McCarthy

What McCarthy does

McCarthy Recruitment Ltd is a UK-based, privately-held recruitment, training, and consultancy firm founded in 2005 and headquartered in Birchwood, Warrington, with additional offices in Manchester, London, and Bristol. The firm was founded by Kate McCarthy-Booth (Managing Director) and completed a Management Buy Out in 2020; it employs 11-50 people and has been operating continuously for over 20 years, including through COVID-19. It is led by Kate McCarthy-Booth (MD), Adam Morris (Sales Director), and Keith Smith (Executive Recruiter), with Joint Managing Directors appointed in 2023.

The firm delivers services through a portfolio of named packages — The Performer (contingency, no-risk placement), The Designer (proactive multi-source search), The Superhero (retained executive search), The Runner (volume recruitment), The Hunter (headhunting research at daily rates), and The Talent Expert / Talent Partner (consultancy and RPO) — plus standalone Executive Search, Training, and Consultancy offerings. Its core technology stack comprises an applicant tracking system, LinkedIn sourcing tools, proprietary behavioural and competency assessment frameworks, psychometric testing, and bespoke candidate screening methodologies; the firm's documented differentiator is a face-to-face, behavioural-recruitment and culture-fit methodology, codified through tailored competency matrices.

McCarthy operates a B2B direct-sales model targeting enterprise and mid-market clients in five verticals: Retail (head office, store operations, fashion, luxury, self-storage), Manufacturing, Environmental & Sustainability, Professional Services, and Hospitality & Leisure. Revenue is generated through a mix of contingency placement fees, retained executive search fees, managed-services RPO retainers, volume recruitment project fees, time-based consultancy day rates, and bespoke training programmes. Pricing is largely quote-based; the firm reports 98% repeat business, 80% exclusive client relationships, and long-tenure RPO partnerships of 7-19 years with clients including The Booth Group, Sainsbury's, EVRI, Brook Taverner, Sunrise Senior Living, Frontier, GAIL's, Crafter's Companion, Lidl, and Electrolux.

Name

McCarthy

Legal name

McCarthy Recruitment Ltd

Website

https://mccarthyrecruitment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

McCarthy Recruitment is a UK-based recruitment, training, and consultancy firm serving enterprise and mid-market clients across retail, manufacturing, environmental, and professional services sectors via contingency, retained executive search, volume recruitment, and RPO packages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Hybrid / Selective RPO (Partial Outsourcing) (BPACABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA), Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB), Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG), General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA), Recruiting & Talent Acquisition Training (EDABAIAA)

Keywords

• Professional recruitment services
• Executive search
• Volume recruitment
• Recruitment process outsourcing
• Talent acquisition consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Warrington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Contingency Recruitment - The Performer: Results-only, no-risk recruitment package where the client pays no cost unless McCarthy delivers a successful placement. The Performer package provides up to 3 CVs per successful placement with full candidate management. Revenue is earned exclusively on successful placement (contingency fee model).
2. Flexible Recruitment - The Designer: Creative solution charging only if the client approves the candidate presented. Uses multi-sourcing techniques including headhunting, web-based attraction, and database search. Fees are reduced through exclusivity and head-start agreements, with flexible pricing.
3. Retained Executive Search - The Superhero: Ultimate retained executive search package with a dedicated senior headhunter, retained project plan, and timeline. Charged on a retained basis with guaranteed quality ratios (1 in 3 guaranteed quality). Covers discreet, confidential search for C-suite and senior leadership roles.
4. Volume Recruitment - The Runner: Cost-effective and efficient volume recruitment solution for large-scale hiring and new store openings. Delivered as a project-based engagement with dedicated team and account manager, managing all elements of candidate attraction, screening, assessment centres, and 100% acceptance rate guarantee.
5. Headhunting Research - The Hunter: Daily rate consultancy solution for headhunting, research, and talent pipelining. Time-based pricing that reduces overall cost to hire, delivering targeted market research, ideal company lists, and salary benchmarking. Enables clients to make multiple placements from a single research project.
6. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO): Long-term embedded partnership model where McCarthy operates as the client's in-house talent team. Typically structured as a retained or recurring engagement over multi-year periods, managing end-to-end recruitment functions for clients across all sectors. RPO clients include The Booth Group (10-year partnership) and Sunrise Senior Living.
7. Training & Development Services: McCarthy delivers training to client organizations including Leadership Development, Hiring Manager Training, HR and Talent Team Training, Sales Team Training, and Team Building. Training is bespoke, developed and delivered in-house, with documented outcomes such as 25% increase in candidate retention and 40% reduction in recruitment costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

McCarthy Recruitment is a UK-based B2B recruitment consultancy that delivers talent acquisition, training, and consultancy services to enterprise and mid-market clients. Its core offering is a portfolio of six named recruitment packages (The Performer, The Designer, The Superhero, The Runner, The Hunter, and The Talent Expert/Partner) covering contingency placement, retained executive search, volume hiring, headhunting research, and full recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), delivered with a proprietary behavioural and culture-fit assessment methodology across retail, manufacturing, environmental, professional services, and hospitality sectors.

