Recruitment Agency Sales introduces prospective buyers to owners of UK recruitment businesses considering a sale, merger or investment.
We work with existing recruitment companies, recruitment professionals, investors and buyers from other sectors. Opportunities range from small specialist consultancies to established permanent, temporary and contract recruitment businesses.
What Types of Recruitment Business Can You Buy?
We handle businesses of different sizes and structures across the recruitment sector. Subject to current availability and the seller’s instructions, opportunities may include:
Recruitment and staffing agencies
- Permanent recruitment agencies
- Temporary staffing businesses
- Contract recruitment companies
- Generalist and multi-sector agencies
- Niche and specialist recruitment businesses
- Graduate and apprenticeship recruitment agencies
Search and related businesses
- Executive and board-level search firms
- Recruitment process outsourcing providers
- In-house recruitment services
- Outplacement businesses
- Freelance and gig-economy platforms
- Recruitment technology and associated services
Not every opportunity is advertised publicly. Registering a clear acquisition profile allows us to consider you when a potentially suitable business becomes available.
Tell Us What You Want to Acquire
A detailed buyer profile helps us avoid unsuitable introductions and identify opportunities that are reasonably close to your requirements.
Please provide:
- Your preferred recruitment sectors
- Whether you want permanent, temporary, contract or mixed recruitment
- Your preferred location and whether the business must be relocatable
- The turnover, net fee income or profit range you are considering
- Your indicative purchase budget
- Your funding position
- Your preferred transaction structure, if you have one
- Your proposed acquisition timetable
- Your recruitment, management or investment experience
- Any sectors, structures or risk factors you will not consider
Registration does not guarantee that a matching business will be available or that a seller will approve an introduction.
How the Acquisition Process Works
Register your requirements
Tell us what you want to acquire, your experience, available funding and likely timetable.
Review opportunities
View the anonymous businesses advertised for sale and register your interest in any suitable opportunity. We may also contact registered buyers about non-public opportunities.
Complete confidentiality checks
Before identifying information is released, you may be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and provide further information about your background and funding.
Receive authorised information
Information is released in stages and in accordance with the seller’s instructions. You can review the material and submit relevant questions.
Meet and make an offer
If both parties wish to continue, discussions may progress to a meeting, an indicative offer and heads of terms.
Due diligence and completion
The parties appoint their own professional advisers. The proposed transaction remains subject to due diligence, contracts and any other required approvals.
Confidentiality and the Release of Information
Recruitment agency sales often involve sensitive information about clients, candidates, employees, contractors, financial performance and commercial agreements. Public listings are therefore normally anonymised.
Making an enquiry does not automatically entitle a buyer to receive the seller’s identity or complete financial information. The information released, and the stage at which it is released, will depend on the confidentiality arrangements and the seller’s instructions.
Prospective buyers should be prepared to explain their acquisition criteria, background and funding position. A confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement may be required before further information is supplied.
Buyer Fees
There is no charge to register as a buyer.
A buyer pays Recruitment Agency Sales only if they conclude a deal with a seller introduced through us. The fee is agreed at the outset as a fixed amount rather than a percentage of the purchase price.
Before proceeding with an introduction, make sure you understand:
- The fixed fee that would apply
- The circumstances in which it becomes payable
- The introduction and transaction it covers
- The position if the structure or timing of the transaction changes
- Whether any separately commissioned valuation or advisory work carries an additional charge
The applicable written terms will govern the arrangement.
Valuation, Negotiation and Due Diligence
Finding a business is only the beginning. A buyer must decide whether the proposed price, structure and risk are acceptable.
Valuation
A recruitment agency valuation may consider adjusted EBITDA, net fee income, revenue mix, client concentration, recurring work, management structure, owner dependence and current buyer demand.
We provide separately commissioned valuation work for prospective buyers who want an independent assessment of a business they are considering.
Due diligence
Due diligence may cover finances, clients, workers, compliance, contracts, employees, systems, data, intellectual property, property and other commitments.
Recruitment Agency Sales can assist with communication and the commercial process, but buyers should appoint their own solicitors, accountants, tax advisers and finance advisers as appropriate.
Funding a Recruitment Agency Acquisition
Consider both the purchase price and the working capital the business will require after completion.
Temporary and contract recruitment companies may have substantial payroll, holiday-pay and invoice-finance requirements. These can be material even where the agreed purchase price appears affordable. A buyer should also consider professional fees, tax, integration costs, technology contracts and any investment needed after completion.
Recruitment Agency Sales does not provide regulated financial advice. Buyers should obtain advice from appropriately authorised finance, legal, accounting and tax professionals before committing to a transaction.
Support During and After the Transaction
Our level of involvement varies between transactions. We may assist with communications, meetings, negotiations and the progression of agreed commercial points. Other transactions require less involvement once the buyer and seller have appointed their professional advisers.
Post-acquisition support may also be available by agreement, including assistance during the transition period. The exact scope and any fee should be confirmed separately rather than assumed to be part of the introduction service.
Buying a Recruitment Agency: Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a charge to register as a buyer?
No. There is no charge to register your acquisition criteria or express interest in businesses advertised for sale.
When does the buyer fee become payable?
A buyer pays a fee only if they conclude a deal with a seller introduced through Recruitment Agency Sales. The fixed fee is agreed at the outset and the applicable written terms will explain when it becomes payable.
Are all recruitment agencies for sale advertised publicly?
No. Some opportunities are marketed anonymously and some are not publicly advertised. Registering a detailed buyer profile helps us identify buyers who may be suitable for a confidential opportunity.
Will I receive the seller’s name as soon as I enquire?
Not necessarily. You may first need to provide information about your background and funding and sign a confidentiality agreement. Identifying information is released in accordance with the seller’s instructions.
Do I need recruitment-sector experience?
There is no general rule preventing someone from another sector from buying a recruitment agency. Relevant recruitment, staffing or management experience can nevertheless be particularly important where the business supplies temporary or contract workers and requires substantial operational and compliance knowledge.
Can you value a recruitment agency for a buyer?
Yes. Separately commissioned valuation work is available for prospective buyers who want an independent assessment of a recruitment business they are considering.
Do you replace the buyer’s solicitors and accountants?
No. We can assist with introductions, communication, valuation and the commercial process, but buyers and sellers should appoint their own legal, accounting, tax and finance advisers where appropriate.
Register to Buy a Recruitment Agency
Tell us what type of business you want to acquire, your preferred sectors and locations, your budget, funding position and proposed timetable.