Interim recruitment agencies UK: how interim works, day rates & the agencies that place them
A plain-language editorial guide to UK interim recruitment for boards, founders and HR leaders — covering how interim management actually works (full-time, daily rate, defined-period), what the public picture on day rates looks like, the agencies most active in the UK market, and when a fractional or permanent hire is the better answer than an interim.
How this guide is put together
- Each profiled agency's headline facts (founded, HQ, UK offices, distinctive feature, practice areas) are taken from that agency's own official website only.
- Anything an agency does not publish about itself is left as 'Not stated on agency site' rather than filled in from third-party sources.
- Day rates are not publicly disclosed at firm level by any of the three profiled agencies. We show the public industry band where it is publicly cited, and mark per-firm cells as 'Not publicly disclosed — quoted on brief.'
- We profile three agencies in depth (Boyden Interim, BIE Executive, Russam) and name several other significant UK interim providers editorially below — including the interim arms of the global retained search firms already covered on this site's executive search guide.
UK interim recruitment agencies we profile in depth
Three substantive editorial reviews. Each firm's facts are sourced to its own official website.
Russam (Russam GMS)
Founded 1982. Russam describes itself on its own site as 'the UK's longest established Interim Management company' and as a 'Certified B Corporation since March 2023.' Co-founded the Interim Management Association (IMA) in 1987 and the WIL Group (Worldwide Interim Leadership Group) global federation. Publishes a pool of 38,000 registered professionals and 4,500 'elite global' vetted interim managers across 37 international offices.
BIE Executive
Founded approximately 1991 (firm publishes '35 years in business' in 2026, no specific founding year stated). Headquartered in London with a Manchester office in Spinningfields. Publishes a global interim network of 3,000+ leaders, 600+ businesses supported in the last decade, and reports an NPS of 96 in 2026. The firm organises by functional expertise (Board, Transformation, Finance, People & Culture, Value Chain & Procurement, Digital & Technology) rather than by sector.
Boyden Interim
The interim management practice of Boyden, the partner-led global federation founded in 1946. The Interim Management capability page describes the practice as giving organisations 'the agility to respond to sudden change — whether navigating transformation, addressing a crisis, or filling a critical leadership gap.' Boyden's UK presence is offices in London and Aberdeen. The firm does not publish interim-specific scale numbers separately from the parent firm (75+ offices, 45+ countries). The UK Interim practice is led by Lisa Farmer (Managing Partner, UK; Global Practice Leader, Interim Management).
Other UK placement providers named editorially (no review page)
We profile three agencies in depth above. Several other firms are significant in the UK interim market — the largest are the interim arms of the global retained search firms. Named below for completeness; each linked to its own site.
- Odgers Interim — The interim arm of Odgers — the largest UK home-grown executive search firm. Odgers publishes Interim Management as a named service line on equal footing with retained Executive Search; arguably the most visible UK interim brand by share of voice. official site ↗ · covered on this site →
- Heidrick & Struggles On-Demand Talent — Heidrick's interim and project-talent practice. One of the few Big Five global firms with a named, separate interim business line (rather than interim as an afterthought to retained search). official site ↗ · covered on this site →
- IIM Leading Interim Service Providers (2026) — The Institute of Interim Management publishes a Platinum-tier ranking of UK interim providers based on roughly 25,000 individual practitioner responses to its Annual Survey. As of 2026, the Platinum tier includes Boyden (rank 7) and BIE (rank 15); other tiers cover further providers. This is a primary-source, practitioner-voted ranking — useful as a cross-reference to anything published by the agencies themselves. official site ↗
UK senior executive day rates — the public picture
None of the three profiled agencies publishes a day-rate schedule on its own site. The bands below come from publicly-cited industry conventions and ITJobsWatch contract-rate data on equivalent roles. Treat as orientation, not a quote.
