Top 20 IT Recruiters in London You Can Trust

Below is a list (in no particular order) of outstanding tech / IT recruiters based in LDN.

These professionals specialise in both permanent and contract roles across various domains — including software engineering, DevOps, cybersecurity, data science, and fintech — and stand out for their high-profile placements, thought leadership, niche expertise, and strong reputations among both candidates and clients.

1. Paul Farrer
2. Simon La Fosse
3. Phil Blaydes
4. David Morel
5. Daniel Ambrose
6. Nick Gordon
7. Andrew Larholt
8. Phill Bateman
9. Nadia Edwards-Dashti
10. Barry Cranford
11. Salim Hamid
12. Rodney Crouch
13. Rhys Evans
14. Ann-Christin Roope
15. Pete Alexander
16. Stevie Buckley
17. Sherry (Sheharyar) Salman
18. Charlie Rawstron
19. Amy Golding
20. Hung Lee

Each entry includes a brief explanation of why they are among the best, followed by their social media profiles.

Paul Farrer

Paul founded Aspire (formerly PFJ) in 1992 and has over 30 years of experience in digital and media recruitment in London.

Under his leadership, Aspire grew from a one-person startup to a global tech staffing firm. Phee specializes in high-growth digital and media roles, maintaining long-term client partnerships and adapting to market changes (Aspire now serves clients worldwide). He is known for his integrity, and Aspire’s 30+ years of experience translate into “solid relationships with amazing clients” across digital and tech.

• LinkedIn: Paul Farrer
• X (Twitter): @pfarrer_aspire 

Simon La Fosse

Simon is the founder and Executive Chairman of La Fosse Associates, one of the UK’s preeminent technology recruitment firms.

Since founding the company in 2007, he has instilled a values-led approach (including an employee ownership model) that set La Fosse apart. The firm now has 200+ staff across multiple countries and over £100m in turnover, with an average 30% annual growth – a testament to the culture and service quality Simon built. La Fosse Associates has won numerous awards, such as Growth Company of the Year and Best Recruitment Company to Work For.

Simon himself is widely respected for his people-first philosophy (“treating people well” as the core of the business) and his expertise in executive IT search. He has placed countless CIOs, CTOs, and digital leaders into companies ranging from startups to FTSE 100 firms. As a thought leader, Simon frequently speaks on recruitment and has influenced industry best practices.

• LinkedIn: Simon La Fosse
• X (Twitter): @simonlafosse

Phil Blaydes

A highly respected tech recruiter, Phil has a background leading recruitment at tech companies (formerly at Forward3D, Mind Candy, etc.) before co-founding Talentful in 2015.

Talentful provides on-demand in-house recruiting services for startups and tech firms. Phil is lauded as a “top recruiter” who created an innovative model – essentially “an internal recruitment team for your business but only when you need one”. Under his leadership, Talentful scaled globally and helped high-growth companies hire engineering, product, and design talent without traditional agency fees.

Phil’s blend of hands-on recruiting skill and entrepreneurial vision (Talentful was recognized as a new approach to recruitment) makes him one of London’s standout recruiters.

• LinkedIn: Phil Blaydes

David Morel

David founded Tiger Recruitment in 2001 and remains its CEO. Over two decades he built Tiger into a global staffing agency (offices in London, New York, Zurich, and beyond) specializing in business support and tech roles.

David’s strength is his decade-spanning recruitment experience and personal touch – colleagues note his “quirky sense of humour, decades of experience and strategic insight” that earn client loyalty. Tiger has a dedicated technology division and is known for its rigorous screening process and flexible hiring (perm, contract).

• LinkedIn: David Morel
• X (Twitter): @davidcmorel

Daniel Ambrose

Daniel co-founded Hexwired in 2020 and is its Managing Director. He brought 10+ years of engineering recruitment experience (from Platform Recruitment) to launch this boutique tech recruiter in London.

