UK Management Consulting Salaries – 2025 Salary Guide
Our 2025 salary guide helps both clients and candidates understand where their role sits within the consulting industry. With data from consultancies of all sizes, this resource provides clear insight into base salary expectations and bonus potential across levels of seniority.
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Industry Trends – What’s Happening in 2025?
Salaries in the consulting sector have remained largely flat over the past year, with inflation continuing to outpace pay increases. This has contributed to a decline in real-terms earnings across many firms.
Several key themes emerged from our research:
- Promotion timelines have lengthened, especially within larger firms, as client demand has fallen and operational costs have risen.
- Consultants are staying longer at each grade, with fewer internal progression opportunities available.
- Some candidates are open to lateral moves or even accepting lower compensation to secure roles that better suit their career goals.
- There is a modest increase in demand for Commercial Due Diligence (CDD) specialists.
- In the Middle East, fewer roles are available to Western consultants as local hiring increases.
- Hiring decisions are slower, with firms being more selective and often holding out for the 'perfect' candidate.
- Redundancies remain a factor, particularly among larger consultancies. The Big Four have collectively reduced over 3,000 UK roles in the past two years.
- Despite this, attrition rates remain low, at approximately 5%.
- Demand is shifting toward senior specialists, with less emphasis on junior hiring.
Consulting Salaries – Management Consulting Roles (UK)
This section outlines the base salary and bonus expectations for roles in management consulting, based on experience level. This guide includes typical figures, but actual salaries may vary by firm and location.
| Title | Experience (Years) | Base Salary | Bonus |
| Analyst | 0 - 2 | £30,000 - £45,000 | 0 - 10% |
| Consultant | 2 - 4 | £45,000 - £60,000 | 0 - 15% |
| Senior Consultant | 4 - 6 | £55,000 - £80,000 | 5 - 15% |
| Manager | 6 - 8 | £70,000 - £100,000 | 10 - 25% |
| Senior Manager / Associate Director | 8 - 10 | £90,000 - £120,000 | 10 - 30% |
| Director | 10 - 12 | £125,000 - £190,000 | 15 - 30% |
| Partner | 12+ | Bespoke | Bespoke |
The consulting manager salary range typically falls between £70,000 and £100,000 in base compensation, with bonus potential of up to 25%.
Strategy Consulting Salary Overview (UK)
Strategy consulting continues to offer higher earning potential at all levels, particularly for senior hires.
| Title | Experience (Years) | Base Salary | Bonus |
| Analyst | 0 - 2 | £35,000 - £60,000 | 0 - 15% |
| Consultant | 1 - 3 | £50,000 - £85,000 | 5 - 20% |
| Senior Consultant | 2 - 4 | £65,000 - £100,000 | 10 - 25% |
| Manager | 4 - 6 | £80,000 - £130,000 | 15 - 30% |
| Senior Manager / Associate Director | 6 - 8 | £110,000 - £150,000 | 15 - 40% |
| Director | 8 - 12 | £150,000 - £200,000 | 20 - 50% |
| Partner | 9+ | Bespoke | Bespoke |
This reflects the growing demand for experience and niche expertise in strategic work. For those considering a move within or into strategy consulting, understanding the strategy consulting salary landscape is essential.
The Impact on Big 4 Consultant Salaries
The Big 4 consultant salary bands have come under pressure, with a wave of redundancies and narrowing promotion routes affecting pay dynamics.
As firms continue to operate cautiously, compensation remains tightly managed, and promotions are harder to secure. Despite this, overall attrition in the sector remains low, with many professionals choosing to stay put rather than take risks in a volatile job market.
Download the 2025 Salary Guide (PDF)
For full salary tables, bonus ranges and insights across all levels of management and strategy consulting roles:
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