This year’s top company in Recruiter’s Fast 50, the 50 fastest growing private recruitment businesses in the UK, puts its rivals in the shade.

In the year to the end of June 2008, revenues at the international multi-sector recruiter FiveTen Group almost trebled, rising by 197% to £156m. In comparison, the second ranked recruiter, Arion Recruitment grew by a relatively paltry 128%.

FiveTen’s ranking is largely down to the group’s ‘buy and build’ strategy’ initiated in 2006 (when it was known as Greythorn) by previous chief executive Graham-Palfery-Smith.

The group, which rebranded as FiveTen in March 2008, further boosted its revenue in the year ending 30 June 2008 by acquiring marketing recruiter EMR and generalist professional recruiter Antal Russia, adding them to its stable of existing niche recruitment businesses. FiveTen now employs more than 500 staff in 12 countries.

John Rose, FiveTen’s current chief executive, who succeeded Palfery-Smith in February last year, admits that his larger-than-life predecessor was a hard act to follow. And he is quick to acknowledge Palfery-Smith’s legacy. “He created the architecture and make-up of the company, and the quality of the brands we acquired,” he says.

Rose’s philosophy: What value do you add as a recruiter? This is what we are pushing. It’s about adding that value.

Moreover, Rose predicts that 2009 will be profitable because of the “early action” taken before his arrival to reduce the group’s cost base in response to the downturn.

But following Palfery-Smith’s departure in August 2008 and Rose’s appointment in February 2009, the ex-Hudson UK and Kellan Group chief executive says things have moved on.

While not absolutely ruling out further acquisitions, “one would never say never”, Rose is keen to emphasise that FiveTen has entered a new and different stage in its development.

“We have done the acquisition bit, and now we need the organic growth to push the top line and take the group into more markets,” he says, speaking to Recruiter at FiveTen’s London headquarters in High Holborn. “The crux of it is to take the brands and spread them; that’s why I was hired.”

Compared with Palfery-Smith, he agrees it is very much a case of ‘horses for courses’, and that he has a different skillset to the previous incumbent. “I was a good recruiter - good not great, but I grabbed the opportunities when they arose,” he adds.

Despite the continuing impact of the recession, Rose is clearly from the ‘glass half full’ school of recruitment. “This is an outstanding but challenging opportunity to build a company that has great brands and potential global reach,” he says.

Rose is equally clear that quality of service is a key plank in FiveTen’s strategy. The other option, competing on price, is a dead end. “Someone will always beat you on price,” he says.

He argues that recruiters need to continually ask themselves why clients should use them and pay for the privilege. “That is what we are pushing; it’s about adding that value,” he says.

Almost a year into his new role, he believes that the group is well positioned to do just that, by building on its existing strengths.

“One thing that we can hang our hat on is the specialism of our brands,” he says. “It is my belief that customers want to go to specialists that truly understand their market.”

He argues that not only are the group’s brands, such as finance recruiter WH Marks Sattin and IT recruiter Greythorn, “exciting” but from a growth perspective they also have “scalability”.

Rose says that organic growth will come by “filling in the gaps”.

One example is legal recruiter Laurence Simons’ entry into the Brazilian market in December. Rose says the group will use this both as a springboard for its other brands in Brazil and then for entry into the rest of South America.

At the beginning of last year, the group launched WH Marks Sattin, its financial brand, in Brisbane, building on the presence it first established with Greythorn’s niche IT business in the Australian city 18 months ago.

Rose adds that the company’s existing geographical markets, such as London, also have huge potential.

He clearly has no intention of retrenching from FiveTen’s global ambitions, strongly hinting that it will enter the Chinese market at some stage.

However, he makes it clear that it’s not a case of expansion at all costs but “sensible and careful” targeting of individual markets.

Englefield Capital, FiveTen’s private equity backers, employ strict investment criteria, he says. These include economic conditions in potential target markets, as well as the ability to find staff with local knowledge and talent.

Rose praises Englefield Capital for being both “hugely supportive” and for being “very pragmatic on the timescale it will take to build value for themselves”.

“Of course it’s about the numbers and a return for shareholders, but someone is only going to buy into the organisation if you have a good candidate and client base,” he adds.

Rose’s tenure to date at FiveTen has seen the group’s focus move from growth by acquisition to organic growth. However, other than to say that growth in 2008/2009 will be nothing like the level that has seen the group dominate this year’s Fast 50 rankings, he is not prepared to be drawn into making any precise predictions.

After some probing, he acknowledges that double-digit growth is likely in markets such as Brazil, as well as in established niches such as marketing with EMR.
The UK, which currently makes up about half of the group’s revenues will continue to be its largest market, though with faster growth rates in countries such as Brazil, he admits the UK’s overall share “might go down a bit”.

A key part of Rose’s strategy has been the establishment of a team of leaders “who can drive the business forward”.

In addition to promoting existing staff into top positions, such as Simon Bassett to managing director at EMR, Rose has also introduced fresh blood, such as Paul Winchester, who joined Greythorn as managing director from fellow IT recruiter GCS. Winchester has a remit to make it “a meaningful player” in IT recruitment.
Rose has also instigated leadership and management skills training for managers, and introduced improved front office systems that allow consultants to find candidates quicker.

Rose acknowledges that uniting such a diverse group of companies under a global brand is not an easy trick to pull off. “IT and legal recruiters, for example, are not the same beings; they’re different markets, with different kinds of individuals and different approaches.

“The idea is to allow the individual businesses to retain their DNA, but also for us to pull together so that the group as a whole benefits.”

A global group strategy board, made up of 15 leaders from across the group and its support functions, has been created to provide a unifying strategy.

FiveTen’s position at the top of this year’s Fast 50, following on from its third place last year, is a clear indication of the success of its growth strategy.

Next year is unlikely to see FiveTen reach the same exalted levels, but if John Rose has anything to do with it, it won’t be too long before the company gets back to where he clearly feels it belongs.

“I am very ambitious for FiveTen Group. In five to 10 years, we will still be a significant growth story,” he says.

Curriculum Vitae
Education 1985: Accountancy graduate — Manchester Metropolitan University
Career 1985: Media sales, Campaign magazine
1986: Recruitment consultant Harrison Willis Recruitment
1989: Joined recruitment start-up
1991-98: Harrison Willis — various roles from consultant to director
2000: MD of rebadged Harrison Willis business (bought by TMP)
2003: CEO Hudson UK 2007: CEO Kellan Group
2009: CEO FiveTen Group