Our Track Record

Placement Stories

Every household is different. Every placement is personal. These anonymised case studies illustrate how we work — from first conversation to successful placement and beyond.

96%

Retention at 12 months

3 weeks

Average time to place

13 years

Industry experience

40+

Countries served

Full Household

DubaiPlaced in 5 weeksChef, Nanny, Housekeeper, Chauffeur

Building a Household from Scratch in Dubai

A British family relocating to the Gulf needed an entire domestic team — assembled and vetted in under six weeks.

The Challenge

A UHNW family with three children under ten was relocating from Kensington to Dubai Hills Estate. They needed a complete household team — private chef, live-in nanny, housekeeper, and driver — all in place before the family arrived. The parents had exacting standards: the chef needed to cook across Middle Eastern and European cuisines, the nanny required fluent French for their bilingual education programme, and every candidate needed prior experience in Gulf households where cultural awareness is non-negotiable.

Our Approach

We began with a detailed household audit, interviewing both parents separately to understand not just the job specifications but the family's rhythms, values, and non-negotiables. Our Dubai network provided a shortlist of twelve candidates across all four roles within ten days. Each underwent our enhanced vetting: face-to-face interviews, skills assessments (the chef prepared a trial menu), DBS checks, and a minimum of three verified references per candidate. We coordinated trial days remotely via video, allowing the family to observe each candidate in a working environment before committing.

The Outcome

All four positions were filled within five weeks. The chef had previously served a royal household in Abu Dhabi. The nanny held a Norland diploma with seven years' Gulf experience. Six months on, all four staff members remain in post — the family extended their contracts within the first quarter.

“We expected this to take months. Irving Scott had our entire team in place before we'd even finished unpacking.”
— Family Principal, Dubai Hills Estate

Domestic Couples

CotswoldsPlaced in 4 weeksDomestic Couple

The Estate Couple Who Stayed for Seven Years

Finding a domestic couple for a Grade I listed estate with 200 acres, a difficult previous placement history, and an employer who'd given up on agencies.

The Challenge

The owner of a 200-acre Cotswolds estate had been through three agencies and four couples in two years. The property — a Grade I listed Jacobean manor with twelve bedrooms, a converted stable block, and extensive grounds — required a couple with genuine breadth: she managing the house to museum standard, he maintaining everything from boilers to boundary walls. Previous placements had failed because candidates looked perfect on paper but couldn't cope with the isolation, the workload, or the owner's very particular standards for the care of period features.

Our Approach

Rather than immediately sourcing candidates, we spent a full day at the property. We walked every room with the owner, understanding not just what needed doing but why previous placements had failed. The pattern was clear: agencies had been matching on skills alone, ignoring temperament and lifestyle fit. We looked specifically for couples who had lived rurally before, who genuinely preferred country life, and who had demonstrable experience with heritage properties. We presented three couples, not twelve — each one a genuine match.

The Outcome

The couple we placed had spent four years managing a National Trust property before seeking private employment. They understood period building maintenance intuitively. The wife had trained in textile conservation. Seven years later, they remain on the estate. The owner has since referred two families to us.

“The previous agencies sent people who ticked boxes. Irving Scott sent people who understood what living in a house like this actually means.”
— Estate Owner, Cotswolds

Emergency Placement

Mayfair, LondonPlaced in 6 hoursPrivate Chef

48-Hour Chef Replacement Before a State Dinner

When a Mayfair household's chef resigned without notice two days before a diplomatic dinner for sixteen, the clock was already ticking.

The Challenge

A prominent Mayfair household contacted us on a Tuesday morning. Their private chef of three years had resigned effective immediately — personal reasons, no negotiation possible. The problem: a formal dinner for sixteen was planned for Thursday evening, with guests including two ambassadors and a cabinet minister. The menu had been agreed, ingredients partially sourced, and the principal's reputation for hospitality was on the line. They didn't just need a temporary chef — they needed someone who could walk into an unfamiliar kitchen and deliver a flawless six-course dinner at diplomatic standard within 48 hours.

