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NICHE RETURNS Compiled by mergers & acquisitions specialist Clearwater International, the Recruiter FAST 50 demonstrates that privately-owned recruitment firms continue to deliver high levels of growth. Clearwater’s Marcus Archer and Mark Maunsell reveal the data behind this year’s findings
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onstituents of this year’s 2017 FAST 50 grew by an average compound annual growth rate of 43%, marginally down from the 44% seen in 2016. The results are based on financial years ending between March 2015 and June 2016, and therefore do not take into consideration any potential impact from Brexit. Unlike previous years, when the multi-sector recruitment agencies had the highest representation, this year saw the return of niche sector specialists. Healthcare topped the sectors with a total of 14 companies, six of which have been ranked on the list at least once before. It is a market facing chronic shortages, but one that has undergone a structural change following the introduction of price caps in November 2015. While the full effect of these caps will not be reflected in this year’s FAST 50, NHS Improvement, which is responsible for overseeing foundation trusts and NHS trusts, as well as independent providers that provide NHS-funded care, has a target reduction of £1bn agency spend for the year 2016/17 and increasing appetite to suspend non-core services rather than overspend on staff. This will materially impact off-framework providers moving forward. In contrast,
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on-framework and compliant recruiters remain well positioned to benefit from the huge supply-demand imbalance in the NHS, albeit likely at reduced operating margins. Education is another sector with strong underlying market fundamentals. A growing number of pupils, an ageing workforce and a significant proportion of newly-qualified teachers leaving the profession within five years are just a few of the reasons the market faces acute talent shortages. The situation is being exacerbated by long-standing prestigious institutions, like Harrow and Marlborough, which are attempting to lure UK teachers to newly-developed international operations. Consequently, education recruiters who are able to
Next year will be particularly interesting as we look to determine any impact of Brexit
access vetted and compliant candidates have been achieving exceptional growth. In this year’s FAST 50, five specialist education agencies featured, up from one the previous year. A special mention should go to Birmingham-headquartered TeacherActive, which has ranked in the top 20 for the second consecutive year. The construction, engineering and technical recruitment markets featured strongly in 2016’s FAST 50 and 2017 is no different. Collectively, the companies in these sectors make up nearly a fifth of the total and include the fastest growing agency, Falcon Green Personnel. The data illustrates how the sectors have recovered since the recession, buoyed by major infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Crossrail, and government initiatives in the construction sector such as ‘help to buy’. With strong growth being recorded across the professional services market in the last few years, it comes as no surprise that recruiters with expertise in areas such as compliance, legal and consulting feature in this year’s FAST 50. In fact, a total of six specialist recruiters ranked, with Phaidon International and Morgan Law appearing for the second consecutive year. Furthermore, with law firms and consultancy groups being heralded as one of the likely benefactors of Brexit primarily due to an increase in regulatory work,
FEBRUARY 2017
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