An Introduction Agency, Established 1983

Bespoke Introductions, arranged privately and with judgement.

or call us in confidence on 0800 644 4110

An introduction agency arranges meetings between people who are looking for a serious relationship, having first met and assessed each of them personally. It is the older form of the service, and the one that has proved most durable among those who value their privacy: rather than presenting yourself to an audience, you engage an agency to conduct the search discreetly on your behalf. The County Register has done precisely this since 1983, from our matchmaking headquarters in Warwickshire and our London office at 35 Berkeley Square. Our founder, Heather Heber Percy, remains personally involved in the agency to this day.

Request a Private Consultation or call us in confidence on 0800 644 4110

Established 1983
Every member interviewed and ID-verified
Mayfair and Warwickshire

What an Introduction Agency Does

A proper introduction agency performs four tasks on your behalf, and the first is the one that matters most.

It comes to know you. Before anything else, an experienced matchmaker sits down with you for an in-depth conversation about your life, your circumstances, what you value and what you are hoping for. In our case this takes place at your home or at one of our offices, and no part of the service begins until it has happened and you have approved how you are described.

It searches on your behalf. The agency considers the members it already represents and, where nobody suitable is available, approaches suitable individuals beyond its membership directly and discreetly. Your search is therefore not confined to the people who happen to have joined the same agency as you.

It assesses everyone it puts forward. Every individual we recommend has been interviewed in person and has had their identity verified before any of their details are shared with you, including those we have approached from outside our membership.

It makes introductions one at a time, and only with agreement. Each person is put forward to you individually. Where both of you would like to meet, contact details are exchanged and the meeting is yours to arrange. Nothing happens without your consent at every stage.

The Difference Between an Introduction Agency and the Alternatives

Introduction agency and dating agency. In practice the two terms are used for the same thing, though "dating agency" now covers a very wide range of businesses, from personal services of the kind described here to databases that send out details in volume with no interview and no judgement applied. The useful question is not what a business calls itself, but whether a person will meet you, and whether a person has met everyone they will recommend.

Introduction agency and marriage bureau. The older term, and the same tradition. A marriage bureau made considered introductions with a lasting relationship in view, which is a fair description of our work. Many of our members are looking for exactly that, and a number have married someone we introduced.

Introduction agency and online dating. An introduction agency conducts the search for you; an online service asks you to conduct it yourself, in public. The second is inexpensive and suits a great many people. It is unsuitable for those who cannot be publicly visible, or who would simply prefer the search to be carried out with care by someone who has met the people concerned.

Our guide to what a matchmaker does sets out the distinctions in more detail.

A couple kissing outside a stone country cottage, each holding a bouquet of white roses

What Makes an Introduction Agency Exclusive

The word is used freely, and in most cases it refers only to the fee. A genuinely exclusive agency is distinguished by what it declines.

Every prospective member of The County Register undergoes a profiling interview and a formal identity check. We ask that members are not currently in a relationship and are seeking a serious and lasting one. We reserve the right to decline any application where we do not believe we can help, or where the fit would not be right for our wider membership, and we exercise that right regularly. This is what allows us to promise the members we do accept that everyone they meet has been through the same process as they have.

Nothing about your membership is published, listed or searchable; there is no platform on which it could appear. Your details are held by our matchmaking team and shared only once you have agreed to an introduction, and every member is bound to confidentiality about their own membership and about anyone they are introduced to. Every member receives our Dating Safety Handbook.

How Our Introductions Work

01

A private first conversation, usually by telephone, to understand your circumstances and establish whether membership is appropriate for you. We will say so plainly if it is not.
02

Your profiling interview, conducted in person by your matchmaker at your home or at one of our offices. At Cameo level this takes place by video or at our Warwickshire office.
03

Hand-selection, from our membership and, where appropriate, from beyond it.
04

Recommendations, put forward to you one at a time.
05

Confirmed introductions, where both parties have agreed to be put in touch.
06

Feedback after each meeting, which refines every subsequent selection.

Read our process in full.

Who We Introduce

Our members are accomplished, discerning people aged between 30 and 80, most commonly between 45 and 70. They include senior professionals, business owners, landowners, academics, senior members of the armed forces and the diplomatic service, and retired executives, living in London, the Home Counties, county towns and villages across the country. Some have never married; many are divorced or widowed and considering a new chapter with care.

What they share is a preference for privacy, for quality over quantity, and for a properly considered approach to something that matters a great deal.

Read more about the people we work with.

Membership

We offer four levels of membership, each with a dedicated matchmaker and an agreed number of hand-selected introductions over the membership term: Cameo, our entry level; Portfolio, a considered search on the same principles; Executive, for members whose professional lives are demanding; and Bespoke, our most comprehensive membership, with our founder's involvement where appropriate. A face-to-face profiling interview, headhunting beyond our membership and professional photography are part of the service at most levels. Membership is by consultation, and we will explain which level suits your circumstances, and what it would involve, when we speak.

Members make a considered commitment to the full service period, with the standard statutory fourteen-day right to cancel at the start. We make no guarantee of an outcome; we promise care, judgement and the right introductions.

For members whose lives extend beyond the United Kingdom, our bespoke Carte Blanche membership extends the search internationally.

Compare Membership Levels Request a Private Consultation

Forty-Three Years of Introductions

The County Register was founded in 1983 and has arranged introductions continuously ever since, which in an industry where businesses come and go is the plainest evidence available that we do what we say. Our founder remains personally involved, and at Bespoke level is involved in the matchmaking itself. We have been recognised with the title of Dating Agency of the Year.

Heather Heber Percy, founder of The County Register

Questions About Introduction Agencies

What is an introduction agency?

An introduction agency arranges meetings between people seeking a serious relationship, having interviewed and assessed each of them first. Rather than searching for yourself, you engage the agency to search on your behalf, and a matchmaker selects and vets each introduction personally. At The County Register the entire service is conducted offline, with no profile and nothing searchable.

Is an introduction agency the same as a dating agency?

In practice the terms are used interchangeably, although "dating agency" now covers a much wider range of businesses. The distinction that matters is whether a person interviews you before the service begins, and whether a person has met everyone they will recommend to you. At The County Register, both are true at every level of membership.

How are an introduction agency's fees arranged?

At The County Register, membership carries a single fee covering a dedicated matchmaker and an agreed number of hand-selected introductions over the membership term, rather than a charge for each introduction. The fee depends on the level of membership, which reflects the depth and length of the search rather than the care taken over it. Membership is by consultation, and we will discuss it with you in your first private conversation, with the particulars then set out in your Membership Agreement.

Are the people you introduce checked?

Yes. Every individual we recommend has been interviewed in person and has had their identity verified before any of their details are shared, including those we have approached from outside our existing membership. Every member also receives our Dating Safety Handbook.

Do I have to be in London?

No. We introduce members throughout the United Kingdom. Our matchmaking headquarters is in Warwickshire and we have a London office in Mayfair, and your profiling interview can take place at your home wherever you live.

Can you help if I am in my seventies?

Yes. Our membership extends to the age of eighty, and a good number of our members are widowed or have been single for some years and are looking for companionship and a serious relationship in later life. The care and the standards are identical at every age.

Begin with a Conversation

If you would like to understand what membership would involve, the first step is a private conversation with our team. There is no obligation, and everything you tell us is treated in confidence.

Request a Private Consultation

Or call 0800 644 4110. All enquiries are treated in the strictest confidence.

The County Register website uses cookies to improve your experience. View Privacy Policy