UK senior executive day rates — the public picture
| Role level | Typical day-rate band (£/day) | Typical engagement length | Typically used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interim CEO / Chair | £1,500–£2,500+ | 6–18 months | Turnaround, crisis cover, succession bridge |
| Interim CFO | £1,200–£2,000 | 3–12 months | Fundraise bridge, transformation, vacancy cover |
| Interim COO / CTO / CMO | £1,000–£1,800 | 3–12 months | Transformation, scale-up phase, vacancy cover |
| Interim functional director | £800–£1,400 | 3–9 months | Project leadership, mat cover, restructure |
| Interim project / programme lead | £600–£1,200 | 3–9 months | Specific programme delivery, change roll-out |
What interim management actually means
Interim management means engaging a senior executive full-time for a defined period — typically 3 to 12 months — on a daily rate rather than a permanent salary. The interim sits in the role, runs the function, takes accountability for outputs, and leaves when the engagement ends. They are normally engaged via their own limited company, with the recruitment agency taking a placement margin on the daily rate.
Interim is most commonly used for vacancy cover (the previous CFO has resigned and a permanent search will take 3–6 months), transformation leadership (someone with specific change-programme experience to lead a defined initiative), crisis cover (administration, restructuring, regulatory event), or bridging a fundraise (an experienced CFO to take a company through Series B then hand to a permanent appointment).
Interim is distinct from fractional, even though the two are often conflated. Interim is full-time, daily-rate, defined-period, in-seat. Fractional is part-time (1–3 days per week typically), monthly retainer, indefinite, with the executive splitting time across multiple clients.
Industry bodies for UK market — the IIM and the IMA
Two UK bodies cover interim management and they serve different sides of the market. The Institute of Interim Management (IIM), founded 2001, is the professional body for individual interim practitioners — it accredits members at Associate (AIIM) and Member (MIIM) levels, publishes the annual practitioner survey, and runs a primary-source ranking of UK interim service providers based on roughly 25,000 respondent votes.
The Interim Management Association (IMA), co-founded 1987 (originally as ATIES) by a group of UK interim providers including Russam, is the trade body for interim recruitment agencies. It now operates as a specialist sector group of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) rather than maintaining a standalone website.
Practically: if you want to verify an individual interim manager's standing, the IIM is the primary source. If you want to verify an agency's trade-body status, the REC sector group page is the current canonical reference.
How a typical UK executive engagement runs
Week 0 (brief): Board or hiring manager briefs the agency. Roles, day-rate range, length, success measures, IR35 status all agreed before search starts.
Weeks 1–2 (shortlist): Agency presents 3–5 candidates from its registered interim pool. Interviews compressed — typically two rounds in two weeks because interims expect a fast process.
Week 2–3 (start): Engagement letter signed, interim in seat by week 3 in most cases. Day rate covers all working days; interim invoices monthly through their own limited company.
Weeks 3 – engagement end: Interim runs the function. Most contracts include a notice period (typically 2–4 weeks both sides) and option to extend. Standard extensions are common — many 6-month engagements end up running 9–12 months.
When to use executive, fractional, or a permanent retained search
Three tools, three different shapes of brief. Interim when you need a senior executive full-time, in-seat, for 3–12 months — vacancy cover, transformation leadership, crisis. Day rate, defined end, fast start (2–3 weeks). The interim is dedicated to your business while engaged.
Fractional when you need senior capability part-time, ongoing, indefinitely — a CFO 2 days a week through a scale-up phase, a CMO 1 day a week running the marketing function, a chair joining a board for a fixed monthly retainer. Lower total cost per month than interim, but you have to share the executive with their other clients.
Permanent retained search when you have decided you need the role for the long term and you want to invest 3–6 months and 25–35% of first-year compensation in finding the right person. The right tool for CEO, board, and identity-defining functional appointments where the cost of getting it wrong vastly exceeds the cost of getting it slow.
The honest test: how long do you expect this role, in this shape, to be needed? Defined period under 12 months → interim. Indefinite but part-time → fractional. Indefinite full-time and you're committing → permanent retained search.
Frequently asked questions
The questions UK boards and founders most often ask before engaging an interim recruitment agency.
Related resources
Other guides and tools on this site.
Read more
More of the same shape — internal.