MCR

What MCR does

MCR (legally Mike Curtis Reward Solutions Limited) is a privately held UK reward and HR consultancy founded in late 2013 by Mike Curtis and headquartered in London. The firm operates an 'inverted pyramid' organisational model in which every client engagement is staffed exclusively with senior practitioners, deploying a bench of 30+ expert associates who previously held senior in-house roles at organisations such as Aon, Deloitte, Mercer, PwC, Vodafone, BP, Rolls-Royce, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Amazon and major UK Government departments.

MCR delivers 12 specialised service lines spanning Reward, Sales Reward, Financial Services Reward, Strategic Workforce Planning, Global Mobility, Employee Benefits, Leadership & Organisational Development, Organisational Change, M&A and Divestments HR, Start-Ups' & Disruptors' Reward, Interim Reward & Benefits Management, and Interim HR Management. Engagements are flexible, ranging from 'pure consultancy' to 'interim management' placements, and project work has spanned at least 25-country benefits integrations, $1.2b acquisition integrations, sales incentive redesigns across 30+ countries, and Civil Service pay reform across 15+ UK Government departments.

The firm operates a project-based professional services revenue model with quote-based pricing tailored to each engagement. GTM is sales-led via direct enterprise engagement, content marketing through its blog/insights section, email marketing, networking events, free consultations as a lead-generation tool, and client referrals. MCR serves a diversified mix of large multinationals (pharmaceuticals, telecoms, mining, energy, medical technology, financial services), innovative start-ups, UK Government departments, higher education institutions, and not-for-profit organisations. There is no external equity investment, no parent company, and no subsidiaries; MCR is founder-led with operations concentrated in the UK while delivering engagements globally.

Name

MCR

Legal name

Mike Curtis Reward Solutions Limited

Website

https://mcr.consulting

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

MCR is a London-based reward and HR consultancy using an 'inverted pyramid' model staffed entirely by 30+ senior expert associates. It delivers 12 specialised service lines—reward strategy, M&A HR advisory, workforce planning, and interim management—to multinationals, start-ups, public sector, and not-for-profit organisations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting services delivered by senior expert associates, ranging from pure consultancy to interim management engagements. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting fees tailored to client needs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MCR is a B2B reward and HR consultancy that sells senior-led consulting engagements and interim management services across 12 specialist areas including pay and grading, incentive design, sales compensation, strategic workforce planning, global mobility, employee benefits, leadership and organisational development, change management, and M&A/divestments HR support. Services are delivered directly by a team of more than 30 highly experienced associates using an inverted pyramid model, spanning pure consultancy through to interim management.

Product overview

MCR (Mike Curtis Reward Solutions Limited) is a market-leading reward and HR consultancy operating as a single integrated consulting practice. The firm offers 12 distinct service areas delivered through an 'inverted pyramid' organisational model staffed exclusively with highly experienced professionals. The core offerings include Reward, Sales Reward, Financial Services Reward, Strategic Workforce Planning, Global Mobility, Employee Benefits, Leadership & Organisational Development, Organisational Change, Mergers/Acquisitions/Divestments HR Consultancy, Start-Ups & Disruptors' Reward, Interim Reward & Benefits Management, and Interim HR Management. Services range from pure consultancy to interim management, serving multinational corporations, start-ups, public sector, higher education, and not-for-profit organisations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Reward Consulting Core reward consulting covering pay and grading, job evaluation, short and long-term incentive plans, executive reward, remuneration committees, employee value propositions, performance management, and recognition programmes. For multinational, mid-market and public sector clients.
• Sales Reward Consulting Specialist sales reward consulting covering sales roles and accountabilities, incentive plan coverage, pay mix, plan measures and metrics, mechanics, payout cycles, rules, and additional SPIFFs. For sales leaders and heads of reward.
• Financial Services Reward Consulting Specialised reward advisory for financial services firms, supporting Board Level Remuneration Committees and navigating complex regulatory environments, covering reward strategy, incentives, retention, governance, and change management.
• Strategic Workforce Planning Consulting Strategic workforce planning using a proven framework covering workforce strategy, talent requirements, supply forecasts, costed workforce plans, change levers, and future activity scenarios. For HR Directors and workforce planning leaders.
• Global Mobility Consulting Global mobility consulting including strategic mobility consulting, mobility policies and practices, on-demand digital relocation services via RelocateYourself.com, international reward, and HR infrastructure design.
• Employee Benefits Consulting Employee benefits consulting covering benefits strategy, design, harmonisation and integration, management reporting and governance, international and expatriate benefits, pensions, health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, flexible benefits implementation, and financial wellbeing and education.
• Leadership & Organisational Development Consulting Leadership development, organisation design, coaching and mentoring, talent management, succession planning, learning and development, performance management, and culture change services. For HR Directors and L&D leaders.
• Organisational Change Consulting Organisational change management consulting covering acquisitions, agile working, change communications, change management methodology, restructuring, TUPE, redundancies, and HR transformation.
• Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestments HR Consultancy M&A and divestment advisory covering pre-deal due diligence, change of control liabilities, pay and benefit comparisons, employee cost projections, retention and incentive plan design, documentation review, succession planning, and culture change.
• Start Ups' & Disruptors' Reward Consulting Specialised reward consulting for start-ups and disruptors covering reward strategy, job levelling and pay banding, short and long-term incentive plans, equity compensation, employee benefits, sales reward, global mobility, and interim management.
• Interim Reward & Benefits Management Interim reward and benefits management services including development and management of year-end processes, BAU support, and both domestic and multinational assignments.
• Interim HR Management Interim HR management covering HR year-end processes, BAU and specific project support, domestic and multinational assignments, and HR shared services design and development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivered M&A support enabling x8 increase in revenues and profitability turnaround for a pharmaceuticals company
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 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

