Finalist projects demonstrate how the consulting sector is delivering productivity efficiencies, managing costs improving cyber resilience and implementing AI to add value to businesses
Over 90 clients support the MCA Awards this year including Sainsbury's, HSBC, Nationwide Building Society, Astra Zeneca, the MOD, ITV, the British Heart Foundation, the Imperial War Museum and McLaren
45 small, medium and large firms shortlisted across project and individual categories with SMEs making up 60% of all finalists
There are 21 main award categories plus Best New Consultancy, Times Consultant of the Year and Project of the Year

LONDON, May 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) has announced the finalists for the MCA Awards 2026, recognising the projects and individuals delivering measurable impact for clients across the UK and around the world. This year's shortlist demonstrates where consulting is adding value by improving productivity, strengthening cyber resilience and embedding AI and where it is delivering lasting social value for our communities and supporting organisations to meet their sustainability goals.

Deloitte makes it to the finalist list in the Change and Transformation in the Public Sector category for its work digitally transforming and enhancing the security of the UK's border system including moving over five million customers to digital eVisas. SME firm Akeso in partnership with Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, redesigned outpatient care through a new town-centre facility, improving efficiency and easing capacity pressures. This work cut the number of people not attending appointments by 22%, improved clinic utilisation to 90%, and reduced unnecessary follow-up appointments by 20%.

Fraud and cybercrime now account for more than 40% of all crime in the UK and have placed huge pressure on police forces to adapt their technology. PwC worked with the City of London Police on a new national reporting service that's easier to use, faster for victims and more effective for policing, helping them to strengthen their response to fraud and cybercrime. EY worked with the Metropolitan Police Service, to deliver urgent reform achieving measurable improvements in frontline operations, including an 11.6% reduction in missing person cases and saving 48,000 officer hours annually.

In the private sector categories, JCURV partnered with Southern Water on an ambitious customer service transformation delivering measurable improvements in customer satisfaction, service reliability and operational performance. In the same category Grant Thornton worked with Greene King one of the UK's largest pub retainers and brewers to deliver a group-wide cost and efficiency programme targeting £40m of annual profitability improvements.

As the only major UK financial institution committed to keeping all of its bank branches open until 2030 Nationwide Building Society worked with CBRE on a major transformation programme which improved relationships between head office and branches, prioritising front line teams and positively impacting customers and employees. Arup makes it to the finals for its work with Heathrow investment translating vital regulatory requirements into a robust capital control framework applied to all projects strengthening both governance and confidence in future investment. In Change and Transformation in the Private Sector - Moorhouse with Elexon collaborated on an industry-wide transformation programme in the energy sector, designed to overhaul the electricity settlement process across the UK.

Exports of consulting professional services have trebled in recent years and the International category demonstrates the scale and depth of brilliant advisory work being delivered overseas. Enfuse Group helped one of the world's largest maritime organisations - which coordinates critical port operations and vessel movements - to digitally transform, delivering material commercial outcomes across the global business operations. Curzon Consulting supported the procurement transformation at Sydney Airport working with hundreds of suppliers to support critical services, improve business performance and ensure the delivery of safe reliable services for passengers and airlines. North Highland also features in this category for its work transforming one of Saudi Arabia's major educational and health institutions improve patients outcomes and student experiences.

From cyber security and AI to productivity and public health, the finalists reflect the broad diverse impact consulting can have. In the Best Use of Thought Leadership category, KPMG partnered with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to quantify the economic impact of cyber-attacks through advanced modelling and analysis. The project provided government, industry and critical infrastructure with robust evidence to inform policy, investment and risk management decisions. Its findings have been widely used across government and cited in policy discussions, helping to strengthen the UK's overall approach to cyber resilience.

Also, in this category CF in partnership with Health Innovation Manchester and NHS clinicians, created a national evidence base on chronic kidney disease, quantifying its true scale, costs and impact on cardiovascular health. It showed the condition costs the NHS £8.2bn annually, drives 19,000 deaths each year and is significantly underdiagnosed, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The findings have directly shaped national policy and programmes.

In the Technology Transformation category, Capgemini Invent makes it to the shortlist for its work with the Imperial War Museum using an AI enabled interactive system to make 20,000+ hours of audio footage available to the public - a job that would have taken more than 20 years to complete manually. PwC worked with the British Heart Foundation to deliver an enterprise-wide technology transformation, implementing a new AI-driven application for managing donated stock which saved shop staff time and recovered more than £500,000 in lost Gift Aid donations.

