counter

What counter does

Counter is a UK-based technology consultancy founded in 2024 and headquartered in Manchester as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northcoders Group PLC, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The firm embeds pre-assembled consultant teams—typically four Associate Consultants led by an experienced Tech Lead—into client organisations across software engineering, data engineering, mobile, cloud, AI/ML, and low-code disciplines. Talent is sourced exclusively from the Northcoders coding bootcamp and the Tech Returners programme, with consultants collectively choosing which client engagements to join, which Counter positions as a cultural alignment mechanism versus traditional consultancy assignment.

The firm's core service is the embedded team delivery model, structured around a three-stage Discover–Solve–Evolve methodology and supported by modern engineering practices including continuous integration, test-driven development, feature-flagging, canary releasing, and a shift-left testing approach. A distinguishing structural feature is the option for clients to convert embedded consultants into permanent employees at no additional cost at engagement end, designed to retain domain knowledge inside the client. Counter does not operate a proprietary software product; its technology delivery rests on the capabilities of its consultants, including applied Generative AI work using retrieval-augmented generation built on AWS Bedrock, Claude and ChatGPT with vector embeddings.

Commercially, Counter operates a quote-based, project-scoped pricing model with multi-year contracts; a published benchmark is approximately £235,000 for a six-month engagement with four Associate Consultants and one Tech Lead. The firm runs a 100% utilisation model with no bench time, sells primarily through direct enterprise sales led by the Managing Director Amul Batra, and uses a free Discovery Workshop as the entry point. Demand generation is supplemented by thought-leadership content, the 'Counter Curated' newsletter, LinkedIn, the Tech Leaders' Lunch event series, and—following G-Cloud 14 registration in November 2024—UK public sector procurement. Named clients include Skipton Building Society, Manchester Airports Group, Rolls-Royce (via R² Factory), HMRC, Legal & General, Manchester City Council, EMaC, Dals, and Manchester Adult Education Service.

Name

counter

Legal name

Counter, part of Northcoders Group PLC

Website

https://counter.partners

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Counter is a Manchester-based technology consultancy subsidiary of Northcoders Group PLC that embeds pre-assembled UK engineering teams into enterprise and public sector clients across software, data, mobile, cloud, AI, and low-code projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Consulting Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Offshore Development Center (ODC) / Dedicated Team Services (BPAEAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data, Analytics & AI Consulting (BPAHAEAF), Operations & Process Improvement Consulting (BPAHACAB), AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)

Keywords

• Technology consultancy
• Embedded engineering teams
• Software engineering services
• Cloud and data engineering
• Generative AI consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Technology Consultancy Engagements: Counter generates revenue by embedding teams of associate consultants and a Tech Lead into client organisations on project engagements. Teams are billed as a bundled unit (e.g., 4 Associate Consultants + 1 Tech Lead). At the end of engagements, clients have the option to hire the consultants permanently at no additional cost, with the engagement ending rather than converting to permanent placement fees.
2. Talent Pipeline Services: Counter provides access to a pre-trained talent pool sourced from Northcoders (coding bootcamp) and Tech Returners (career returners programme). The talent pipeline enables clients to rapidly build teams without independent recruitment overhead, as the team assembly and initial training costs are embedded in the consultancy engagement cost.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Counter embeds teams of UK-based technical problem solvers (Associate Consultants led by an experienced Tech Lead) directly into client organizations on project engagements. Teams are assembled from the Northcoders and Tech Returners talent pools and collectively choose to work with the client, delivering software engineering, data engineering, mobile computing, cloud computing, AI/ML, and low-code development services. Engagements follow a Discover–Solve–Evolve methodology, with clients able to retain consultants as permanent employees at no extra cost at the end.

