UK interim management market now worth £1bn

The interim management sector is now worth an estimated £1bn in the UK, according to research.

A survey of interim providers by pollsters Ipsos Mori for the Interim Management Association (IMA), and covering 1,300 assignments, found HR was the most common job function performed (26%). This was followed by finance (16%), with marketing and special projects each at 15%.

The top reasons for assignments were ‘change and transition management’ and ‘programme and project management’, both at 25%. These were followed by ‘business improvement’ (20%), ‘gap management’ (17%), and ‘crisis management’ (9%).

Fees for interims ranged from £500 to more than £1,500 a day.

Almost two-thirds of assignments were in the private sector, with chemical/pharmaceuticals the top industry sector at 15%, followed by banking and finance (14%), manufacturing (13%), business services (12%), retail (10%), and IT/telecoms (9%).

Nick Robeson, chairman of the IMA, said: “This is the first time in the history of the UK interim management industry that we have had a comprehensive audit of the market, and we are seeing a transformation in how interim executives are being used to deliver business-critical operations.

“Historically, interims were used for gap-management – to fill a key vacancy at short notice. However, our results show that in 2006, 70% of assignments in the public and private sectors were for change, programme and project management, and business improvement.”