis: they own the operating plan, run the management cadence, lead manufacturing and supply chain, build the operations team, and carry operational accountability to the board. The difference is days per week, not seniority or responsibility.
- Do you work on-site in London?
- Yes. A typical London engagement blends on-site days at your office or manufacturing partner with remote working between days. On-site presence is normally one to two days a week, agreed at the start and adjusted as the engagement matures.
- What does a fractional COO cost in London?
- Day rates run £900–£1,200 depending on scope and sector — the same rates nationwide, with no London premium. A two-day-per-week engagement typically costs £7,800–£10,400 per month.
- How quickly can you start with a London business?
- Typically within two to four weeks of the first call, against four to six months to recruit and onboard a permanent COO.
- Which sectors do you work with in London?
- Technology, hardware, connected products, deep tech, medical and regulated products, and manufacturing-dependent businesses — companies where operations, supply chain and industrialisation decide whether the product ships.
If the need is a full-time gap rather than ongoing part-time leadership, see interim COO or the comparison of fractional, consultant and interim models.
Next step
Book a discovery call
Thirty minutes is usually enough to size the engagement — days per week, on-site pattern and the outcome you need in the next two quarters.
1. Pick a time
30 minutes, by video or phone. Times shown are UK time over the next two working weeks.
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