UK consulting firms great and small lauded in national ranking
The Financial Times has released the 2024 edition of its UK’s Leading Management Consultants ranking. As well as lauding large firms such as Accenture, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, IBM Consulting and McKinsey & Company, it also listed a number of mid-market and boutique firms in terms of the quality and breadth of their services.
Despite a difficult year, the UK’s consulting market still managed to grow in 2023, to reach a historic size of £18.6 billion. Reflecting the perceived importance of consultants to organisations in the current crisis, the Financial Times (FT) and Statista have launched their annual industry benchmark, highlighting the top-performing consulting firms across 16 sectors and for 14 types of specialist work.
Compiling industry intelligence with client and consultant feedback, the seventh annual listing of the UK management consulting firms found that large, multi-faceted firms were those most often recommended by their clients and peers. Analysing the number of gold ratings attributed by the FT, two firms emerged as the clear front-runners of the evaluation. Deloitte received a total of 25 gold ratings – with 13 in services, and 12 in expertise. Meanwhile, Accenture totted up 13 golds across its expertise lines, and 10 in its services.
KPMG followed with 14 golds, while fellow Big Four member PwC received seven – level with IBM Consulting. McKinsey & Company was the highest-rated strategy consulting player, with three gold ratings. Meanwhile, 12 other consulting firms received one gold rating. Rounding off the top table, they were: BAE Systems Applied Intelligence; Vendigital; Arup, AtkinsRéal; Bain & Company; Baringa; PPL; Simon-Kucher; Boston Consulting Group; 3Keel; Capita; and Manifesto Growth Architects.
While having a large, generalist network clearly paid dividends with regards to receiving the most gold ratings, however, the FT listing also highlighted the important contributions of mid-market, boutique and small consulting firms to the strength of the market. Among the 178 consultancies included was change management firm Project One, which received silver and bronze recommendations across nine lines of expertise, and two service lines.
Elsewhere, returning to the list for the seventh year running, Mason Advisory was recognised. The firm picked up silver and bronze nods in 10 categories, leading the technology and transformation firm’s leader to celebrate the firm’s “strong partnerships with our clients, our deep expertise, and our understanding of the market” – which have led to that enduring presence on the FT ranking.
Paul Pugh, CEO at Mason Advisory, added, “This year, we have secured our best results yet in the report and being included is recognition from the whole industry and a huge honour for the business – we are delighted that so many of our clients and business leaders participated in the report and nominated us. Following an encouraging year of growth, we are confidently focused on delivering tangible results to support our clients to create measurable and lasting change, to expand our specialisms further and to continue to build our team of talented consultants.”
Another regular returner, the Enfuse Group was recognised by the FT for the third consecutive year. Picking up silver and bronze ratings in three categories, the firm also noted that its partners “pride themselves on the impactful transformation work they do and the reputation they have built with clients and partners as a result.”
Graeme Curwen, co-founder and CEO of Enfuse Group, remarked, "This is a great achievement for us here at Enfuse Group and we are proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s leading Management Consultancy’s for a third year in a row. It means even more as this is voted for by our clients and our peers within the consulting community. Thank you to our amazing people but also to our clients and peers who have made this possible.”
At the same time, transformation consultancy Airwalk Reply was lauded in three different categories. Airwalk Reply Partner Alex Hammond said the firm was “incredibly honoured to have been included on this prestigious list”.
Hammond added, “In a crowded market, and amongst often much larger consultancies, we believe this is a testament to our partnership-led and collaborative approach with our clients – and hopefully gives potential new clients comfort that we are a strong choice for their transformation journey."
Compiled by the FT and Statista, consulting networks were also rated in this year’s study. For 2024, Eden McCallum and Odgers Connect were the only networks to receive a gold rating from the rankings.