Hexwired specializes in deep tech niches like embedded software, FPGA/DSP engineers, Python devs, ML/data experts and more. Daniel stands out for focusing on highly technical roles – if a startup needs an FPGA engineer or AI specialist, he personally engages and understands the technical requirements.

Under his leadership, Hexwired has quickly earned a reputation for personalized service in hardware and software recruitment, serving both hardware/software startups and established tech firms.

• LinkedIn: Daniel Ambrose

Nick Gordon

Nick founded Deerfoot IT in 2000 and remains its Managing Director. With over 25 years in tech recruiting, Nick takes a hands-on approach to complex IT hires.

Deerfoot IT is a London-based tech specialist agency (digital, software, cybersecurity, etc.) known for diversity and inclusive hiring. Nick is passionate about “ethical service” and long-term client support – he prides himself on being a trusted advisor to startups and public sector tech teams alike. Under his guidance, Deerfoot has won awards (e.g. Tech Recruiter of the Year) and partners with clients like IBM, Cisco, and government bodies to build engineering teams.

Nick’s depth of experience and integrity stand out to founders who need a recruiter who “knows the landscape” and treats candidates well.

• LinkedIn: Nick Gordon

Andrew Larholt

Andrew “Andy” founded Montash in 2004 (at age 25) and is its Group CEO. He built it from his bedroom into a global tech recruitment firm with offices across Europe and the Americas.

Montash specializes in deep tech fields (cloud, DevOps, data, SAP, etc.). Andrew’s passion is evident – as he wrote in his anniversary post: “building a business… is all about the people”. He led Montash to open multiple brands (Montash, Trillion, Remobi) and focus on partnerships with innovative companies. Under Andy’s leadership, Montash is known for high-growth hiring solutions and an agile, startup mindset despite its size.

He often speaks about talent enabling transformation and ensures Montash consultants become trusted advisors to CTOs and engineering leads.

• LinkedIn: Andrew Larholt
• X (Twitter): @andylarholt
• IG: andylarholt

Phill Bateman

Phill founded trg. (Target Recruitment Group) in 2007 at just 25 and is still its Managing Director. Over 16 years he grew trg. into “one of London’s most successful and sought-after tech recruitment companies”.

Phill focuses on relationship-driven recruiting – he leads client engagements and internal training, and even runs the company’s tech community meetups (The Roundabouts). Trg.’s niche is community recruitment for startups (especially in C++, data, UX) and each consultant is a community lead. Phill’s achievement is blending recruitment with community-building: by organizing tech meetups and hackathons, he sources passive talent and positions trg. as a tech network hub.

His leadership ensures clients get both high-quality candidates and the benefit of trg.’s network and events.

• Linkedin: Phill Bateman
• X (Twitter): @bateface1

Nadia Edwards-Dashti

FMLS:24.

A co-founder of Harrington Starr, one of London’s leading fintech recruitment firms, Nadia has 19+ years of experience placing technology and sales professionals in financial services.

She has helped “thousands of people find jobs” in fintech over her career. As Chief Customer Officer, she also leads HS’s influential podcasts and campaigns like Women of FinTech and the “Talent Equity List” to promote diversity and inclusion in tech. Nadia’s combination of high-profile placements, industry advocacy, and thought leadership (including a 2022 book on gender equity in fintech) earned her awards like Recruitment Leader of the Year 2022.

• LinkedIn: Nadia Edwards-Dashti

Barry Cranford

Barry is the founder and Managing Director of RecWorks, a recruitment firm that specializes in software development roles, especially Java.

He’s highly regarded for building developer communities – for example, he founded the London Java Community (LJC) and other tech meetup groups that connect engineers with opportunities. Through a community-driven approach, Barry has matched countless Java and software engineering professionals with startups and enterprises. He “can help with more than just Java roles” but was specifically recommended for his Java recruitment expertise.

Barry’s reputation stems from his genuine engagement with tech talent (as a mentor and community organizer) and a track record of successful hires.

