FDM Group

FDM Group is a United Kingdom-based information-technology consulting company whose operating model combines graduate recruitment, structured technical training and client-facing consultancy placements. The company primarily recruits university graduates, people returning to work and former military personnel, trains them through its Skills Labs and then assigns them to client projects. Its clients have historically included major banks and other financial institutions, although the business also serves organisations across broader technology-intensive sectors. The company was established in Brighton in 1990 by Rod Flavell and Jacqueline Flavell. It initially operated under the name Flavell Divett and focused on IT recruitment. In 1995, it acquired Mountfield Software. The acquisition helped move the business beyond recruitment alone, and in 1998 the company adopted the FDM Group name while developing a model in which it trained and employed its own consultants, known internally as “Mounties,” before placing them with customers. FDM pursued a public listing on the Alternative Investment Market in April 2005, raising £3 million net for the company. It returned to private ownership in 2009 through a management buyout led by Rod and Sheila Flavell and Andy Brown, with backing from Inflexion. The company subsequently returned to the public markets in June 2014, listing on the London Stock Exchange at a valuation of approximately £308 million. FDM’s commercial proposition is based on supplying clients with trained technology and business professionals while providing candidates with an entry route into consulting. The model gives the company a relatively distinctive position between conventional recruitment agencies, outsourcing firms and technology consultancies: FDM controls much of the early training and employment process, then generates revenue from consultant placements and client engagements. Its specialist capabilities include software engineering, data and analytics, IT operations, change and transformation, and risk, regulation and compliance. The company has also promoted initiatives intended to widen participation in technology careers. Its Women in IT programme has focused on attracting and encouraging women in STEM-related roles, and FDM sponsored the everywoman in Technology Awards in London from 2013 through 2016. It has also supported the Wall Street Rocks charity concert. FDM’s employment and training-contract practices have attracted scrutiny. In 2018, UK Member of Parliament Frank Field asked the business secretary to investigate contractual fees that could reach £20,000 when trainees left before completing a two-year period. Critics questioned whether those charges reflected genuine training costs and compared the arrangements with forms of indentured employment. In Ontario, Canada, the Ministry of Labour ruled in 2018 that a fee charged to a worker who left an assignment at Royal Bank of Canada was unlawful under the Employment Standards Act. FDM subsequently revised the wording of its contract but retained a fee provision, according to reporting cited in the company’s Wikipedia article. In March 2024, FDM introduced a brand refresh and reorganised its offer around five specialist practices: Software Engineering; Data & Analytics; IT Operations; Change & Transformation; and Risk, Regulation & Compliance. The refresh presented the company as a broader business and technology consultancy rather than solely a graduate-placement provider.

FDM Group began in Brighton in 1990, founded by Rod Flavell and Jacqueline Flavell. The original business, named Flavell Divett, concentrated on IT recruitment. Brian Divett joined as chairman and Julian Divett became chief operating officer. The company’s early activities focused on matching technology personnel with employers rather than delivering a fully integrated consulting service. A major transition occurred in 1995 when the company acquired Mountfield Software. In 1998, it changed its name to FDM Group and developed a model based on recruiting and training its own consultants before placing them at client sites. These consultants became informally associated with the term “Mounties,” reflecting the Mountfield heritage. The model enabled FDM to control candidate preparation and offer customers a ready supply of technology professionals. FDM entered the public markets in April 2005 through a flotation on the Alternative Investment Market. The transaction raised £3 million net for the company. Four years later, in 2009, a management buyout led by Rod and Sheila Flavell and Andy Brown, supported by Inflexion, returned FDM to private ownership. The business later re-entered the public markets in June 2014, when it listed on the London Stock Exchange at a stated valuation of approximately £308 million. The company’s customer base has been strongly associated with banking and financial services, sectors that require large numbers of technology specialists in software delivery, infrastructure, operations, data, regulatory change and risk management. FDM’s recruitment model has focused on university graduates, people returning to professional work and former members of the armed forces. Candidates undergo training in FDM Skills Labs and are subsequently deployed as consultants on client assignments. Alongside its commercial activities, FDM has promoted diversity and community initiatives. Its Women in IT programme has sought to encourage women to enter technology careers, and the company sponsored London’s everywoman in Technology Awards in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. FDM also sponsored the Wall Street Rocks charity concert. The company’s trainee contracts became a source of public and legal scrutiny. In 2018, Frank Field wrote to the UK business secretary asking for an official examination of fees that could be imposed when candidates left before completing a two-year period. Critics argued that charges of up to £20,000 might not correspond to actual training costs and described the arrangement as coercive. In Canada, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour ruled during the same year that a fee charged to a worker who left an assignment with Royal Bank of Canada was illegal under provincial employment legislation. FDM later changed contract wording while retaining a fee provision, according to the cited reference material. In March 2024, FDM refreshed its brand and articulated five specialist practices: Software Engineering, Data & Analytics, IT Operations, Change & Transformation, and Risk, Regulation & Compliance. This repositioning broadened the visible description of FDM from a graduate technology-placement company toward a multi-disciplinary business and technology consultancy.

1. 2024Brand refresh and specialist-practice structure

   FDM launched a refreshed identity and defined five specialist consulting practices.

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2. 2018Trainee-fee controversy and Ontario ruling

   The company faced political scrutiny in the UK and an Ontario labour ruling concerning fees charged to departing trainees or workers.

