Are you interested in becoming a management consultant? Consulting firms serve as the backbone of strategic decision-making and operational excellence for businesses across the United Kingdom. From providing smart advice to solving complex problems, these firms are known for their expertise, innovative solutions, and unwavering commitment to client success. With offices in key cities like London and Manchester, they provide strategic advice to a diverse range of industries, from finance and technology to healthcare and consumer goods.
In this blog article, we take a look at the best consulting firms in the UK, focusing on your best career opportunities in terms of prestige and awareness. These firms play a pivotal role in shaping the UK's business landscape, offering strategic advice, innovative solutions, and specialist expertise to businesses of all sizes.
The consulting industry in the UK is known as a dynamic and vibrant sector. Globally, its known for expertise in various fields as well as excellence and innovation. It certainly serves as a hub for both fresh graduates, on the hunt for internship opportunities, as well as professionals, seeking new career options. With an immense appeal for both groups, especially London is one of the world's centers for consulting excellence. Not only performing notably well in Banking, Private Equity or other financial sectors, the metropol is also home for IT-, marketing and operations consultancies.
With a long-term sight, the demand for consultants in the UK remains robust, driven by evolving market dynamics, technological advancements and complex challenges that occur with present developments. All in all, consulting firms experience a steady growth in the long run, reacting to needs in healthcare, energy and other political issues to mention only some of them.
McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Bain & Company, known across industries and countries because of their high reputation and impressive list of global clients, are renowned for their smart advice and are very important in the UK. They have offices in London and Manchester, for example, and help companies as well as governments align their strategies with their goals.
MBB are renowned for their expertise in solving tough problems. With their usage of advanced tools and extensive knowledge about industries to help businesses improve their performance. Regardless of the size of the company, MBB consultants strive to find the best solutions for their customers.
As a result, MBB are a popular choice for graduates as well as experienced job seekers. With their smart ideas and worldwide reach, they have significant influence and have an impact in how companies work, both in the UK and around the world.
McKinsey, BCG and Bain are certainly not only this popular in the UK - the prestigious firms are known globally.
👉If you want to get more details about the UK, check out our article about top consulting firms worldwide.
The Big Four in the UK refers to the four largest global accounting and professional services firms: Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), and KPMG. These firms offer a broad range of services including audit, tax, consulting, and advisory to clients across various industries. With headquarters in London and offices in major cities nationwide, the Big Four play a significant role in supporting businesses, governments, and organizations in navigating complex financial and regulatory landscapes.
Just like MBB, the Big 4 are known all over the world and therefore have a special place in our Top Consulting Firms Worldwide article.
👉 Read more about what consultants do at Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG.
In the following, you will find a comprehensive list of UK Tier 2 consulting firms to pick your personal target firms besides the MBB and the Big Four. Each listed company includes a short profile with useful information at one glance, such as glassdoor ratings and average salaries.
👉 Check out our article on Tier 2 consulting firms.
For nearly forty years, AlixPartners has helped businesses around the world respond quickly and decisively to their most critical challenges – circumstances as diverse as urgent performance improvement, accelerated transformation, complex restructuring, and risk mitigation.
Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) is known for their expertise in turnaround management, performance improvement, and advisory services in complex issues. With a focus on practical solutions and tangible results, A&M supports their clients in various industries like finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and also a member of the S&P 500. Equipping executives with deep data insights, advice, and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities and “building the successful organizations of tomorrow”. Their expert-led, practitioner-sourced, and data-driven research helps clients find the right decisions. More than 15,000 organizations in more than 100 countries have trusted Gartner worldwide.
Javelin Group, part of Accenture Strategy, provides strategy consulting and digital transformation services to the world’s leading retailers and consumer brands. As retail specialists, they help clients to stay competitive by anticipating and responding to changes in customer habits and retail technologies. Their team has a deep understanding of the retail sector and its disciplines needed to adapt to the new consumer era.
Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm with offices in more than 40 countries. They are trusted partners to prestigious organizations. Formerly “A.T. Kearney” is a partner-owned firm, committed to helping clients achieve immediate impact and growing advantage on their mission-critical issues.
L.E.K. Consulting is a global management consulting firm that uses industry expertise and analysis to help business leaders achieve practical results with impact. They want to help clients make better decisions, deliver improved business performance and create greater shareholder returns. The firm advises some of the largest private and public sector organizations, private equity firms, and emerging entrepreneurial businesses.
OC&C Strategy is a global management consulting firm with expertise in strategy, operations, and M&A advisory. They deliver actionable insights and pragmatic solutions. Partnering with their clients from various industries, they tackle complex challenges and find opportunities for growth and innovation. Their rigorous analytical approach and their deep industry knowledge helps their clients deliver measurable results.
Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. They combine deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has more than 5,000 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities.
Roland Berger, founded in 1967, is the only leading global consultancy of German heritage and European origin. With 2,400 employees working from 34 countries, they have successful operations in all major international markets. Their 50 offices are located in key global business hubs. The consultancy is an independent partnership owned exclusively by 230 Partners. Roland Berger offers a rewarding career path for those passionate about making a difference. Alongside thought leaders and industry experts, their consultants want to make meaningful contributions to the business landscape.
As part of the PwC network, Strategy& helps clients solve their issues from strategy through to execution. By combining strategy consulting expertise with the capabilities of the network, they help clients move their business forward. Strategy&'s professionals around the globe have helped many of the world’s leading institutions solve problems, and capture opportunities. Their consultants are committed to client success and focused on helping them achieve essential advantages.
In the UK, boutique consultancies are gaining prominence alongside larger firms like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. While larger consulting firms often provide a broad range of services across industries, boutique consultancies distinguish themselves by specializing in specific domains or sectors, allowing them to develop deep expertise and insights in those areas. This specialization enables boutique firms to offer targeted and innovative solutions that address the unique challenges and opportunities faced by their clients.
Moreover, boutique consultancies are often more agile and flexible in their approach, able to adapt quickly to changing market dynamics and client needs. Their smaller size also fosters a more intimate client-consultant relationship, providing clients with greater access to senior expertise and personalized attention throughout the engagement process.
Check out our further resources on the following topics about Boutique Consultancies:
2020 Delivery, also known as PSC (Public Service Consultants), is a consultancy that specializes in driving transformational change within public services in the UK. Focusing on improving outcomes and efficiency in healthcare, education, and governmental issues, their services include strategic planning, performance improvement, and organizational redesign. PSC helps public sector organizations tackle complex and modern challenges that are naturally quite close to people and communities.
They are committed to excellence and have a track record of delivering successful outcomes. This makes them a trusted partner for public sector clients all over the UK seeking to navigate dynamic change and driving sustainable impact.
ABeam Consulting is a globally known consulting firm with expertise in digital transformation, business process optimization and technology integration. Originally established in Japan, they quickly expanded across other continents and have offices all around the world. With their reputation of excellence and reliability, their clients trust them to navigate complex challenges and streamline operations.
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital consulting, technology, and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions - underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network - Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders.
Proudfoot is a global operating management consulting firm that helps organizations achieve operational excellence and sustainable growth. Founded over 75 years ago, they are specialists in driving measurable performance improvements in industries such as manufacturing, energy, and healthcare. Data-driven and hands-on describes their working style best. Proudfoot aims to find hidden efficiencies in clients in order to maximize productivity.
Alpha FMC is specialized in asset and wealth management. Their services include independent advice, expert insights and proven solutions. By capitalizing on emerging market trends, achieving sustainable growth and navigating complex challenges, they are a trusted partner for firms that want to stay competitive on the financial market.
The Applied Value Group focuses on strategic advisory and operational improvement. By offering actionable insight and practical solutions, they create value and sustain growth of their clients. They combine management consulting, private and public investments, and social responsibility. Through strong analytical and strategic skills, their consultants are able to achieve tangible results for their clients. With the in-depth knowledge of a global firm, they still refer to themselves as a boutique consulting firm with the advantages of flexibility, attention and focus.
Avasant is a leading management consulting firm focused on harnessing the potentials of technology for achieving tangible business strategies. With expertise in digital and IT transformation, sourcing advisory, global strategy, and governance services, Avasant sets itself apart by delivering high-value engagements through industry-focused innovation and flexible client-centric solutions.
Baringa Partners is specialized in sectors like energy, utilities, financial services and telecommunications. Offering a comprehensive range of services including strategy, operations and risk management, they work collaboratively with their clients to deliver innovative solutions tailored to the specific need. With a track record of success and a focus on long-term client relationships they are a trusted advisor of UK firms.
BearingPoint is a European consulting firm with global reach. With their expertise in digital transformation, innovation and regulatory compliance, they are known for helping organizations achieve their strategic objectives and operational excellence. Their consultants are described as passionate and highly engaged with a pragmatic yet innovative mindset.
The Berkeley Partnership is an independent management consultancy. Based in London and New York, they develop to achieve ambitious goals of their clients by designing strategies to transform their businesses. The Berkeley Partnership describes themselves as outcomes-focused and strives to create long-term impact.
Cairneagle is a boutique strategy consultancy focused on education, media, and technology with a data-driven approach. It has a focus area of education consulting which is very niche and therefore is interesting for public sector projects for instance.
Candesic provides management consultancy and commercial due diligence services to clients ranging from public sector to private equity and is among others working for the NHS. Their main practices are therefore healthcare and social care, but also aerospace, defense and security. Their headquarters are in London, however they also have additional opportunities in Spain, Italy, France and India.