• LinkedIn: Barry Cranford
• X (Twitter): bcrecworks

Salim Hamid

Salim is an independent tech recruiter who has made a name for himself by rapidly scaling engineering teams at some of London’s top startups.

Notably, he single-handedly hired Deliveroo’s entire engineering team in its early hyper-growth phase, taking it from 12 to 70 engineers in 9 months (and further to 280 with additional help). Formerly an in-house recruiter at Deliveroo, Salim now runs his own consultancy and is known for word-of-mouth referrals due to his success in filling roles like Ruby, Python, and React developers. Despite jokingly “hating recruitment”, Salim consistently delivers great hires and has a reputation for understanding startup needs.

His no-nonsense style and track record with fast-growth tech companies firmly place him among the best.

• Linkedin: Salim Hamid
• X (Twitter): @team_salim

Rodney Crouch

Rodney is the Managing Director of Grey Matter Recruitment, a London-based firm specializing in placing commercial and go-to-market talent into tech and digital industries.

He was highlighted by peers as “an expert for senior commercial hires within tech, digital, and marketing”, backed by a strong team for junior roles. With over a decade in recruitment, Rodney has built Grey Matter into a top-rated agency for sales, marketing, and client services roles in the tech sector. He’s especially known for successfully filling leadership positions (like VP of Sales, Commercial Director) at high-growth SaaS and AdTech companies.

Clients value his market knowledge and consultative approach, and candidates praise his professionalism and honesty.

• Linkedin: Rodney Crouch

Rhys Evans

Rhys is the founder and director of AdRoc Group, a recruitment firm initially renowned for its focus on Ruby developers.

He can certainly handle a range of tech roles, but Ruby is what he was recommended for by London’s tech community. Rhys built AdRoc to supply expert contractors and permanent devs to both startups and government digital service projects. In fact, AdRoc has been a key talent supplier for the UK Government Digital Service and other public sector digital transformation programs – which speaks to Rhys’s ability to recruit quality engineers in high-demand skill areas. He is known for being hands-on and deeply knowledgeable about software development (beyond Ruby, into DevOps and front-end as well).

His credibility in the developer community and AdRoc’s strong delivery on contracts make Rhys one of the top tech recruiters in London.

• LinkedIn: Rhys Evans

Ann-Christin Roope

Ann-Christin is the Managing Partner of Ethan Partners, an executive search firm specializing in high-growth tech companies.

Based in London, she leads global searches for C-level and VP-level tech talent, drawing on experience as the former Global Head of International Recruiting for Rocket Internet and Groupon. She “knows a thing or two about scaling companies” after hiring leadership teams across 50+ markets. Ann-Christin has a down-to-earth yet highly strategic approach, often advising startup founders on how to attract executives who can drive expansion. Under her leadership, Ethan Partners has successfully placed executives in some of the world’s biggest startups and unicorns.

In an ecosystem where finding seasoned leaders is critical, Ann-Christin’s track record and international network place her among London’s elite recruiters.

• LinkedIn: Ann-Christin Roope

Pete Alexander

Pete is a Director at The Up Group, one of London’s premier executive search firms for the digital and technology sector.

He has earned a reputation for delivering on senior product and technology leadership searches. The Up Group is known to work with “the best known names in digital/tech” to fill Director, VP, and C-suite roles, and Pete has been instrumental in many of those high-profile placements. His expertise spans recruiting CTOs, Product Directors, and other key executives for startups, scale-ups, and corporates undergoing digital transformation. Pete’s candidates and clients commend his thoroughness and understanding of both technical requirements and cultural fit at the leadership level.

In an environment where a single executive hire can make or break a company’s growth, Pete’s consistent success and professionalism stand out.

Stevie Buckley

Stevie is a People & Talent leader with over a decade of experience supporting London-based tech startups from Seed through Series D. Most notably, as Global VP People & Talent, Stevie helped scale Permutive to 200+ employees and rapidly grew Lyst to over 100 people within just 18 months.

