Ludgate Advisors Ltd is an ICAEW-registered firm.
We build and operate the finance function for funded technology, AI and software, and digital asset businesses, from the first management accounts through to board reporting and CFO-level strategy.
Ludgate Advisors Ltd is an ICAEW-registered firm.
A capital raise brings new expectations from investors, boards and auditors. The finance function is typically required to mature more quickly than the wider team can grow.
Investors expect timely reporting, a well-organised data room and financial information that withstands scrutiny.
Audit thresholds and regulatory obligations are often reached earlier than anticipated, and preparation needs to begin well in advance.
Growth brings more people, transactions and entities. Processes and controls designed for an early-stage business generally need to be rebuilt.
Decisions on hiring, runway and pricing carry greater consequence and benefit from senior financial input.
Many growing businesses do not yet require a full-time CFO. A fractional finance function provides senior expertise while accountability remains with the board, and allows a permanent appointment to be deferred until the business requires it.
Our clients have typically raised external capital, or reached a scale at which the finance function requires dedicated senior attention.
From Seed to Series B and beyond: board reporting, runway management and investor-grade financial information from the first funding round.
Financial discipline that keeps pace with rapid product and revenue growth, without the cost of a full in-house finance team.
Protocols, funds and token issuers requiring specialist digital asset accounting, delivered to the standards expected in traditional finance. See our specialism →
Funded businesses that have outgrown basic bookkeeping but do not yet require a full-time CFO.
Cryptoasset firms, stablecoin issuers and other financial services firms preparing the financial and prudential elements of an FCA application.
Engagements are scoped to the stage of the business and can be extended as requirements develop, with consistent senior oversight throughout.
Fixed fee, scoped to the FSMA permissions sought.
Following authorisation, the engagement typically continues under the Controller tier.
Discuss your application →"Aaron was a great sounding board and helped put robust financial systems in place for us. Would highly recommend him."
Cryptoasset and Web3 businesses raise accounting and finance questions that many practices are not equipped to address. We have built and operated finance functions for protocols, funds and token issuers.
On-chain transaction accounting, wallet and exchange reconciliation, and multi-token subledger construction. Treatment under FRS 102, IAS 38 revaluation, and the US GAAP fair-value model introduced by ASU 2023-08, with the disclosure positions to support each.
Token model and incentive design, treasury structuring for protocols, DAOs and funds, and the accounting and control framework required to support an on-chain treasury through audit.
R&D tax credit claims for crypto and deep-tech teams, employee token warrant and option structuring, employment-related securities reporting, and UK corporation tax treatment of digital assets.
Structuring support for tokenised real-world assets, from perimeter scoping through phased delivery, working alongside regulatory counsel on authorisation questions.
Our support for firms seeking FCA authorisation under the new cryptoasset regime →
Digital asset engagements are delivered to the same standards of rigour that apply across all of our work.
A selection of engagements led by our founder, Aaron Scrupps, including work carried out before Ludgate Advisors was founded. Client details anonymised.
Each engagement is led end to end by one of our senior finance leads, each of whom has run finance functions within scaleups and is personally accountable for the work. Our leads are supported by a named bench: gunnercooke LLP for legal, regulatory and corporate counsel, and accounting delivery partners for bookkeeping, payroll and statutory compliance, all working under the lead's oversight. On FCA authorisation projects, we work alongside gunnercooke's regulatory lawyers to provide a combined legal and financial offering.
Corporate, commercial and regulatory advice; authorisation and perimeter questions handled by specialists when they arise.
R&D tax credits, EMI/CSOP scheme structuring and HMRC valuation, corporation tax plus sector-specific treatment.
Fundraising mechanics, convertibles and ASAs, governance, data protection and financial-crime controls.
Bookkeeping, payroll and statutory compliance capacity through named delivery partners, executed under your lead's personal oversight.
Each finance lead works with a deliberately limited number of clients, so that every engagement receives sustained senior attention.
Aaron founded Ludgate Advisors to bring senior, institutional-grade finance leadership to growth-stage companies. A Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and an Operating Partner at gunnercooke LLP, he has built and run finance functions across scaleups and complex, fast-moving businesses, with particular depth in digital assets.
Legal and regulatory work is introduced to gunnercooke and engaged directly by the client; accounting, finance and tax engagements are delivered by Ludgate Advisors Ltd.
Practical commentary on runway, fundraising, audit readiness and digital asset finance, reflecting the questions most often raised by founders and boards.
How CRYPTOPRU sets a UK cryptoasset firm's capital requirement: permanent minimum, fixed overheads, K-factors, own funds and liquidity, with a worked example.
Read →Why businesses that make it through tough markets treat cash runway as a core operating habit, not just a figure to check when the board asks.
Read →The audit and compliance obligations that arrive with growth capital, and how to be ready long before the auditor calls.
Read →An initial conversation is the most efficient way to establish whether a fractional finance function is appropriate for your business, whether the requirement is management accounts, board reporting, fundraising support or digital asset advice. There is no obligation.
Select a convenient time. We will discuss your current position and the priorities that follow.
Book a 20-minute call