MCA member firms also continue to help drive sustainability and net zero initiatives amidst global instability and pressures from the ongoing energy shock in the Middle East. In the Sustainability category, PwC partnered with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Salix Finance to deliver a national retrofit programme, upgrading low-income homes with energy-efficient measures. The project helped thousands of people in low-income homes reduce energy bills and carbon emissions and established a scalable model for high-quality retrofit across the UK. Jacobs makes it to the finals for its work helping manage climate change driven tidal flood risks in the UK - helping improve flooding defences along the Thames and Thames Estuary.

Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), said:

"Consulting continues to play a central role in helping organisations navigate complexity and deliver real-world impact, and this year's MCA Awards finalists reflect the very best of our industry's efforts. Across sectors, these projects demonstrate how consulting brings together deep expertise, innovation and delivery capability to help clients tackle their most pressing challenges: driving productivity, strengthening resilience and delivering meaningful outcomes for communities. We are proud to see over 90 leading organisations working in partnership with consulting firms to showcase the impact the sector is having across the UK economy and society, and we look forward to celebrating the achievements of these outstanding teams and individuals."

The MCA Awards continue to reflect the breadth and depth of MCA member firms. The consulting arms of major infrastructure organisations have a number of finalist projects and individual consultants through to the final stage including AtkinsRéalis, Jacobs and Mott MacDonald. Projects include Jacobs with Tideway in the Social Value category, supporting 1,273 unemployed people into employment and creating new training and skills provisions, including the Thames Skills Academy.

Judging interviews will take place in June and July with consulting firms joining their clients from brands including McClaren, Deliveroo, the British Heart Foundation and National Grid. Once again, a panel of independent judges will be assessing among them Maryam Moshiri, Chief News Presenter at the BBC, Dame Penny Mordaunt and Cecil Adjalo, Co-Founder of Foundervine.

As well as projects, the MCA Awards recognises outstanding individuals across nine categories from Apprentice of the Year and Rising Star to Experienced Leader and Team Leader Consultant of the Year. In the Young Consultant of the Year category, Tanushree Agarwal from Inner Circle Consulting, gets to the finals for her high-impact work across housing including an estate regeneration programme. Georgina Fraser from CBRE is a finalist for Thought Leadership Consultant of the Year for her work on people and organisation consulting in corporate real estate and Bartlomiej Gradzki from Amey secures his spot in the finals for Apprentice of the Year having made his mark on projects in the rail sector.

Yuvni Hiranif of IMPOWER makes it to the Rising Star shortlist for her impressive track record of delivering critical transformation programmes in children's and adults' services. Kayode Akinrinlola from Jacobs will also be interviewed by the prestigious judging panel for his work in delivering measurable improvements in organisational culture at his firm.

In total, forty-five consultancy firms have reached the finalist stage for the 2026 MCA Awards across both project and individual categories. SMEs represent 60% of all finalists, and the individual categories reflect strong diversity, with 57% of finalists being women and 26% from ethnic minority backgrounds.

From the large firms, PwC has 33 projects and individuals at finalist stage, followed by KPMG (24), Capgemini Invent (20), Deloitte (14) and EY (12). Smaller firms also have a strong presence including finalists from Inner Circle Consulting (6), Enfuse Group (4) and Nous Group (4). In the prestigious Best New Consultancy category, Kindred Consulting and Trimstone Partners have both reached the finalist stage.

You can view the full list of MCA Awards 2026 finalists here. For sponsorship details, please contact Natalie Mendez at Natalie.Mendez@mca.org.uk

The ceremony for the awards will take place in the Autumn at the Grosvenor Hotel and full details including information on ticket and table bookings for the event can be found at www.mca.org.uk/mca-awards

Further information can be found at www.mca.org.uk

Media Contact: James Sibley (communications@mca.org.uk / Tel: 07398 474814)

Notes to Editors:

The Management Consultancies Association (MCA):

The MCA is the representative body for the UK's leading management consulting firms. For 70 years, the MCA has been the voice of the consulting industry, promoting the value of consulting to business, the public sector, media commentators and the general public. The MCA's mission is to promote the value of management consultancy for the economy and society as a whole. The MCA's member companies comprise over 50% of the UK consulting industry and work with the vast majority of the top FTSE 100 companies and almost all parts of the public sector. The UK consulting industry is amongst the best in the world and a vital part of the business landscape.

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