RecruitRecruitment Agency in London for Companies in Growth Mode
Yes: we run full-cycle search for London companies as a remote-first international firm, calibrating the mandate before we source, then searching six regions including Western Europe so a Head of Growth or founding engineer role is not limited to whoever already lives in London. We have no London office and no local overhead built into the fee.
Full Search
Embedded Partner
What a London search looks like
Every search starts with a calibration call, not a job description. We ask what the business actually needs from the hire, how the role sits against the rest of the team, and what success looks like six months in.
From there we build a talent map: who exists, at what level, and how many are realistically reachable given comp, location and timeline. For a London mandate the map rarely stops at the UK border, because the strongest candidate for a European head-office role is often sitting somewhere else in Europe.
Outreach follows the map. We engage people directly rather than waiting for applicants, which matters most for roles that never appear on a job board because the person doing them well is not looking.
We score candidates against the same logic behind the Hiring Scorecard: role clarity, market fit and readiness, checked against what came out of calibration. The shortlist that follows is short and calibrated, not a long list with a covering note.
Interviews are structured around what calibration surfaced, so your team tests for the right things rather than reacting to a CV. We support offer and close, because a search that stalls at negotiation was never really finished. Done means an accepted offer, not a signed shortlist.
How we work with London companies without a storefront there
We are a remote-first international firm based in California, with no local team or premises in the city, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. What we bring instead is the same calibration and sourcing discipline we run everywhere, applied to a London mandate the way a local firm would, minus the overhead of a lease.
Where we differ from a firm working out of one postcode is reach. We search across Western Europe, North America, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, because talent is not limited by geography and the strongest person for a London role is not always in London. For a European head office running out of the city, or a fintech team hiring engineers who could sit anywhere on the continent, that reach is the point, not a workaround.
The three engagement models
Fees vary based on role seniority, search complexity and hiring volume, and executive-level or unusually complex searches are quoted individually. Pricing is available on request. Structurally, the three models work like this:
Unsure which fits? The Hiring Scorecard takes a few minutes and recommends one of the three based on how many roles you have open and how much support you want to keep in-house. See also recruiter fees and engagement models explained and Sourcing Sprint vs Full Search.
The sectors we search for London companies
We search the four areas listed under our method. In London the mix skews toward leadership, specialist and international hires rather than volume roles, because London is where head offices sit.
Product, Technology and AI: Founding Engineer, AI Engineer, Head of Product, Engineering Leadership, Fractional CTO, for fintech and platform teams and the leadership hires that follow a funding round. See how we run a first CTO search.
Leadership and Executive Search: Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Executive and C-suite Appointments, Heads of Function, Senior Finance Leadership, for European head-office appointments reporting into a founder or board.
Growth and Ecommerce: Head of Growth, Head of Ecommerce, Performance Marketing Leadership, Retention and Lifecycle Leadership, for consumer and DTC brands running acquisition and retention across UK and EU markets. See how to hire a Head of Growth.
Government Contracting: Programme Support, Technical and Professional Services, Linguists, OCONUS / International, for organisations delivering against government contracts, run through GovMint.
When a London company does not need us
If you have one clearly defined mid-level role, a job description that already describes the job accurately, and applicant flow coming in on its own, post it and run the interviews yourselves. A search partner earns its fee on ambiguity and scarcity, not on a role the market already understands. Where searches get hard is at the top of the org chart, in a function you have never hired for before, or when the right person is unlikely to be actively looking, which is where calibration and cross-border sourcing start to matter.
The short version
We calibrate the role before we source it, then search six regions rather than one postcode, because the right person for a London mandate is not always in London. The engagement is Sourcing Sprint, Full Search or Embedded Partner depending on how much of the process you want to run yourselves, with pricing available on request. We have no local premises in London and no plan to pretend otherwise, and if your role is clear and the applicants are already coming in, you do not need us at all.
What we search for London companies
Fintech and platform engineering teams, plus the AI and product leadership hires that follow a funding round.
European head-office appointments and heads of function reporting into a founder or a board.
Consumer and DTC brands running acquisition and retention across UK and EU markets.
Defence, international programme and cleared-adjacent hiring for organisations delivering against government contracts.
Questions companies ask
Do you have a London office?
No. We are a remote-first international firm based in California, with no office, branch or local team in London or anywhere else. That costs nothing in the search itself, because calibration, talent mapping and outreach work the same way whether we are down the street or across an ocean, and it means sourcing is not limited to whoever happens to be nearby.
Is this a London recruitment agency or an executive search firm?
Both descriptions fit depending on the role. For a defined mid-level hire with a clear brief, the work looks like agency recruitment: sourcing, qualifying, shortlisting. For a CTO, CMO or other C-suite mandate, it runs closer to what executive search firms in London do, with calibration, structured assessment and support through offer and close.
How is this different from a headhunter in London who only works local candidates?
The main difference is reach. A headhunter working one city is limited to whoever is already there or willing to relocate. We search six regions, Western Europe, North America, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, so a London mandate is measured against a wider pool from the start.
What does a recruitment agency in London UK actually charge?
For our own models, pricing is on request and depends on role seniority, search complexity and hiring volume, with executive and unusually complex searches quoted individually. We do not publish a fee table. For context on how recruitment fees generally work across models, see recruiter fees and engagement models explained.
Can you hire across borders for a London role?
Yes, and for specialist or leadership roles it is often the point rather than an exception. Companies based in London already hire across borders as routine practice, described in more detail in our guide to international recruitment agencies.
We are not sure which engagement model fits. What do we do?
The Hiring Scorecard takes a few minutes, scores role clarity, hiring readiness, talent market fit and recruitment capacity, and recommends Sourcing Sprint, Full Search or Embedded Partner based on how many roles you have open and how much support you want to keep in-house.