For nearly ten years, he organised and hosted Hacker News London—Europe’s largest regular tech meetup—and has been featured in leading publications including Wired, Forbes, The Telegraph, and Business Insider. Stevie is also an experienced public speaker, having presented at major events such as Talent Leaders Connect and Web Summit.

Drawing on his expertise in leadership hiring, Stevie founded Talent Stuff to help startups streamline the process of recruiting impactful leaders, saving them valuable time, money, and effort.

• LinkedIn: Stevie Buckley
• X (Twitter): @StevieBuckley

Sherry Salman

Sherry (Sheharyar) is known as “London’s Go-To DevOps Recruiter for Scale-Ups and Start-Ups”.

An ex-DevOps engineer turned recruiter, Sherry uniquely understands the DevOps and cloud engineering space from both sides. He specializes in filling DevOps, SRE, and cloud infrastructure roles for tech companies, covering both perm and contract needs. Sherry often shares hiring insights on LinkedIn targeted at improving DevOps recruitment processes. By leveraging his technical background, he can vet candidates on skills like CI/CD, Kubernetes, AWS/GCP – giving clients confidence in the quality of hires.

His passion and niche focus have quickly made Sherry a trusted recruitment partner for startups building out their engineering teams.

• LinkedIn: Sherry Salman

Charlie Rawstron

Charlie is a co-founder of 3Search, a recruitment agency focusing on marketing, digital, and product positions. Under his leadership, 3Search has become one of the “most highly regarded and best-reviewed” specialist recruitment firms in its niche.

While Charlie’s domain is broader than pure tech (encompassing marketing and product roles), in the digital economy these roles are often at tech companies – and 3Search’s client list includes many high-growth startups and household brands. Charlie is praised for his genuine, consultative style; he invests time to truly understand both the employer’s culture and the candidate’s motivations. This has led to numerous long-term client relationships and repeat business. Additionally, Charlie has been an advocate for transparency in recruitment (e.g., clear communication and fair fees).

His excellent reputation in London’s digital recruitment space secures his place among the top individual recruiters.

• LinkedIn: Charlie Rawstron

Amy Golding

Amy made history in the UK recruitment industry by becoming, at age 31, the youngest female CEO of a £100+ million turnover recruitment company when she took the helm of Opus Talent Solutions in 2017.

With a background in strategy consulting and working with James Caan’s recruitment ventures, Amy launched her own tech recruiting company in 2014 and quickly grew it to 130 staff and £17m in revenue within 3 years. After leading Opus (a major IT recruitment firm) through rapid growth and a successful private equity sale, she founded a tech talent training startup to address the skill gap and improve diversity. Amy is on a mission to “diversify the tech talent pool in the UK”, demonstrating that her impact goes beyond just placements to the broader talent ecosystem. Known for her entrepreneurial drive and leadership, Amy has been featured in Forbes and Yahoo Finance for her achievements.

Now based in London (recently heading Steven Bartlett’s private investment office), she remains a prominent influencer in tech recruitment and talent development.

• LinkedIn: Amy Golding

Hung Lee

A veteran tech recruiter-turned-industry curator, Hung is best known as the creator of the wildly popular “Recruiting Brainfood” newsletter.

With decades of experience in agency and in-house recruitment, he is considered a talent acquisition futurist who shares forward-looking insights on how technology and trends shape hiring. Hung’s thought leadership and community-building (e.g. Brainfood’s events and forums) have made him a go-to voice in tech recruitment.

• LinkedIn: Hung Lee
• X (Twitter): @HungLee

Sum Up

While these individuals offer valuable industry expertise, deep networks, and a track record of working with startups and tech firms in London, their services often come at a premium price tag or with limited availability.

For fast-moving teams seeking a more responsive and cost-effective alternative, EchoGlobal Tech can be an option. Contact us today!

Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top professionals. However, if you believe a correction or addition is needed, feel free to reach out. We’ll gladly review and update the page.

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