After a year away from the industry following their departure from Huntress, Jane Atherton and Julia Vassie have just celebrated the end of the first week of the new agency.

“This time we want to stay in 100% control of the business,” Atherton told Recruiter. “We don’t have any backers, even though we have been approached many times. We’ve turned them all down.

“Following the management buyout of Huntress by myself, Julie, David Percival-Spencer and Gary Laurence, the bottom line [for the backers] was everything, and that’s just not how we operate.”

She explained that Love Success’s ethos was to provide candidates and clients with a “back to basics” form of recruiting. “Even though job boards are more prevalent, people still want face-to-face, personal contact,” she said. “People don’t know how to market themselves. We take the time to get to know them and market them out to the right clients.”

The Central London-based consultancy, focusing on commercial positions from entry level up to £60-70k, opened on 6 September with 10 staff, including six consultants who all have a minimum of 10 years’ recruitment experience.

Atherton’s enthusiasm for the industry hasn’t waned. “My God, the buzz is back - it hasn’t gone,” she said. “Even in the first week we’ve been very, very busy.”

Love Success aims to open an office every six months in London and the South-East, Atherton added.