How much does a non-executive director search cost?
Retained executive search for a non-executive director typically costs £30,000 to £80,000 and takes eight to twelve weeks to produce a shortlist. InvestingDirectors charges a fixed £6,950 per mandate and delivers five ranked candidates within 21 days. Half the fee is paid on brief and half on appointment.
Retained executive search costs £30,000 to £80,000 and takes eight to twelve weeks to shortlist. The director rarely invests, and the retainer is spent whether you hire or not.
Step one
How ready is your board for the next raise?
The Board Readiness Score is a free twelve-question assessment that scores your board out of 100 across composition, independence, cadence, alignment and round readiness. It takes about five minutes, needs no account, and returns your band, your weakest dimension and the three fixes that would move the score most.
Step two
What is a board gap diagnostic, and what do you get?
The board gap diagnostic is a £750 written review of your board as it stands: what is missing at your stage, the next three appointments you should make, and in what order. It arrives within a week, and we credit the £750 in full against a later search fee.
£750
If you go on to appoint through us, we credit the £750 in full against the fee — so it costs you nothing to engage us, and £750 to find out we were useful anyway.
Step three
What does each board search mandate include?
Every mandate is a fixed fee, excluding VAT. First Board is £6,950 for a single appointment, Board Build is £12,500 for two, and wider governance mandates are quoted on your brief. Each covers the search, a ranked shortlist, and directors who invest alongside the seat they take.
Pre-seed and seed
First Board
Your first independent director, with a cheque.
Fixed fee per mandate. 50% on brief, 50% on appointment.
- Board gap diagnostic
- Five ranked candidates within 21 days
- Investment appetite stated on every candidate
- Two structured references per shortlisted candidate
- Compensation and equity benchmark for the role
- Appointment and investment paperwork templates
- First-90-days board onboarding pack
- One replacement search within 12 months
Typical ticket £25k–£100k
Appointing several? See The Bench below.
Series A
Board Build
A board that survives the next two rounds.
Fixed fee. Two appointments within twelve months.
- Everything in First Board, twice
- Board composition review — the next three appointments, sequenced
- Chair-level shortlist, investment appetite £100k–£500k
- Audit and remuneration committee readiness
- Board pack and calendar templates
- Chair onboarding and first-meeting facilitation
- Replacement guarantee on both appointments
Typical ticket £100k–£500k
Appointing several? See The Bench below.
Series B and beyond
Governance Mandate
A board that stands up to diligence.
Scoped on the mandate.
- Full board composition and effectiveness review
- Succession map for chair and committee chairs
- Multiple appointments, tickets £250k–£1m
- Independence and conflict assessment
- Remuneration benchmarking against comparable boards
- Board evaluation at twelve months
Let us talk about scope before we talk about price.
Step four
Appointing more than one? The Bench.
The Bench is our name for one engagement that appoints five to eight investing directors and advisers around a single growth plan, instead of filling one seat at a time. Per-placement fees fall as the count rises: from £5,250 on four or more, and from £4,917 on six or more.
Five to eight investing directors and advisers, appointed around one growth plan.
The capability gaps at Series A are never singular — one non-executive director does not fix commercial, technical and financial at once. The Bench assembles a whole board-level and advisory bench in a single engagement, each of them investing. We have done it: seven investing advisers appointed to one board.
From £4,917 per placement on four or more appointments.
A saving of up to 32% against a single mandate. Scoped and quoted on your brief.
| Appointments | Fee per placement |
|---|---|
| Single mandate | £6,950 per placement |
| Four or more | from £5,250 per placement |
| Six or more | from £4,917 per placement |
If it does not happen, you do not pay for it.
We are new. You have every reason to be sceptical, and we would rather carry that risk than argue you out of it.
Shortlist guarantee
Five qualified candidates within 21 days of the agreed brief, or the fee is returned in full.
Replacement guarantee
If the appointed director resigns or is removed within twelve months, we run the search again at no charge.
Payment terms
Fifty per cent on brief, fifty per cent on appointment. A retained firm takes its retainer whether or not you hire anyone.
The diagnostic is free
Our read on your board composition before you commit to anything, and you keep it either way.
Full terms apply.
How long does it take to appoint a non-executive director?
Appointing a non-executive director through us takes roughly four to six weeks end to end. We return five ranked candidates within 21 days of the brief, you interview over the following week or two, and the appointment and the director's investment are agreed at the same time.
Eight investing directors and advisers placed, across two companies.
Real placements, in the words of the founders and leaders we worked with.
“The whole team were very efficient and had clear targets in place, which they were brilliant at communicating all feedback and requirements. The team were on the ball and passionate about what they do, easy to work with and will work hard alongside you to make things happen.”
“Diligent and focused on outcomes. That sums up the team in many ways. I've worked with the team for 2 years now — long may that continue, because finding another team would be looking for needles in big haystacks.”
Looking for a board role? See membership for directors.
All fees exclude VAT.
Introductions only. We do not provide investment advice.
Guides for companies
- What does a non-executive director cost in the UK?
Fees, equity and time commitment, using published UK benchmarks: £80,888 across the FTSE 150 and £41,686 across private companies.