Comatch emerges from pandemic with strong UK growth
The first half of 2021 saw Comatch enjoy a rapid revenue boost in the UK. The heightened demand comes as businesses open up and increasingly turn to independent management consultants to help drive their post-lockdown plans.
Throughout 2020, the coronavirus had a profound impact on independent consulting, leaving many freelance advisors with less income and delayed project work. The traditionally travel-intensive industry initially struggled to cope with the sudden shift to remote work. Despite this, at the start of this year, independent consulting network Comatch’s UK and Ireland Managing Director Charlotte Gregson predicted the independent consulting scene was positioned to thrive in 2021.
Gregson said, “The legacy of 2020… will lead to a rebuttal of the idea that the ideal consultant is necessarily the one that is present and available in-location… Being experts in adopting quickly, independent consultants have proven to be ideally equipped for the challenges and changes ahead.”
If the performance of her own network is anything to go by, Gregson has been more than vindicated over the opening half of 2021. Comatch is one of a growing number of platforms which matches independent experts with clients, tapping into the increasing trend toward freelance consulting. Comatch’s expansive database now contains more than 10,000 consultants and industry experts, having launched just six years ago.
In 2021, Comatch has seen project demand from its UK clients increase over 65% in the first half of 2021, compared to the second half of 2020. Comatch’s company global growth is 44% over the same period – still a hefty figure, but this in this context, the UK independent consulting market looks particularly well-positioned to perform strongly going forward. Further illustrating this, while the company’s global revenues have improved by 56% worldwide, revenues in the UK are up 92% for the first half of 2021.
Comatch is also thriving in comparison to the wider UK consulting market. Illustrating the industry’s resilience, data from the Management Consulting Association found the UK consulting market grew 4.5% in 2020 despite the pandemic. In accordance with these figures, however, Comatch has reported comparative growth of 100% over the same period.
Still growing
Commenting on Comatch’s performance, Charlotte Gregson – whose Managing Director role now also includes the firm’s US wing – said, “We’ve seen a very favourable environment created for independent consultants… People have demonstrated they can work remotely with the tools and technology to do so effectively. This means that geography is no longer a barrier when it comes to fulfilling projects.”
As the global economic recovery gets under way, organisations around the world are looking to partner with consultants to help them bounce back from the past 18 months. Independent consultants can do so flexibly and at a lower price, from anywhere in the world. Comatch’s network members are reaping the rewards of this demand, while being able to take the roles that suit their situation and lifestyle.
This demand helped Comatch reach another major milestone earlier in the year. By April 2021, it had connected its consultants to 500 projects for the year – four months earlier than in the crisis year 2020, and two months earlier than in pre-pandemic times of 2019.
Gregson concluded, “The trend for using consultancy services, and independent consultants especially, is only going to increase. We may have just emerged from the biggest challenge of our time, but we’re about to enter a new test to find talent. Businesses adapting to the new normal are going to need the right person, skills and experience for the job.”