Temp and perm mix

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Recruitment businesses typically provide temporary recruitment or permanent recruitment services, or some combination of both. The precise split is often referred to as the temp to perm mix.

 

And whilst other recruitment services can feature – such as RPO, Head Hunting and Exec search, etc. – at its core, recruitment is usually defined by either being temporary or permanent.

Individuals and businesses can prioritise each for different reasons, and there’s no one right approach. However, in terms of valuing a business, there’s a perceived higher value associated with temporary recruitment.

Yes, permanent recruitment can deliver strong cash flows and there’s no need necessarily for invoice discounting or factoring, but equally the gross margin dial is reset ever month and there’s little foundation from which to build. 

External investors therefore appear to prefer (and hence typically attribute higher valuations/multiples to) contract recruitment agencies, with their gross margin run rate and ability to generate an ongoing revenue stream. 

Bluestones Group’s balanced portfolio of established core recruitment and staffing services businesses aim for a mix with around 80-90% temporary focus. This naturally follows through to our investment division and where we look for investment opportunities with our annual investment funds. If this reflects your existing business and you’re looking for investment to scale, or you’re an experienced recruiter looking for investment and support to launch your own agency, then speak to us or start your investment enquiry today.

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About Bluestones

Bluestones Investment Group invests in staffing service companies. We operate a balanced portfolio of businesses in specific divisional sectors and are always keen to receive investment enquiries.

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INVESTMENTS

What you need to know

Although our existing brand portfolio operates across five core sectors, we’re not restricting future investments to just those. If you have a good proposition and a believable plan, that’s half the battle – so talk to us today about how we can help.

We’ve refined our start-up process so that we can typically launch a new recruitment business, fully set up with all the necessary branding, systems, and accounts, within a matter of weeks. 

Firstly, we need you to submit your investment enquiry. You can do that HERE.

 

As long as there’s sufficient detail in there, our Investment Director will review your proposal. All investments submitted will receive personal feedback.

 

After that, if your investment meets our criteria, our Group CEO and CFO will review and sign off on the investment and we’ll get heads of terms and shareholder agreements drawn up. As an equity stakeholder in your new business, it’s important we get this all agreed up front.

Our investment criteria is fairly simple; we’re looking for the following:

 

  1. A realistic budget.
  2. Demonstrable knowledge in your location(s) and sector(s).
  3. Proven sales growth and track record.
  4. A structured plan for your new business.
  5. A vision for how you want to develop your business.

We expect you to have at least 3-5 years’ experience in your chosen sector. We need to have confidence that you understand your market and have a well-developed network of clients and candidates.

We offer one of the best all-round investment and support packages available for recruiters and recruitment businesses. From providing all of the upfront funding, guaranteeing salaries, providing office premises, full provision of IT equipment and services, and all the support services you need, including IT, legal, HR, Finance, etc.

We’re focusing on recruitment businesses within the UK right now and already have established recruitment hubs in Birmingham, Chester, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester – with other offices around the country. 

 

As long as you’re based in the UK, you can trade wherever, and we can support you.

We invest in businesses that we believe can be successful. That means a business that can scale and grow at pace, that is typically break-even in year one of our investment, and ready to exit in year three, or preferably join our core recruitment business portfolio for further growth, increased value, and wealth creation. 

Speak to me about your investment

Matt Cody

Investment Division CEO

“We have a proven approach to investing in the recruitment sector, scaling businesses rapidly, and creating value. Let's talk."

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