51 professional services companies in Riyadh ranked by 1-year headcount growth. The top 10 are free below, each with a short data note. The full ranked list of 51 is a CSV + Excel download.
Edition October 2026 · updated 2026-10-09 · source: licensed B2B firmographic and technographic data
Key numbers
- Median 1-year headcount growth: 31.5% across 51 companies (range 20.0% to 114.2%). 2 of 51 at least doubled their headcount.
- Size mix: 10–19 employees: 16, 20–49 employees: 14, 50–99 employees: 6, 100–249 employees: 7, 250–499 employees: 8. The most common band is 10–19 (31%).
- Main sub-industries: Architecture, Engineering & Design (21), Management Consulting (15), Professional Services (8).
- Largest company on the list: XPL solutions (250–499 employees, 55.5% growth). 30 of 51 have fewer than 50 employees.
- Versus the whole October 2026 dataset (3246 companies), this page's median is higher: 31.5% vs 22.1%.
- Same sector by city (median growth): Riyadh 31.5% (n=51), Abu Dhabi 28.9% (n=50), Doha 20.9% (n=50), Dubai 65.9% (n=50), Jeddah 17.3% (n=35), Sharjah 16.2% (n=35), Muscat 15.3% (n=27), Kuwait City 12.6% (n=26), Manama 7.7% (n=20), Dammam 13.2% (n=11).
- Same location by sector (median growth): IT services & software 42.9% (n=51), construction 36.0% (n=50), manufacturing 32.3% (n=50), professional services 31.5% (n=51), retail & e-commerce 29.7% (n=50), facilities management & cleaning 21.0% (n=15), real estate 16.0% (n=23), freight & logistics 15.3% (n=28), education & training 13.9% (n=50), hospitality & restaurant 12.8% (n=30), marketing & advertising agency 11.8% (n=47), healthcare & clinic 9.6% (n=15).
Top 10 by headcount growth
| # | Company | Industry | Size band | 1-yr growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retaam Solutions | Management Consulting | 20–49 | 114.2% |
| 2 | Mesned Pharma Consult Center | Management Consulting | 50–99 | 100.0% |
| 3 | Hunak | Management Consulting | 10–19 | 83.3% |
| 4 | Epro Business Development | Management Consulting | 10–19 | 81.8% |
| 5 | Glowork | HR & Staffing | 20–49 | 65.0% |
| 6 | Powerchina Nuclear Engineering | Architecture, Engineering & Design | 20–49 | 60.0% |
| 7 | XPL solutions | Management Consulting | 250–499 | 55.5% |
| 8 | Alarabia Safety | Architecture, Engineering & Design | 10–19 | 55.0% |
| 9 | Fisheye - Executive Search | HR & Staffing | 10–19 | 51.2% |
| 10 | Wathiq | Management Consulting | 10–19 | 47.1% |
| + 41 more companies, ranked 11–51, in the full list | ||||
#1 Retaam Solutions
Headcount grew 114.2% in 12 months, 3.6× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #1 of 14 companies here in the 20–49-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: Management Consulting; revenue band $5M-$10M.
#2 Mesned Pharma Consult Center
Headcount grew 100.0% in 12 months, 3.2× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #1 of 6 companies here in the 50–99-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: Management Consulting; revenue band $10M-$25M.
#3 Hunak
Headcount grew 83.3% in 12 months, 2.6× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #1 of 16 companies here in the 10–19-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: Management Consulting; revenue band $500K-$1M.
#4 Epro Business Development
Headcount grew 81.8% in 12 months, 2.6× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #2 of 16 companies here in the 10–19-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: Management Consulting; revenue band $1M-$5M.
#5 Glowork
Headcount grew 65.0% in 12 months, 2.1× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #2 of 14 companies here in the 20–49-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: HR & Staffing; revenue band $5M-$10M.
#6 Powerchina Nuclear Engineering
Headcount grew 60.0% in 12 months, 1.9× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #3 of 14 companies here in the 20–49-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: Architecture, Engineering & Design; revenue band $1M-$5M.
#7 XPL solutions
Headcount grew 55.5% in 12 months, 1.8× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #1 of 8 companies here in the 250–499-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: Management Consulting; revenue band $25M-$50M.
#8 Alarabia Safety
Headcount grew 55.0% in 12 months, 1.7× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #3 of 16 companies here in the 10–19-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: Architecture, Engineering & Design; revenue band $1M-$5M.
#9 Fisheye - Executive Search
Headcount grew 51.2% in 12 months, 1.6× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #4 of 16 companies here in the 10–19-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: HR & Staffing; revenue band $500K-$1M.
#10 Wathiq
Headcount grew 47.1% in 12 months, 1.5× this ranking's median of 31.5%, #5 of 16 companies here in the 10–19-employee band. Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; primary sub-industry: Management Consulting; revenue band $1M-$5M.
Get the full list
CSV + Excel + PDF with every company on this page (name, website, city, industry and sub-industry, size band, employee count, growth and a careers-page search link). We reply with a payment link and send the files the same day. One-time $7, 14-day refund.
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Methodology
Source: licensed B2B firmographic and technographic data, pulled 9 Oct 2026; page updated 2026-10-09. Scope: companies headquartered in the city with 10–500 employees and at least 10 data profiles; the top 50 by 1-year headcount growth per industry, after removing likely local branches of foreign or 1,000+ staff groups; companies with zero or negative growth are left out. Growth is the modelled change in the company's own employee count over the last 12 months; values above 200% are labelled estimated because they come from small headcounts. Location is the company's headquarters city; firms headquartered elsewhere with large local offices are not included, and likely local branches of foreign or 1,000+ staff groups were removed by a name/website rule that can miss some branches. Some companies are local branches of larger groups; the size band is for the local entity. Figures move between monthly editions. Company-level data only: no personal names, emails or phone numbers.
We publish a ranking only when at least 15 companies qualify, and skip a page when its top 10 would repeat another page.
FAQ
- Which professional services company in Riyadh grew fastest this year?
- In the October 2026 edition, Retaam Solutions ranks first with 114.2% 1-year headcount growth, followed by Mesned Pharma Consult Center (100.0%) and Hunak (83.3%).
- How fast are professional services SMBs in Riyadh growing?
- The median company on this list grew headcount by 31.5% in 12 months. This is a list of fast growers, not a sector average.
- What does "growth" mean here?
- The change in the company's own employee count over the last 12 months, modelled from licensed B2B firmographic data. It is not revenue growth and not a count of open vacancies.
- Why do some figures say "estimated"?
- Growth above 200% usually comes from a small starting headcount, so a few hires move the percentage a lot. We keep these companies but label the figure.
- What is in the paid list?
- All 51 companies on this page with website, city, industry, size band and growth, as CSV and Excel. Company-level only: no personal contact details.
- How often is this updated?
- Monthly. Each edition is dated; this one is October 2026.