Commercial Salary Benchmarking
The UK commercial hiring market continues to evolve as financial services firms compete for experienced sales, business development and commercial leadership talent.
This guide benchmarks salaries across fund administration, SaaS, fintech and digital assets, providing salary insights for commercial professionals, hiring managers and organisations building high-performing revenue teams across the UK.
UK Commercial Leadership Salary Benchmarks
Figures are shown in GBP. Base salary represents fixed annual cash, while total target compensation includes on-target variable or bonus and excludes equity, carry and token upside.
| Role | Base Salary | Total Target Comp / OTE |
|---|---|---|
| Fund Administration | ||
| Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | £250k–£420k | £450k–£900k |
| Chief Operating Officer (COO) | £190k–£280k | £300k–£520k |
| Country Head / Managing Director | £180k–£260k | £320k–£560k |
| Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) | £160k–£230k | £280k–£480k |
| BD / Sales Director | £110k–£160k | £180k–£300k |
| Head of Fund Administration | £120k–£180k | £150k–£240k |
| Base plus annual bonus, typically 20–45% of base at leadership level. CCO and BD roles carry a larger variable / OTE component. Equity or LTIP may feature at platform-owned administrators, with carry-style participation increasingly attached to GP-servicing commercial P&Ls. | ||
| SaaS & Fintech | ||
| Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | £200k–£350k | £300k–£600k |
| Chief Operating Officer (COO) | £170k–£250k | £260k–£430k |
| Country Head / General Manager | £140k–£200k | £240k–£390k |
| Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) | £160k–£230k | £300k–£520k |
| BD / Sales Director | £100k–£150k | £180k–£320k |
| Head of Client Delivery / Operations | £110k–£160k | £150k–£230k |
| Base plus variable, with BD and CCO OTE typically weighted 60/40 to 50/50. Equity is central, with options or RSUs forming a material part of leadership packages at scale-ups. Sign-ons or buy-outs are also common in candidate-short segments. | ||
| Digital Assets | ||
| Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | £200k–£400k | £320k–£700k |
| Chief Operating Officer (COO) | £170k–£260k | £280k–£470k |
| Country Head / General Manager | £140k–£210k | £240k–£410k |
| Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) | £160k–£250k | £300k–£560k |
| BD / Sales Director | £110k–£170k | £190k–£360k |
| Head of Operations | £120k–£180k | £170k–£280k |
| Base plus variable plus equity and/or token allocations. Token and equity upside is highly variable and can exceed cash compensation. Regulated, institutional commercial experience commands a clear premium. | ||
UK Mid-Senior Commercial Salary Benchmarks
Figures are shown in GBP. Base salary represents fixed annual cash, while total target compensation includes on-target variable or OTE and excludes equity, carry and token upside.
| Role | Base Salary | Total Target Comp / OTE |
|---|---|---|
| Fund Administration | ||
| Head of Sales / VP Sales | £95k–£140k | £165k–£285k |
| Senior BD Manager | £78k–£112k | £135k–£225k |
| BD Manager / Sales Manager | £60k–£88k | £98k–£165k |
| Solutions / Proposals Manager | £65k–£95k | £88k–£145k |
| Client Relationship / Account Manager | £55k–£82k | £78k–£132k |
| BD Representative / Sales Executive | £42k–£62k | £60k–£105k |
| Base plus variable. Commission and bonus are lighter than at Director level, while Solutions / Proposals and Client Relationship roles are more base-weighted. Scarce private-markets fund experience may command a premium. | ||
| SaaS & Fintech | ||
| Head of Sales / VP Sales | £100k–£148k | £175k–£310k |
| Senior BD Manager | £80k–£115k | £145k–£245k |
| BD Manager / Sales Manager | £62k–£92k | £108k–£185k |
| Sales Engineer / Solutions Consultant | £72k–£110k | £105k–£165k |
| Customer Success / Account Manager | £58k–£88k | £88k–£148k |
| SDR / BD Representative | £42k–£62k | £62k–£110k |
| Base plus variable, with BD roles commonly weighted around 50/50 from base to OTE. Sales Engineers and Customer Success roles are more base-weighted, while options or RSUs may extend into this level at scale-ups. | ||
| Digital Assets | ||
| Head of Sales / VP Sales | £105k–£155k | £185k–£340k |
| Senior BD Manager | £85k–£122k | £155k–£270k |
| BD Manager / Sales Manager | £65k–£98k | £118k–£205k |
| Sales Engineer / Solutions Consultant | £75k–£115k | £108k–£175k |
| Client Relationship / Account Manager | £60k–£90k | £92k–£160k |
| SDR / BD Representative | £45k–£66k | £68k–£125k |
| Base plus variable, with token or equity allocations often extending below leadership level. Institutional and regulated digital-asset experience can command a premium. | ||
Elliott Snowball is the head of the Fund & Corporate Services Recruitment division at Broadgate Search, where he leads senior-level hiring across the third-party fund and investor services market in Europe.
He partners with market-leading businesses that support the private markets and traditional investment sectors, focusing on senior appointments and commercial & business development roles.
Elliott manages a team of five specialised consultants, each responsible for a focused segment of the third-party fund services market, delivering mid- to senior-level searches across areas such as depository, accounting, administration and compliance throughout the UK, Luxembourg, Dublin, and the Channel Islands.
During his five years at Broadgate, Elliott has developed the fund administration market into the company’s highest-performing area, supported by a strong network of senior and passive talent and successful searches across multiple jurisdictions.
His frequent travels to Luxembourg, Jersey & Ireland deepen his market relationships and underpin steady, in-person engagement across the fund and corporate services sector.