FAST50

In Depth

FAST 50: Growth rates on the rise

As this year’s FAST 50 shows, there is cautious optimism in a challenging market for UK staffing businesses.

6 July 2023
In Depth

FAST 50: Growth down but sector not out

The data says that growth in the recruitment sector is down, but there is much to be positive about

11 July 2022
In Depth

FAST 50: From strength to strength

Privately-owned recruitment businesses continue to report robust growth, despite a year of political and economic uncertainty 

15 January 2020

Recruitment industry has only one representative in the Fast Track 100

Just one recruiter has made the cut in this year’s Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 list of fast-growing private firms.

Public sector, Legal 3 December 2019

2020 FAST 50 list set to be most revealing yet

How will Brexit affect the upcoming FAST 50 list?

19 September 2019

FAST 50: Recruiters defy doubters

Despite a high level of uncertainty, privately-owned recruitment agencies have reported robust growth.

14 January 2019

FAST 50 2018: Uncertainty bites

Data from M&A specialists Clearwater International reveals a slowing growth rate for privately-owned recruitment firms.

16 January 2018

Farewell to high margins

Business models based on high margins and charges are unsustainable in the healthcare market, and will lead to the “downfall” of recruiters in the sector.

Healthcare/Medical 12 January 2018

2018 M&A activity held back by uncertainty

Recruitment mergers & acquisitions activity will likely increase in 2018 but nowhere near the bumper volumes of 2015.

12 January 2018

Pertemps Professionals heads recruiters in Best Small Companies list

Are recruitment firms as great a place to work for in 2013 as they were last year? The Sunday Times ‘100 Best Small Companies to Work for List’ this year sees 23 recruitment consultancies listed, down slightly from 25 last year, with Pertemps Professional Staffing Network leading the recruiter field in third place.
12 March 2013

National Apprenticeship Week: IT Skillfinder banks on apprenticeship scheme to build future talent

With National Apprenticeship Week beginning today, director of IT recruiter IT Skillfinder, Darren Hall, tells Recruiter that the four apprentices that the company took on recently are one of its key recruiting channels, along with hiring graduates and experienced consultants.
IT/Telecoms, Graduates/Apprentices/School leavers 11 March 2013

Major Players: MBO sees recruiter leave Randstad

Creative and marketing recruitment specialist Major Players has gone through a management buy-out as its founder Jack Gratton is joined by Helen Stokes, former group chief executive officer of recruiter Morgan Hunt, in purchasing the firm from parent company Randstad.
Creative/Digital/Media, Marketing 6 March 2013

Pathology Group finds winning mentality

Specialist medical recruiter Pathology Group has adopted many of the principles and practices of elite sport to drive the performance of the business.
Life sciences 15 February 2013

FAST 50: build and be the best

Owners of staffing businesses should not run their businesses with the sole of objective of selling it, but must focus on building the best business they can and the buyers will come, according to Russell Clements, chairman of visual analytics company cube19 and recently departed chief executive officer of international recruitment group SThree.
15 February 2013

Recruiter FAST 50 2013 celebration in pictures

An enjoyable and thought-provoking evening was had last week at a Recruiter event at law firm Charles Russell in London celebrating the success of companies in Recruiter’s 2013 FAST 50, produced in association with mergers & acquisitions advisers Boxington Corporate Finance.
7 February 2013

Be famous for something, urges Clements

Owners of ‘me too’ companies can forget their dream of making a successful exit from their staffing business, says Russell Clements, chairman of visual analytics company cube19 and recently-departed chief executive officer of recruiter SThree.
31 January 2013

FAST 50: Healthcare trio thrives while others find growth hard to come by

Representation of healthcare recruiters in the FAST 50 has fallen by half to three compared with six in last year’s FAST 50.
Life sciences, Public sector 25 January 2013

How can your business get onto the FAST 50?

At Recruiter we get frequent calls from companies wondering how they can qualify for or enter our FAST 50 league table of the UK’s fastest-growing private recruitment businesses, produced in association with Boxington Corporate Finance.
24 January 2013

FAST 50 2013: Low margins, strong growth at industrial, logistics and construction recruiters

Sustained growth is difficult to achieve in one of the more fragmented sub-sectors of recruitment, according to Mark Kingston, senior executive at Boxington Corporate Finance.
Construction & property 23 January 2013

Chart toppers…

The directors of the top-ranked staffing company in Recruiter’s 2013 FAST 50 — Oliver James Associates — told Recruiter the achievement is recognition for the efforts of staff in overcoming the challenges of operating in the UK’s hard hit-financial services sector.
22 January 2013

FAST 50 firms buffer the storms and emerge stronger

With the UK economy in the doldrums as austerity Britain began to bite in 2010 and 2011, this year’s Recruiter FAST 50 reveals that recruiters bravely faced down the economic headwinds buffeting the economy by deploying a variety of business strategies.
22 January 2013

Defying all expectations

Crisis? What crisis? The entrants in this year’s FAST 50 have proved to the rest of the UK’s industries that ambition, drive and long-term thinking are key factors in outperforming the rest of the economy.
22 January 2013

Oliver James Associates

Colin Cottell met the directors of Recruiter’s top-ranked FAST 50 company
22 January 2013

FAST 50 2013: Financial recruiters rise above sector’s malaise

Despite the well-documented difficulties experienced by the UK’s finance sector, the number of financial services recruiters in the FAST 50 doubled to six from three last year, with new entrant Oliver James Associates coming out top of the rankings.
22 January 2013

Editor's Comment – January 2013

And what an amazing start to 2013 with the publication of our latest FAST 50 league table of the 50 fastest-growing, privately-owned UK recruitment companies!
21 January 2013
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