Capco is a global management consultancy with a focus on financial services including banking and payments, capital markets, and wealth and asset management, and a dedicated energy division. Combining innovative thinking with industry knowledge to deliver business consulting, digital, technology, and transformational services, their collaborative approach helps clients reduce costs, and manage risk and regulatory change while increasing revenues.
As a global leader in consulting, technology services, and digital transformation, Capgemini is at the forefront of innovation to address the entire breadth of clients’ opportunities in the evolving world of cloud, digital, and platforms. Building on its strong 50-year heritage and deep industry-specific expertise, Capgemini enables organizations to realize their business ambitions through an array of services from strategy to operations. Capgemini is driven by the conviction that the business value of technology comes from and through people.
Cartesian provides strategic advice, project delivery, and technology solutions for the communications sector. They assist clients worldwide build and execute strategies that transform the products, services, and organizations in order to act as industry shapers.
Censeo is a strategy and operations consulting firm focused on helping mission-driven organizations strengthen their management and operational capabilities to achieve social and public impact. With their proven track record of identifying inefficiencies and cutting through bureaucratic inertia they deliver tangible results and foster meaningful change. They follow the belief that businesses are more than the bottom line, and that people - clients, team, and community - come first.
Charles River Associates (CRA) is a global consulting firm specializing in litigation, regulatory, financial, and management consulting. Providing economic and financial analysis in litigation and regulatory proceedings, they guide businesses through critical strategic and operational issues. Since 1965, clients have engaged CRA for their unique combination of functional expertise and industry knowledge, and for their pragmatic solutions to complex problems.
CIL is an independent management consultancy providing evidence-based advice to assist clients to grow their businesses, manage risk and make better investment decisions.
Cornerstone Research combines a creative and energetic staff, cutting-edge technology and research, and their work with academic and industry experts. Their academically focused consultants use innovative problem-solving approaches in analytic depth. Working with faculty experts from leading business schools, economics departments, and law schools makes them popular in academic research, while industry experts share their practical experience and business acumen.
CVA is a boutique strategy consulting firm with a global reach, operating out of 18 offices in Europe, the US, and the Asia-Pacific region. Their mission is to help executives across the globe increase customer value and by that their own businesses value by innovative and critical thinking to provide practical solutions to complex, high-stakes challenges in business strategy, revenue growth, and cost control.
Dunnhumby works with prestigious clients like Tesco, Coca-Cola, Meijer, Procter & Gamble, Raley's, L'Oreal, and Monoprix to help them create “customer first”-strategies. They employ over 2,000 experts in offices throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Eden McCallum aims to resolve their clients' most pressing issues of strategy, operations, and organization. Their approach is to deliver tangible impact, client ownership, and value. Their clients include companies of the FTSE 100, of the AEX, some of the largest private equity firms and also Fortune 500 firms. They have job opportunities in London, Amsterdam, and Zurich.
EDGAR, DUNN & COMPANY (EDC) is an independent global financial services and payments consultancy. The firm advises clients by providing a full range of strategy consulting services, expertise, and market insight. From locations in London, Frankfurt, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, and Sydney, their consultants create actionable strategies, measurable results, and with blend of global perspective and local market knowledge for clients in over 45 countries.
Elixirr refers to themselves as a “game changer”. They try to find innovative solutions for their markets that really work and follow a collaborative approach. Being experts in market disruption, Elixirr helps their clients to keep track and be first movers.
Tier: 3
Frontier Economics is a consultancy firm focusing on market strategies, regulatory reviews, and competition inquiries. Working for governments for example, they design innovative policies and regulatory systems. Consultants here work very closely with economists. Experts in finance, statistical modeling, game theory, market research, and even the psychological side of economics are covered by them. This knowledge is applied in nearly every sector.
FTI Consulting, Inc. is an independent global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk, and resolve disputes in nearly every field of business. Their consultants work closely with clients to anticipate and overcome complex business challenges and opportunities.
GEP helps global enterprises in operations, gaining competitive advantage and profitability. They strive to find passionate and out-of-the-box-thinking talents to create and deliver harmonized business solutions of scale and effectiveness.
Greenwich Associates is a provider of data, analytics, and insights to the financial services industry. They are specialized in high-value data and giving evidence-based recommendations to help their clients improve their business results.
Kaiser Associates wants to help executives make informed strategic and operational decisions by incorporating external insight and analysis. Today, Kaiser has a highly selective and elite client base composed of Global 500 corporations, private equity firms, and government entities. Their fact-based strategy, rigorous analytics, and implementation expertise generate original, granular insights that help their clients turn their challenges into growth and productivity opportunities.