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3. 2014Return to the London Stock Exchange

   FDM returned to public ownership in June with a stated valuation of approximately £308 million.

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4. 2009Management buyout

   A management buyout led by Rod and Sheila Flavell and Andy Brown, backed by Inflexion, took the company private.

   Source
5. 2005Admission to AIM

   FDM floated on the Alternative Investment Market and raised £3 million net.

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6. 1998Business renamed FDM Group

   The company adopted the FDM Group name and expanded its model to recruit, train and place consultants with clients.

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7. 1995Mountfield Software acquired

   The acquisition supported the company’s move toward developing and supplying its own trained technology consultants.

   Source
8. 1990Company founded in Brighton

   Rod Flavell and Jacqueline Flavell established the business as Flavell Divett, initially focusing on IT recruitment.

   Source

A people-led technology consultancy that recruits from graduate, returner and ex-military talent pools, provides structured training and deploys consultants to client organisations, particularly in financial services.

• FDM Skills LabsTechnology training

  FDM Skills Labs provide structured technical and professional preparation for people entering the company’s consulting workforce. The training supports FDM’s model of recruiting graduates, returners and ex-military personnel, then assigning them to technology roles with client organisations.

• Consultant placementsIT consulting and staffing1998

  FDM employs and places trained consultants on client assignments. This service is particularly associated with banks and financial institutions requiring technology professionals for software delivery, operations, data, transformation and regulatory work.

• Software EngineeringTechnology consulting2024

  The software-engineering practice supplies consulting capability for software development and technology delivery work through FDM-trained consultants and broader business and technology engagements.

• Data & AnalyticsData consulting2024

  The Data & Analytics practice addresses consulting requirements involving organisational data, analytical capabilities and technology-enabled decision support.

• IT OperationsIT operations consulting2024

  The IT Operations practice covers technology operations and service-support requirements delivered through FDM’s consulting workforce.

• Change & TransformationBusiness transformation consulting2024

  The Change & Transformation practice supports organisations undertaking business, operating-model and technology change.

• Risk, Regulation & ComplianceRisk and compliance consulting2024

  This practice focuses on consulting work connected with risk management, regulatory obligations and compliance programmes, areas of particular relevance to financial-services clients.

• 2016Women in IT / everywoman in Technology Awards sponsorship

  United Kingdom

  FDM’s fourth cited year of sponsorship formed part of its Women in IT positioning.

  Source
• 2015Women in IT / everywoman in Technology Awards sponsorship

  United Kingdom

  The company maintained its support for the everywoman in Technology Awards.

  Source
• 2014Women in IT / everywoman in Technology Awards sponsorship

  United Kingdom

  FDM continued its sponsorship of the London-based technology awards and promoted women’s participation in IT.

  Source
• 2013Women in IT / everywoman in Technology Awards sponsorship

  United Kingdom

  FDM supported the everywoman in Technology Awards as part of its wider effort to encourage women to pursue technology and STEM careers.

  Outcome. The sponsorship continued through 2016.

  Source
• Wall Street Rocks sponsorship

  United Kingdom

  FDM sponsored the Wall Street Rocks charity concert.

  Source

• 2024Brand refresh and five-practice operating propositionStrategy

  FDM sought to present its offer as a broader business and technology consultancy.

  What changed. The company refreshed its brand and introduced practices covering software engineering, data and analytics, IT operations, change and transformation, and risk, regulation and compliance.

  Aftermath. The refreshed structure broadened the public-facing description of FDM’s consulting capabilities.

  Source
• 2014Relisting on the London Stock ExchangeM&A

  Following the 2009 buyout, FDM pursued a return to public ownership.

  What changed. FDM listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 2014.

  Aftermath. The listing valued the company at approximately £308 million.

  Stated company valuation at relisting. £308 million (June 2014)

  Source
• 2009Management buyout and return to private ownershipM&A

  FDM had previously been publicly traded on AIM.

  What changed. A management buyout led by Rod and Sheila Flavell and Andy Brown, supported by Inflexion, took the company private.

  Aftermath. FDM later returned to the public markets in 2014.

  Source
• 1998Shift from recruitment toward trained consultant placementsStrategy

  After acquiring Mountfield Software, FDM sought to build a more integrated technology-services model.

  What changed. The company changed its name to FDM Group and began recruiting, training and placing its own consultants.

  Aftermath. This became the foundation of FDM’s distinctive graduate-training and consulting model.

  Source

• 2018Scrutiny of trainee early-departure feesControversy

  UK MP Frank Field asked for an official inquiry into contractual fees that could reach £20,000 when trainees left before completing a two-year period. Critics questioned whether the charges represented genuine training costs and described the arrangements as coercive.

  Source
• 2018Ontario ruling on worker feeControversy

  Ontario’s Ministry of Labour ruled that a fee charged to a worker who left an FDM placement at Royal Bank of Canada was unlawful under the Employment Standards Act. FDM later reworded its contract while retaining a fee provision, according to the cited reference.

  Source

• 2024FDM Group introduces brand refresh and five specialist practices

  FDM presented a refreshed identity and organised its consulting proposition around Software Engineering, Data & Analytics, IT Operations, Change & Transformation, and Risk, Regulation & Compliance.

  CampaignProduct launch
  Source

1. FDM Group
2. FDM Group official website