Executive search firms UK: how they work, fees & the top firms

A fractional executive search firm specialises in placing part-time senior executives, while traditional executive search firms focus on permanent full-time appointments.

Fractional search firms like Fractional Quest maintain candidate pools of experienced executives seeking flexible, part-time roles.

Traditional executive search firms — sometimes called "retained search firms" or "headhunters" — run structured processes to identify permanent candidates, with features including (1) upfront retainers, (2) exclusive engagements, and (3) proactive candidate approaches.

The industry self-regulator is the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), founded in 1959 and headquartered in New York.

AESC member firms commit to its Code of Professional Practice.

Two of the firms on this page (Odgers, Boyden) explicitly state AESC membership on their own websites; the others are widely cited as AESC members but do not surface the membership claim on the About pages we reviewed.

Retained vs engaged vs contingency search

Retained search is the standard model for C-suite and board appointments.

The firm is paid a retainer upfront (typically in three instalments — at engagement, at shortlist delivery, and at placement).

The fee is usually 30–35% of the placed candidate's first-year cash compensation for Big Five firms, and 25–33% for UK-headquartered firms and sector boutiques.

The retainer model exists because the firm invests heavily in research and assessment before any candidate signs an offer, and because the search must be confidential and exclusive.

Engaged or hybrid search combines a smaller upfront retainer with a success fee paid only on placement.

It is used by some mid-market and growth-stage firms where the client wants the rigour of a retained process but at lower commercial risk.

Contingency search is paid only on a successful placement.

It is uncommon at genuine C-suite level — the firm has no incentive to invest deeply in research, and the search cannot be exclusive (multiple firms are usually running the same brief in parallel).

Contingency works for functional senior hires below board level, where the candidate pool is wider and timelines are shorter.

How a retained search actually runs

Weeks 0–2 (briefing and research): The lead partner spends time with the chair, CEO, and any nomination committee to write the position specification — the role, the success measures, the compensation envelope, the constraints.

The research team builds a market map of every plausible candidate (typically 100–250 names), segmented by current role, sector, geography and risk-of-move.

Weeks 2–8 (longlist and approach): Researchers approach candidates discreetly, screen for interest and fit, and present a longlist (typically 20–40) to the client.

The partner then runs structured interviews and reference work to compress the longlist to a shortlist of 4–6 named candidates that the board will meet.

Weeks 8–16 (shortlist and offer): Board interviews, deeper referencing on the front-runners, psychometric or leadership assessment (firms vary), and offer negotiation.

The placement guarantee — typically 12 months at the Big Five — covers re-search at no additional fee if the placed executive leaves or is terminated within the guarantee period.