Product overview

McCarthy Recruitment is a UK-based recruitment consultancy offering a portfolio of specialized service packages alongside sector-specific expertise. The core offering consists of six named recruitment packages: The Performer (contingency-based, no-risk placement), The Designer (proactive partnership with creative sourcing), The Superhero (retained executive search), The Runner (volume recruitment for large-scale projects), The Hunter (daily-rate headhunting research), and The Talent Expert/Partner (consultancy and RPO solutions). These are complemented by Executive Search services, Training Services, and Consultancy offerings. The company specializes across multiple sectors including Retail (with sub-specialties in Head Office, Store Operations, Fashion, Luxury, and Self Storage), Manufacturing, Environmental Services (covering waste management, engineering, sustainability, and consultancy), Professional Services, and Hospitality & Leisure. The product architecture follows a platform-plus-specialist model where the core recruitment packages are enhanced by sector-specific expertise and supplementary training and consultancy services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Performer No-risk, results-only contingency recruitment package where the client pays no cost unless McCarthy delivers a successful hire. Up to 3 CVs per successful placement with full candidate management and a 98% acceptance ratio, with a focus on employer brand.
• The Designer Flexible, creative recruitment partnership using multi-sourcing techniques (headhunting, web-based attraction, database search). Charges only if the client approves the candidate presented, with reduced fees for exclusivity and head-start agreements.
• The Superhero Retained executive search package with a dedicated senior executive headhunter, retained project plan, and timeline. Guaranteed quality ratio of 1 in 3, 3-week average time from brief to offer, and 100% retention at 12 months. Covers discreet, confidential search for C-suite and senior leadership roles.
• The Runner Project-based volume recruitment solution for large-scale hiring and new store openings. Delivered with a dedicated team and account manager, managing candidate attraction, screening, assessment centres, and offering a 100% acceptance/attendance rate guarantee and 96% quality improvement.
• The Hunter Daily rate headhunting research and talent pipelining consultancy. Provides targeted market research, ideal company lists, and salary benchmarking with a 75% cost saving versus usual recruitment fees. Enables multiple placements from a single research project.
• The Talent Expert Consultancy service led by Managing Director Kate McCarthy-Booth offering talent strategy, restructuring support, recruitment process optimization, DE&I assessment, leadership development, and recruitment process outsourcing. Documented outcomes include 42% increase in candidate retention and 40% reduction in recruitment costs.
• The Talent Partner Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solution providing comprehensive talent acquisition services as an embedded extension of the client's in-house talent team, typically structured as a long-term retained engagement.
• Executive Search Specialised executive and senior leadership recruitment delivered by senior executive headhunters. Conducts face-to-face meetings with C-suite decision-makers, designs role profiles and behavioural interview frameworks, and manages the full retained search cycle. 100% of exclusive placements remain successful after 12 months.
• Training Services Bespoke training programmes including Leadership Development, Hiring Manager Training, HR and Talent Team Training, Sales Team Training, and Team Building Exercises delivered across the UK. Documented outcomes include 25% increase in candidate retention and 40% reduction in recruitment costs.
• Sector-Specific Recruitment Specialist recruitment services across Retail (Head Office, Store Operations, Fashion, Luxury, Self Storage), Manufacturing, Environmental (Waste & Resource, Engineering & Remediation, Regulation & Compliance, Sustainability & Climate, Consultancy), Professional Services, and Hospitality & Leisure sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 42% increase in candidate retention and 40% reduction in recruitment costs from the Talent Expert consultancy package
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reed Specialist Recruitment: One of the UK's largest generalist recruitment agencies offering permanent, temporary, and executive search across multiple sectors. Highly comparable to McCarthy in multi-sector, multi-service UK recruitment model, though Reed operates at materially greater scale and broader geographic reach.
• Hays plc: FTSE-listed UK-headquartered recruitment firm with deep specialisation across professional sectors and a strong RPO offering. Directly comparable to McCarthy's sector-led mid-market and enterprise recruitment model, though Hays is materially larger and globally diversified.
• Michael Page (PageGroup): Global professional recruitment firm with strong permanent placement and retained search offerings across the UK. Overlaps directly with McCarthy's executive search (The Superhero) and mid-market professional recruitment services.
• Robert Half: Global professional staffing and consulting firm with strong UK presence in finance, HR, technology, and legal recruitment. Comparable to McCarthy's professional services vertical and executive search offerings, though Robert Half operates at significantly larger scale.
• Allen & York: UK and international recruitment firm specialising in sustainability, environment, ESG, and energy transition roles. Directly comparable to McCarthy's emerging Environmental & Sustainability vertical - one of the closest niche peers given the matching domain focus on waste, remediation, and climate hiring.
• Better Placed Recruitment: UK specialist recruitment agency focused on retail, consumer, and digital sectors. Highly comparable to McCarthy's core retail vertical and head office hiring focus, with similar mid-market enterprise client base and UK-only geographic scope.
• Heat Recruitment: UK specialist recruitment firm covering accountancy, HR, legal, technology, and sales roles across mid-market and SME clients. Comparable to McCarthy in offering multi-sector mid-market recruitment with a similar-sized UK team and direct sales motion.
• Morgan McKinley: UK and Ireland professional recruitment firm with strong finance, accounting, and technology verticals, plus executive search and RPO offerings. Comparable to McCarthy's enterprise executive search (Superhero) and professional services segment, with similar retained and contingency revenue mix.
• Cpl Resources: Irish-headquartered recruitment and talent solutions group with strong UK presence across professional, technical, and executive search. Comparable to McCarthy's multi-sector, multi-service UK recruitment and RPO model.
• Robert Walters: FTSE-listed UK and global professional recruitment firm with focus on permanent and contract placement across professional services, technology, and executive roles. Overlaps directly with McCarthy's mid-market enterprise professional recruitment and retained executive search offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/mccarthyrecruitmentltd
• Xx.com/WeAreMcCarthy
• Facebookfacebook.com/McCarthyRecruitment
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mccarthy-recruitment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McCarthy