Our Approach

We activated our emergency placement protocol. Within two hours, we had identified three chefs from our pre-vetted roster who had specific experience with formal entertaining at this level. By Tuesday afternoon, the lead candidate — a former Michelin-starred sous chef who had transitioned to private service six years earlier — was in the kitchen conducting an inventory. We handled the logistics: confirming suppliers, coordinating with the household manager on service timings and dietary requirements, and briefing the chef on the principal's preferences down to how they liked their coffee served between courses.

The Outcome

The dinner was executed without a single guest knowing the chef had changed. The replacement stayed on temporarily for three weeks while we conducted a full search for a permanent placement. The temporary chef was subsequently offered the permanent role and accepted. Still in post eighteen months later.

“I have no idea how they found someone that good that fast. The dinner was perfect.”
— Household Manager, Mayfair

Nanny

InternationalPlaced in 6 weeksTravel Nanny

A Nanny for Five Countries and Three Languages

An international family splitting time between London, Geneva, Verbier, Sardinia, and New York needed a nanny who could keep up.

The Challenge

The family — a financier and his wife with two children aged three and six — spent no more than eight weeks in any single location. Their previous nanny had burned out after eighteen months, unable to sustain the constant travel, shifting time zones, and the isolation of being the only staff member travelling with the family. They needed someone who didn't just tolerate travel but thrived on it, spoke English and French fluently (Italian a bonus), and had the emotional intelligence to provide stability for two young children whose lives were anything but routine.

Our Approach

We redesigned the brief. Rather than looking for a traditional nanny who happened to be willing to travel, we searched for candidates whose career history showed a pattern of mobility — former yacht nannies, travel nannies, and candidates who had lived in multiple countries by choice. We assessed emotional resilience explicitly, using scenario-based interviews to test how candidates handled disruption, loneliness, and the pressure of being the primary constant in a child's life across changing environments. We shortlisted four candidates from an initial pool of sixty.

The Outcome

The placed nanny had previously spent three years with a family on a superyacht, spoke three languages, and held a Montessori diploma. She proposed a 'home box' system — a set of familiar objects, books, and routines that travel with the children to every location, creating continuity regardless of geography. The family renewed her contract at the twelve-month mark with a significant salary increase.

“She doesn't just manage our children's schedule — she's given them a sense of home that we couldn't provide on our own.”
— Family Principal, London / Geneva

House Manager

Kensington, LondonPlaced in 3 weeksHouse Manager

Professionalising a Household That Had Never Had Staff

A tech entrepreneur's first hire in private service — building structure, boundaries, and trust from zero.

The Challenge

A recently successful tech founder in his early thirties had purchased a six-bedroom Kensington townhouse but had no experience employing domestic staff. He knew he needed help — the house was too large to manage alone alongside a demanding travel schedule — but was uncomfortable with the employer-employee dynamic, worried about privacy, and unsure what roles he actually needed. Three separate enquiries to other agencies had resulted in recommendations he described as 'too formal, too Downton Abbey' for his lifestyle.

Our Approach

We started with what we call a lifestyle consultation — not a staffing brief. We spent an evening at the property understanding how he actually lived: late nights, irregular meals, a home office that doubled as his primary workspace, frequent guests staying informally, and a wardrobe that cost more than most cars but lived in piles on the floor. We recommended a single House Manager rather than the housekeeper-plus-PA combination other agencies had suggested. Someone who could run the household with professionalism but without the stiffness he dreaded.

The Outcome

The placed House Manager was a former five-star hotel deputy manager who had transitioned to private service specifically because she preferred the variety. She implemented systems quietly — a household manual, supplier accounts, a maintenance schedule — without making the principal feel managed. Within three months, she had also onboarded a part-time housekeeper and a weekly chef, building the household team organically as trust developed.

“I didn't know what I needed. They figured it out and found someone who makes my life work without making it weird.”
— Tech Entrepreneur, Kensington

Your Household, Your Story

Every placement begins with a conversation

Whether you need a single housekeeper or an entire household team, we approach every brief with the same care and discretion. Tell us what you need.

Start a Conversation

A Nanny for Five Countries and Three Languages

An international family splitting time between London, Geneva, Verbier, Sardinia, and New York needed a nanny who could keep up.

The Challenge

Our Approach

The Outcome

“She doesn't just manage our children's schedule — she's given them a sense of home that we couldn't provide on our own.”
— Family Principal, London / Geneva