Product overview

Counter is a technology consultancy and subsidiary of Northcoders Group that provides embedded engineering teams to client organizations. The core offering consists of Tech Teams—diverse problem-solvers trained through Northcoders' bootcamp—embedded directly into businesses. These teams operate across six key technology areas: Software Engineering, Data Engineering, Mobile Computing, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Low Code Development. Each embedded team is led by an experienced Tech Lead and follows Counter's Discover-Solve-Evolve delivery methodology. A key differentiator is the option for clients to hire embedded consultants as full-time employees at no additional cost at the end of engagements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Embedded Tech Teams Core consultancy offering: bundles of UK-based Associate Consultants led by a Tech Lead are deployed into client organizations to deliver project work. Each team collectively chooses to work with the client, and clients may hire any consultant permanently at no extra cost at engagement end.
• Software Engineering Full-stack software engineering services delivered by embedded consultants across modern technology stacks and frameworks, targeting enterprise and mid-market clients.
• Data Engineering Data engineering services including data pipeline construction, database architecture, and analytics infrastructure development delivered by embedded consultants.
• Mobile Computing Mobile application development services for iOS, Android, and cross-platform solutions delivered through embedded consultancy teams.
• Cloud Computing Cloud infrastructure services including architecture design, migration, and optimization across AWS, Azure, and GCP delivered by embedded consultants.
• Artificial Intelligence AI and machine learning implementation services, including Generative AI, RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) systems, and LLM integration for business applications using platforms such as AWS Bedrock.
• Low Code Development Low-code development services enabling rapid application prototyping and deployment via embedded consultants.

Quantifiable outcome

• A six-month Counter team (4 Associate Consultants + 1 Tech Lead) costs approximately £235,000. Choosing UK onshore teams over nearshore or offshore options could save an additional £32,250 in R&D tax relief (based on post-April 2024 R&D tax credit rules).

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Northcoders Group PLCcoreOthersCounter is a technology consultancy subsidiary of Northcoders Group PLC (listed company, registration number 13378742). Counter draws all its talent exclusively from the Northcoders and Tech Returners training programmes, making Northcoders the core talent supply partner. Northcoders has trained over 3,000 people since 2016 who have gone on to careers at over 600 organisations.
• Tech ReturnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounter sources senior and experienced technologists from the Tech Returners programme, which supports individuals returning to tech after career breaks. Tech Returners returners are 53% female and 62% people of colour, bringing diverse backgrounds and senior experience to Counter's client engagements.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• AccessPay: Manchester-based fintech with embedded engineering culture and homegrown talent-development approach — comparable as a Manchester-headquartered firm investing in UK-trained technical talent, though not a direct consulting peer.

Direct peers

• Made Tech: London-based digital, data, and technology consultancy focused heavily on UK public sector and government digital transformation — directly comparable in target market (UK government via frameworks), service mix (software engineering, cloud, data), and delivery model.
• BJSS: UK-headquartered technology and engineering consultancy delivering custom software, cloud, and data solutions to enterprise and public-sector clients — a like-for-like competitor in embedded engineering services, particularly in UK government and regulated industries.
• AND Digital: UK-based technology consultancy that embeds product squads (engineers, designers, product managers) into enterprise clients on multi-month engagements — directly comparable to Counter's dedicated embedded team model with similar onshore UK delivery positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Thoughtworks: Global technology consultancy specialising in custom software engineering, cloud, and AI/ML delivery for enterprise clients — comparable in core offerings and engineering-led culture but at much larger scale and global footprint.
• Kainos: UK-listed digital technology consultancy providing software engineering, data, and AI services to public sector and enterprise clients — comparable on UK public-sector focus and embedded engineering delivery, though at significantly larger scale.
• Capgemini UK: Global IT services and consulting firm with major UK presence — competes with Counter on enterprise digital transformation, cloud, and AI engagements; larger scale but comparable offering mix in the UK enterprise market.
• Infinity Works (now Capgemini): Originally a UK-based embedded engineering consultancy acquired by Capgemini — illustrates the acquirer pathway for boutique UK embedded-team firms and remains a direct competitor via Capgemini's UK engineering practice.

Emerging players

• Hippo Digital: Manchester-based digital consultancy delivering embedded engineering and design teams to UK enterprise and public sector — comparable emerging player with similar geography, scale, and embedded delivery model.

Others

• Northcoders (parent): UK coding bootcamp and parent of Counter — supplies all of Counter's associate consultants and is the structural talent pipeline; not a peer in the competitive sense but the operating substrate Counter is built upon.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/counter-partners
• Instagraminstagram.com/counter.partners

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 counter