What Penna does

Penna is a UK-based talent solutions firm specializing in executive search, interim management, employer branding, and recruitment marketing, with deep roots in the UK public sector. Founded in 1974 and headquartered in London with a secondary office in Birmingham, the company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Adecco Group under the LHH (Lee Hecht Harrison) brand umbrella. Penna is described as the leading recruiter in UK local government and serves a client base spanning central government agencies, 70+ higher education institutions, not-for-profit bodies, and select private sector enterprises (e.g., Aldi). Its service portfolio comprises 12 integrated offerings covering the full candidate lifecycle: Assessment, Candidate Sourcing, Candidate Management, Executive Search, Executive Interim, Employer Branding, Attraction and Communications, Digital and Social, Performance Media, Higher Education, Data and Insight, and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy.

Underlying technology is marketing-and-delivery oriented rather than AI-native. Penna leverages programmatic advertising platforms (Google, Facebook, Job Reach), virtual assessment environments (including VR), augmented reality for higher education prospectuses, gamified employer branding (e.g., the Dstl 'Counter Threat' decision game), and standard MarTech integrations (Marketo, Google Analytics, Visual Web Optimiser, Broadbean, Silverpop). The firm benefits from Adecco Group methodologies and tools via LHH, and holds an exclusive partnership with CIPFA for public sector finance recruitment.

Penna's revenue model is professional services fee-based across retained executive search, interim placement (typically 6+ month assignments), employer branding and campaign work, and recruitment process outsourcing-style managed services. The go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, with dedicated sector consultants managing direct enterprise relationships across local government, central government, higher education, and not-for-profit verticals; an Enterprise team addresses commercial sector board recruitment. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Distribution is augmented by CIPFA and REC partnerships, Adecco Group global reach, and the retained Stafford Long subsidiary brand.

Name

Penna

Legal name

Penna Plc

Website

https://penna.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Penna is a UK talent solutions firm and Adecco Group subsidiary that provides executive search, interim management, employer branding, and recruitment marketing primarily to local and central government, higher education, and not-for-profit clients across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment and Talent Solutions

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Resources & Talent Development (EDAGANAB)

Keywords

• Executive search recruitment
• Interim management staffing
• Talent solutions consulting
• Employer branding services
• Public sector recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Executive Search and Permanent Placement: Penna charges clients fees for placing senior executives and permanent staff into organizations. Their executive search services cover local government, central government, not-for-profit sectors, and they have a dedicated Enterprise team for commercial sector and Board recruitment.
2. Interim and Temporary Staffing: Penna provides interim professionals to bridge organizational gaps, particularly for senior roles in local government. They place interims for roles ranging from 6 months to longer durations, supporting clients through transitional periods.
3. Employer Branding and Campaign Services: Penna develops comprehensive employer branding campaigns, digital solutions, and creative marketing materials. They create award-winning digital experiences, social media campaigns, and bespoke content to attract talent.
4. Assessment and Evaluation Services: Penna delivers assessment solutions including off-the-shelf tools, bespoke selection materials, immersive assessment centres, and VR solutions that match candidate experience to employer brand.
5. Higher Education Marketing Services: Penna provides student marketing services for universities, business schools, and further education colleges, including prospectus design, international student recruitment campaigns, and digital marketing strategies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Penna is a UK talent solutions business that helps organisations find, excite, and secure senior leaders, interim professionals, graduates, and students. Its core offerings span executive search, interim management, candidate sourcing and management, employer branding, performance media advertising, assessment (including virtual and VR), diversity and inclusion consultancy, and specialist higher education student recruitment marketing.