Mott MacDonald wants to tackle the world’s most intricate challenges - together with their clients. As a global acting engineering, management and development consulting firm their services range from infrastructure, energy, water and transportation sectors.
Newton, a boutique management consulting firm, works hand in hand with their clients to handle complex challenges in the public and private sectors by implementing solutions with direct impact. Newton advises banks, asset managers, insurances and fintech firms in navigating complex changes in their dynamic market landscape.
North Highland is a global management consulting firm known for empowering clients and driving sustainable business results. They focus on customer experience, performance improvement, technology and digital, and transformation. From strategy through delivery, they help organizations achieve operational excellence and growth. North Highland is an employee-owned firm, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, with more than 3,000 consultants worldwide and 70+ offices.
PA Consulting is an innovation and transformation consultancy. They believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future in a technology-driven world. Turning complexity into opportunity, their diverse teams of experts combine innovative thinking and breakthrough technologies to help clients progress.With a commitment to excellence and their collaborative approach, they are trusted partners in the digital age.
Protiviti is a global consulting firm that specializes in finance, technology, operations, data, analytics, governance, risk, and internal audit. They offer a range of solutions fitted to meet their clients needs, for example in regulatory compliance, cybersecurity and managing overall risks. They have a global network of more than 75 offices in over 20 countries.
RHR International LLP is an independent global leadership consulting firm whose mission is to unlock potential in leaders. Through its behavioral lens, RHR has worked side by side with executives for more than 70 years, helping them acquire the knowledge, wisdom, and skills necessary to achieve business results.
SDG Group is a global management consulting firm with practices of business analytics, corporate performance management, and advanced business architecture. SDG Group has developed a multidisciplinary center of excellence in the end-to-end assignments of modeling and implementing advanced business analytics and data-driven solutions by business domain.
Simon-Kucher & Partners is a global consulting firm known for their expertise in strategy, marketing, pricing, and sales. Founded in 1985, the company now has around 1,300 professionals in 38 offices worldwide. Their practice is built on evidence-based, practical strategies for profit improvement via the top line. Simon-Kucher & Partners is regarded as the world's leading pricing advisor and thought leader. Although they were founded in Germany, their importance in the UK is significant and therefore they are a top consulting firm in the UK.
Stroud was created with the belief that everything is possible. Their mission is to foster this belief in collaboration with their clients. With their pragmatic and hands-on approach, they want to unleash potential with the tenacity to go after problems and the capabilities to realize them.
Teneo (formerly Credo) has an executive lens approach, working with the leaders of Fortune 500 and FTSE 100/250 companies, leading private equity houses, and public-sector organizations. They work globally across a broad range of sectors, and advise clients on a range of business challenges including strategy, M&A, brand and revenue growth, organizational design, performance improvement, and program delivery.
The Chartis Group is a comprehensive advisory and analytics services firm dedicated to the healthcare industry. With an unparalleled depth of expertise in strategic planning, performance excellence, informatics and technology, and health analytics, they help leading academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, children's hospitals, and healthcare service organizations achieve transformative results. They are composed of experienced senior healthcare professionals and consultants who apply a distinctive knowledge of healthcare economics, markets, clinical models, and technology to help each client address their most pressing issues.
Value Partners is a management consulting and digital firm, founded in Milan in 1993. It has more than 250 employees and offices in 7 cities: Milan (headquarters), Turin, London, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Their mission is to support top management in their change and performance improvement processes through ideas and actions, delivering impactful, long-lasting results.
In conclusion, the realm of consulting firms in the UK is characterized by diversity and dynamism, with each entity making unique contributions to the growth and success of businesses across the nation.
The top-tier firms MBB hold significant influence, providing invaluable expertise and strategic guidance to clients of all sizes. Despite occasional controversies, these firms remain dedicated to excellence, fostering innovation and driving growth across various industries. From McKinsey's longstanding presence in major cities to BCG's reputation for analytical rigor and Bain's focus on delivering results - each firm brings distinct strengths to the consultancy landscape.
Moreover, the presence of the "Big Four" accounting and professional services firms - Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), and KPMG - further enriches the consultancy sphere, offering a wide array of services and expertise to businesses nationwide.
Additionally, boutique consultancies and Tier 2 firms contribute a dynamic dimension to the consultancy arena, providing specialized insights and tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of clients.
As the business environment continues to evolve, these consulting firms will remain integral to shaping strategies, fostering innovation, and overcoming challenges, thereby supporting the growth and resilience of businesses throughout the UK.
We hope that our overview of the top consulting firms in the UK helps you understand the wide range of opportunities and inspires you to develop your career! 💡 You can find further resources about firms in your country on our employer overview. Sign up on PrepLounge to get more insight into the consulting universe🔮
