The verdict in three sentences
A London hedge fund's website is not a sales tool: it is a due diligence document that allocators, consultants and future hires read before any meeting. City agencies quote a 2026 ballpark of £25,000 to £60,000, while Kolonell applies a fixed grid of £2,300 (Starter), £3,900 (Growth) and £6,900 (Premium). The item that really moves the bill is not design but the gated investor area, priced on quote everywhere.
What allocators look at before the first call
A manager selection consultant or a family office does not look for returns on your homepage. Fund promotion to the public is tightly controlled in the UK by the FCA financial promotion regime, and most managers keep any product information for professional investors, behind a disclaimer. The public site must therefore reassure on pedigree, risk culture and operational maturity.
| Section | What the reader wants to verify | Mistake that costs a meeting |
|---|---|---|
| The firm | Founding date, location, regulatory status | Vague copy with no reference to the FCA register |
| Investment philosophy | Approach described without any return promise | Performance figures on open access |
| Team | Backgrounds of PMs, CRO, COO | Bios frozen for three years |
| Risk and operations | Governance, service providers (administrator, custodian) named with consent | Nothing to prepare operational due diligence |
| Responsible investment | Published policy, real memberships | Commitments that are unmet or unverifiable |
| Careers | Roles, culture, process | Empty page, although recruiting drives many searches |
| Investor area | Access after a professional investor declaration | Disclaimer bypassed in one click |
On search, useful queries are mostly your firm name, partner names, recruiting and your service providers, rarely a product. The site must also comply with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (overseen by the ICO), PECR for cookies and email, and target WCAG 2.2 AA in the spirit of the Equality Act 2010. Have every page signed off by your compliance officer. This is not legal advice.
The budget, line by line
The ranges below are 2026 ballparks drawn from typical London agency quotes and public agency rate pages.
| Provider | Build (GBP) | Investor area | Usual timeline | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London freelancer | 6,000 to 15,000 | Rarely offered | 6 to 10 weeks | Single-person dependency |
| Generalist local agency | 25,000 to 60,000 | Extra | 10 to 16 weeks | Little experience of FCA constraints |
| Financial services specialist agency | 70,000 to 180,000 | Often bundled in a high fee | 4 to 7 months | Strong experience of sign-off workflows |
| Kolonell Starter | £2,300 | On quote | 3 to 4 weeks | Compact corporate site |
| Kolonell Growth | £3,900 | On quote | 3 to 4 weeks | Team, careers, news, analytics tracking |
| Kolonell Premium | £6,900 | On quote | 4 to 6 weeks | Multilingual tier, languages set in the quote |
Every tier includes a project manager reachable in London's time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks (4 to 6 for Premium) and 3 months of support. Portals, integrations (investor CRM, data room) and custom apps are on quote. See the international offer.
The real cost over three years
Three items often escape the first quote: compliance review (in-house or external firm), team photography and maintenance after launch. The table compares an average local agency with the Growth tier, with market assumptions clearly flagged.
| Item over 36 months | Local agency | Kolonell Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Build | £45,000 (market assumption) | £3,900 |
| Compliance review and photography | £3,800 (market assumption) | £3,800 (market assumption) |
| Maintenance months 4 to 36 | £1,200/month, i.e. £39,600 (market assumption) | on quote, £350/month used here, i.e. £11,550 (market assumption) |
| Investor area | Variable | On quote |
| Total excluding investor area | £88,400 | £19,250 |
When a City agency is worth the fee
Go local if your committee insists on in-person workshops at every stage, if the investor area must connect to a data room and a CRM from day one, or if you are launching an entirely new brand for a major raise. Proximity to your compliance team can then shorten sign-off cycles.
Questions to ask before signing
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Who writes the investment philosophy and how many rounds of compliance review are planned? How is the professional investor disclaimer logged? Where is form data hosted, and under which regime? What does adding a partner or a strategy cost after launch?
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Ashgrove Capital, 22 people in Mayfair, European equity long/short strategy. The COO receives a local quote of £45,000 excluding the investor area. He chooses Kolonell Growth at £3,900, adds an external compliance review at £2,000 (market assumption) and a photo shoot at £1,800 (market assumption). Total: 3,900 + 2,000 + 1,800 = £7,700, which is £37,300 below the local quote. The investor area gets a separate quote, scoped with the compliance officer.
FAQ
Can we publish performance on the public site?
Most London managers refrain, since fund promotion is controlled by the FCA and often restricted to professional investors. Figures belong behind the investor area disclaimer, which is on quote.
How long until the site is live?
Allow 3 to 4 weeks for Starter or Growth, 4 to 6 weeks for Premium, plus your compliance review rounds. A specialist agency often quotes 4 to 7 months.
Is the £2,300 Starter tier enough?
For a young manager with a small team, often yes. Once you publish careers, news and several strategies, Growth at £3,900 fits better.
Do we need a site in several languages?
If your allocators are mostly European or Gulf-based, it can help. Premium is the multilingual tier; languages are set in the quote and third-party translation is budgeted separately.
Does search matter for a hedge fund?
Mostly on your name, partner names and recruiting. A fast, well-structured site keeps a directory or an old press article from ranking above you.
Let's scope your project. Public site, investor disclaimer, careers: we define the scope, the tier (£3,900 for Growth) and a launch in 3 to 4 weeks. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
