London matchmakers and dating agencies: who charges what

London has more matchmakers than anywhere else in the UK, and the widest spread of prices: the same afternoon's reading took us from a £1,000 six-month membership to one starting at £15,000. Below are nine firms that say on their own websites that they work in London, what each publishes and where each stays silent. Everything comes from each firm's own website as it read on 20 October 2026, and its own documents take precedence over our summary. No listing is paid for and none carries an affiliate link.

Who's working in London right now

Drawing Down the Moon

A London matchmaker that says it was founded in 1984. Its membership criteria page says most clients are in London and the South East, with "global introductions" by arrangement, and that clients have ranged from 20 to their mid-80s. One unusual published rule: it reviews its gender balance every quarter and suspends new membership for a gender that reaches 47%. It publishes no prices; you fill in an enquiry form and a matchmaker gets in touch.

Little Black Book

A London matchmaker for "single busy professional Londoners" aged 27 to 45, according to its FAQ. It says it works with a small number of clients at a time. It publishes one package: six handpicked matches over about six months, with a photo shoot and three sessions with a dating coach.

Cupid in the City

Says it began running events in 2010 and launched its London introductions service in 2013. Its FAQ says members are typically 30 to 60. It describes an annual membership with unlimited introductions, and a separate "Network" membership for people who are happy to be introduced to its paying clients, which it says carries no promise of introductions.

Bond The Agency

A members-only London agency that says it launched in 2023 and meets clients "by appointment only". Its FAQ says it matches people from their mid-20s to mid-70s. Memberships are "bespoke and tailored to you": a matchmaker recommends a package after meeting you, and no prices are published.

Sergovantseva Matchmaking

A private matchmaker based in Mayfair that says it works across the UK, Europe and the United States, with consultations in English and Russian. Its private matchmaking page is unusually frank that it doesn't promise "a relationship, marriage or a fixed number of suitable people".

Latham International

A luxury matchmaking and relationship advisory firm with offices at Berkeley Square, London, and in New York. It sells paid sessions on their own as well as matchmaking memberships, and offers sessions in person in London or online.

The Executive Club of St James's

An introduction service that says it was founded in 1985 and that membership is based on members meeting in Central London. Its office is in Seaford, East Sussex, with interviews at your home in London or in a hotel conference room. Its site publishes eligibility guidelines by age, height and dress size, so read them before you apply.

Club Introductions

Says its matchmaking is mainly in London and the Home Counties, with franchise agents elsewhere. It is for professionals from their late 20s to their 80s and offers a hybrid service, where the team sends you matches and you choose whom to meet, or a bespoke service with a dedicated matchmaker. It publishes no office address; contact is by email.

Your Matchmaker

An offline matchmaking service for professionals across the South of England. South West London is the only part of London on its list of areas, alongside counties from Hampshire to Somerset, so ask how many members live near you if you are elsewhere in the capital.

The trade body, the Association of British Introduction Agencies (ABIA), keeps a list of members covering London and the South East. On 20 October 2026 it showed 22, including seven of the firms above. ABIA membership means an agency has agreed to follow its code of practice. It isn't a licence.

Prices side by side, with the date we checked

Three things stand out. First, the Executive Club's monthly fee keeps running for as long as you're a member, so twelve months of Gold costs £2,479 and twelve months of VIP £7,595 at the published rates. Second, Cupid in the City's home page says fees "vary and increase" with your search, so treat £5,000 as a starting point. Third, Latham International's ABIA listing showed a lower starting fee than its own website on the same day; ask which applies to you.

How each one vets the people you'll meet

Every firm here says it meets or screens its clients. What differs is how much detail it publishes, and whether it promises to check ID.