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Sales Fitness GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaboration on the 2023 Sales Compensation Trends Survey, providing a comprehensive snapshot of current sales reward and management trends with over 100 respondents.
• The Institute of Sales ProfessionalsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaboration on the 2023 Sales Compensation Trends Survey in partnership with Sales Fitness Group and The Institute of Sales Professionals.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PwC (People & Organisation): PwC's People & Organisation practice delivers reward and HR transformation consulting globally. Daniel Hibbert is a former PwC Director, indicating direct talent overlap and competitive overlap with MCR.
• Mercer: Global HR consulting incumbent with a deep reward, talent, and benefits practice. Mercer is the most direct scaled competitor to MCR's reward and benefits work, but operates at vastly larger scale and broader scope (health, wealth, career).
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm offering reward, talent, and leadership advisory services. As the acquirer of Hay Group (a former employer of an MCR associate), it competes directly for HR consulting mandates in the same enterprise segment.
• Aon (Aon Hewitt / McLagan): Aon's Human Capital practice (including Aon Hewitt and McLagan) is a leading global reward consultancy. Multiple MCR associates are former Aon employees (Geoff Kirkland, Mike Curtis, Scott Marshall via McLagan), making Aon a direct competitor for the same enterprise mandates.
• Willis Towers Watson (WTW): WTW operates a global reward, talent, and benefits consulting practice competing head-to-head with MCR on executive compensation, sales incentive design, and total rewards strategy for large enterprises.
• Deloitte (Human Capital / Reward practice): Deloitte's Human Capital practice offers reward strategy and workforce transformation services. Former employers of multiple MCR associates (Daniel Hibbert, Jon Clark, Geoff Kirkland), Deloitte competes for the same large multinational reward mandates.

Emerging players

• PayAnalytics: PayAnalytics is an emerging pay equity and compensation analytics software platform. While MCR delivers reward consulting manually, PayAnalytics represents the technology-enabled threat that could compress demand for traditional pay-equity and grading projects over time.

Direct peers

• Innecto (parent of QCG): Innecto (which acquired QCG) is one of the closest UK-based reward consulting boutiques to MCR. Multiple MCR associates are former QCG employees (Vicki Badham, Robert Bagnall, Alison Pennington, Sophie Vallance, Paula Hayes), and Innecto competes for the same UK enterprise and mid-market reward mandates.
• Sibson Consulting: Sibson Consulting is a US-headquartered reward and talent consulting firm (part of Segal). Vicki Badham is a former Senior Consultant at Sibson, and Sibson competes for executive compensation and reward strategy mandates similar to MCR's core Reward practice.
• OpenSymmetry: OpenSymmetry is a specialist sales performance management and sales compensation consultancy. Jon Clark is a former Director at OpenSymmetry, and MCR's Sales Reward practice is a direct competitor for sales incentive design engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mike-curtis-reward-solutions-limited-trading-as-mcr-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles37 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 MCR