Product overview

Penna is a talent solutions company and part of the Adecco Group (LHH brand), offering a portfolio of 12 integrated recruitment and talent services. The core offerings span the candidate lifecycle: Assessment (psychometric and VR-based evaluation), Candidate Management (application processing and tracking), and Candidate Sourcing (talent mapping and outreach) form the recruitment operations suite. Employer Branding, Attraction and Communications, and Digital and Social provide creative employer proposition development. Executive Search and Executive Interim serve senior leadership placement needs, with a specialized CIPFA partnership for public sector finance roles. Higher Education and Performance Media address vertical market needs. Data and Insight and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy underpin all services with analytics and ED&I expertise. Together these services enable clients to find, excite, and secure talent across public, private, and non-profit sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Assessment Provides candidate assessment solutions including off-the-shelf tools, bespoke selection materials, immersive assessment centres, and VR solutions that evaluate competencies and cultural fit. Targeted at employers running high-stakes or volume recruitment campaigns.
• Attraction and Communications Strategic consultancy services for candidate and employee engagement, including bespoke attraction strategies and tailored communications to attract and retain talent. Designed for organisations seeking to strengthen employer proposition.
• Candidate Management End-to-end candidate tracking, sifting, response management, engagement encouragement, and interview administration services for high-volume recruitment campaigns. Suited to employers running graduate or volume hiring programmes.
• Candidate Sourcing Talent mapping, market insight, and targeted outreach services to find and engage passive candidates for competitive roles. Used by clients seeking to fill senior or hard-to-source positions.
• Data and Insight Campaign analytics and optimisation services using tagging, media data observation, and dashboard reporting to measure recruitment effectiveness and inform strategy. Targeted at clients running measurable hiring campaigns.
• Digital and Social Digital solutions including on-boarding apps, bespoke games, website development, and social media content planning (organic and paid) aligned to employer brand. Suited to organisations seeking distinctive digital candidate experiences.
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy Specialist Equality, Diversity & Inclusion services including audits, workshops, creative projects, and knowledge-sharing sessions using data-driven insights to address client challenges. Targeted at organisations building diverse and inclusive workplaces.
• Employer Branding Employer brand definition and development services including digital campaigns, experiential solutions, and film production to help organisations attract and retain talent. Used by both public sector and commercial clients such as Dstl and Aldi.
• Executive Interim Interim recruitment services placing senior professionals for temporary roles typically ranging from six months to longer assignments, with support for both clients and interim candidates. Targeted at organisations in transition.
• Executive Search Executive recruitment services for private and public sector organisations, including leadership placements, CIPFA partnership for public sector finance roles, and a dedicated enterprise team for commercial sector board positions. Targeted at CEOs, directors, and senior leadership hires.
• Higher Education Recruitment and marketing services for universities, business schools, further education colleges, and private higher education providers, including HR advisory and student marketing solutions. Serves over 70 UK client institutions.
• Performance Media Programmatic advertising and social media campaign services using Google, Facebook, and Job Reach to target ideal candidate profiles and maximise recruitment campaign effectiveness. Suited to organisations running measurable, scalable hiring campaigns.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% more applications than previous year for Cafcass
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPenna has a unique partnership with CIPFA for public sector finance recruitment, providing unrivalled access to the best finance professionals across the UK. This partnership enables placement of qualified finance leaders into Section 151 Officer, Finance Director, and similar senior positions in public sector organizations.
• Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)coreOthersPenna is a member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the professional body for the recruitment industry in the UK, working closely with industry bodies to improve sector-wide standards and advocate improved laws and policies.
• Association of Labour Providers (ALP)minorOthersAdecco UK Limited continued its membership of ALP during 2024, an organisation that promotes responsible recruitment and supports members to make labour provision a model of sustainable good practice.
• Stronger TogetherminorOthersPenna works closely with Stronger Together to build robust processes that effectively prevent and detect modern slavery concerns. Key stakeholders have received training from Stronger Together, leading to bespoke in-house training for front-line sales consultants.
• LHH (Lee Hecht Harrison)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPenna is a LHH brand, part of the Adecco Group. LHH helps future-proof organisations and careers by building the right capabilities and enabling workforce transformation. This relationship provides Penna access to global methodologies, tools, and expertise.
• EcoVadisminorOthersThe Adecco Group holds a bronze medal sustainability rating for EcoVadis, demonstrating commitment to environmental and social responsibility across its operations.
• SEDEXminorOthersThe Adecco Group is a SEDEX member, demonstrating ethical supply chain practices and transparency.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GatenbySanderson: UK-based executive search firm focused on public sector, local government, NHS and education leadership recruitment — the closest direct competitor to Penna in the same UK public sector executive search niche.
• Hays plc: UK-listed specialist recruitment firm with deep public sector, education and professional services coverage; competes directly with Penna in executive search and interim placement for local government and HE clients.
• Reed Specialist Recruitment: Major UK recruitment firm providing permanent, temporary and executive search across public sector, education and commercial markets — competes directly with Penna's multi-vertical UK recruitment offering.
• Odgers Berndtson: Global executive search firm with a strong UK public sector practice, directly competing with Penna for senior local government, NHS and education board-level appointments.
• Harvey Nash Group: UK-headquartered executive search and technology recruitment firm with significant public sector practice, overlapping with Penna's executive search and interim leadership services.
• Veredus (now part of Gatenby Sanderson): UK public sector executive search and interim provider closely overlapping with Penna's local government leadership placement services.

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Global executive search and organizational consulting firm; competes for the largest UK public sector and HE leadership mandates where Penna also bids.
• Michael Page International: Global specialist recruitment firm (part of PageGroup) covering professional services, public sector and education recruitment; broader portfolio than Penna but competes for the same mid-to-senior UK mandates.
• Robert Half International: Global specialist staffing and consulting firm with UK operations in finance, technology and interim management — overlapping with Penna's CIPFA-focused finance and interim verticals.
• Adecco UK & Ireland: Parent brand of Penna within The Adecco Group; provides generalist staffing across UK and Ireland with significant public sector frameworks — partial overlap and internal sibling competition for clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/penna
• Xx.com/pennaplc
• Facebookfacebook.com/WeArePenna

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A3 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Penna