• Little Black Book. "We meet everyone face to face" and "all our members are ID checked", says its FAQ. Its terms add that it relies on the information members give in good faith and advises you to verify it yourself.
• Club Introductions. Members have a video evaluation call, and its terms say service starts only after you submit a passport or driving licence.
• Your Matchmaker. Each hybrid match is identity-checked and interviewed by video call. The Bespoke and Elite descriptions don't repeat this, so ask.
• Cupid in the City. It says it personally interviews everyone it introduces, face to face or by video, and its process includes a Zoom call, a one-hour meeting, a questionnaire and a personality test. ID checks aren't mentioned.
• Bond The Agency. A call, then a face-to-face meeting, and each potential match is "meticulously vetted". It doesn't say how.
• The Executive Club of St James's. Phone screening, then a long interview with the owner. ID checks aren't described.
• Drawing Down the Moon, Sergovantseva Matchmaking and Latham International. The pages we read describe conversations with clients but not ID or other checks. Sergovantseva's page says plainly that "screening cannot eliminate every uncertainty".

An interview confirms you met someone. An ID check confirms they are who they say they are. Neither confirms that everything else they told the firm is true, which is why Little Black Book's advice to check for yourself applies everywhere. Our guide to how agencies vet members explains what to ask.

What the fee actually buys you

The published terms show how differently "membership" is defined:

• A number of matches. Little Black Book promises six matches but says it can't promise that any introduction will meet all your preferences. Club Introductions' terms say a hybrid membership is "deemed fulfilled once contracted introductions are proposed whether or not meetings take place".
• A period of time. Cupid in the City sells a year with unlimited introductions. The Executive Club's membership runs for as long as you pay the monthly fee.
• Refunds. Club Introductions says no refunds are issued except where it breaches its terms. Little Black Book says the same, and that meeting someone doesn't entitle you to a refund. The Executive Club describes a full refund of the Gold joining fee if you cancel within two weeks, and a proportional refund if it promised a number of introductions in 12 months and delivered fewer. Its page states different time limits in different places, so get the terms that apply to you in writing.
• Pausing. Little Black Book lets you suspend for up to five months. Club Introductions allows a hold of up to two months, three times in a six-month package, but instalments continue during a hold. Cupid in the City offers a three-month hold on its premium membership, and Bond says you can put membership on hold.

Your consumer rights sit underneath all of this. If you sign a contract online, by phone or away from the firm's office, you have 14 days after the day you sign to cancel. If you asked the firm to start work in those 14 days, it can charge for what it has done; Little Black Book's terms list the kinds of work it would deduct for, such as profiling, searches and coaching. Sign at the firm's own premises and that cancellation right generally doesn't apply. Our guide to dating agency contracts and refunds sets out the rest.

What to ask at your first consultation

Take these to any London firm, and ask for the answers in writing:

1. What is the full fee, including VAT and any monthly charges, and when is each part due?
2. How many introductions will I get, and does a match I decline count as one?
3. How many current members fit what I'm looking for, by age and area?
4. If you headhunt, have the people you approach agreed to be introduced?
5. Do you check ID? Anything else, such as relationship status?
6. Can I pause if I meet someone, and do payments continue while I do?
7. If I cancel within 14 days, what exactly would you deduct?

Question 3 matters in London more than anywhere. A firm covering "London and the Home Counties" may be drawing on members from anywhere between, say, Guildford and St Albans, so ask how far you'd be expected to travel. Our full list of questions, and what happens at the first interview, will help you prepare.

When an agency isn't the answer

A matchmaker makes most sense if you're short of time, want people screened before you meet them, and can afford to lose the fee if it doesn't work out. At London prices that last point deserves real thought. Is a matchmaker worth it? walks through the decision, and what dating agencies cost compares these fees with agencies elsewhere in the UK.

Be cautious with anyone who presses you to sign at the first meeting or won't let you take the contract home. The warning signs guide lists the others.

If something goes wrong

Start with the firm, in writing, then escalate. Who to contact depends on whether it's a contract problem or something worse.

Our own online service, listed separately

DatingAgency.com is not one of the firms above. We run an online dating service where you do the searching yourself: nobody interviews members or picks matches. Joining, making a profile and browsing are free; reading and replying to messages needs a paid membership that renews until you cancel. Profiles are shared with partner sites in the same network, and what members write about themselves isn't checked. How our service works and our prices give the details, and the same safety advice applies.