Knowledge Resources Expertise

Hyvve is a boutique management consultancy focussed on the recruitment sector.

We support recruitment leaders to evolve and grow their organisations; to scale, grow revenues, increase profitability and ultimately maximise shareholder value.

Our team of experts help mould and shape businesses with ambition.  Commercial advisors, finance specialists, learning and development professionals, marketing and branding experts, technologists, human resources, corporate financiers and private investors; together we bring the knowledge, expertise and resources an entrepreneurial recruitment firm will need as it grows and develops.

What We Do

We foster long term relationships with our clients, supporting them on their business journey.

We help our clients build successful, sustainable recruitment businesses that generate long term value and opportunity for both shareholders and employees.

The Team

Our Partner team, shown here, is supported by a wider team of Associates who provide our clients with the expertise, knowledge and resources required to build and grow a successful, sustainable and ultimately valuable recruitment consultancy.

Justin Pearson
Business Advisor & Founder

An experienced business owner and chairman with over 25 years in the recruitment industry, Justin has extensive expertise in business growth and expansion, as well as business turnaround and disposal, both domestically and abroad.

In 2003, he founded Human Capital, a boutique executive search firm focussed on the mid and downstream Energy and Natural Resource sector. Headquartered in London, the company now has offices in Geneva, Houston, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Sydney and generates fee income of over USD 15m annually.  Having established and grown the business internationally over the best part of twenty years, following a successful MBO, Justin moved from CEO to Non-Executive Chairman.

In addition to his role as Chairman at Human Capital,  Justin set up Hyvve in 2019.  Hyvve is the first boutique consultancy focussed specifically on assisting the owners of medium sized recruitment companies to grow and ultimately realise their equity value.  Creating Hyvve has enabled Justin to work with a broad range of staffing organisations, combining his love of business with the experience he has gained over the past two decades as a recruitment business owner.

Charles Ferguson
Business Advisor

Charles co-founded Pure Search in 1999 and steered its growth over 20 years to become a substantial international search and recruitment business, culminating in a successful sale in 2019.

He is an experienced business owner, leader and recruitment/search consultant having built multiple teams in the UK, as well as in Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA. With a focus on senior level hiring in vertical markets across professional services and large multinational businesses, Pure Search became pre-eminent in its markets.

After leading the company through a successful third-party acquisition in September 2019, Charles exited the business in late 2020, delighted that the legacy he helped to create is maintained through the exceptionally capable and highly talented management team that remained.

Charles is passionate about helping recruitment firms grow and adds significant value to entrepreneurial businesses. Working with recruitment leaders and CEOs in an advisory capacity, Charles provides clarity of thought at both a strategic and operational level, helping them to scale and evolve their organisations.

Andy Edwards
Business Advisor

Andy founded Axon Resourcing in 2002, a recruitment and search business specialising in finance and executive appointments across both permanent and interim.

Over a thirteen year period, Andy successfully grew Axon which he then merged with Watson Moore in 2015 to create Axon Moore, one of the largest independent specialist recruitment companies in the UK.   Andy fully exited the business in 2017 and now works with a variety of SME organisations supporting growth, mentoring and offering advice on creating value.  Prior to taking the entrepreneur's path in founding Axon, Andy spent eight years in the UK and overseas with the Michael Page Group.

Phil Bland
Finance

An experienced CFO with a focus on the recruitment and staffing industry, Phil has over thirty years’ experience gained from leading and supporting finance functions of medium and large-scale recruitment firms, within the UK, European and American markets -  Harvey Nash, Phaidon and Techstream Group being a few recent examples, as well as assisting Entrepreneurs at rapidly growing start-ups.

Phil adds significant value to companies as a hands-on CFO combined with strategic and commercial skills.  He delivers at both operational and board level and has a proven track record in the management of change, process development, leadership, business assessments and best practice.

A few examples include:

  • Appointed by Non-Exec Directors / Investors to provide clarity and overall financial health checks across a portfolio of recruitment businesses.  Where required,  he then led restructures, process improvements and system implementations.
  • Engaged to support a professional services and technology recruiter to reorganise their finance department. Phil reviewed the reporting and compliance for four overseas trading entities and thereafter developed board level reporting for the group and brought the accounting for these entities inhouse.
  • Steadied the ship whilst a search firm went through a restructure of its finance department. Phil made considerable improvements to their management information reporting, gave their systems and processes an overhaul and assisted in the recruitment of a new Financial Controller, as well as improving the overall efficiency of the finance team.
Natasha Clarke
People

Previously Chief People Officer at SThree, Natasha was involved in taking the organisation from a private to a listed company. A commercial thinker and implementer with a strong focus on people strategy.

Natasha now specialises in supporting CEOs and boards to develop their people strategy; improving and driving business performance through leadership and culture. She also mentors and supports leaders looking to become board-ready.

Natasha started her career as a recruiter at SThree with recruitment specialists Progressive in 1994. In 1997, she was the founding Managing Director of Pathway (now part of Real Staffing Group) and headed up SThree's first office in the Middle East in 2008.

She became a senior board member with SThree PLC in 2005 when it listed on the UK stock market. She had responsibility for establishing new offices in Moscow and São Paulo, aligning the group to improve synergies and efficiency, and supporting the CEO and main board to design and deliver the global group strategy. In 2008 she took responsibility for the global People function (HR, Learning and Development and Strategic Implementation). In 2011 she established the 'Identity programme' for SThree, a programme designed to support the development and progression of women within the organisation.

In 2014 and 2015 SThree was recognised by The Times in their Top 50 Employers for Women, with Natasha personally being named Opportunity Now's Diversity Champion. She was also a founding member of Women In Recruitment, of which she is now the Chair. Between 2008 and 2011, she sat on the board of APSCo (Association of Professional Staffing Companies).

Jeremy Tipper
New Revenue Streams & Digitalisation

Jeremy advises companies on growth strategy; he helps CEOs to transform their businesses by creating new revenue streams and by utilising technology to enhance margins and make customer relationships stickier and more engaging.

With over 25 years in recruitment and RPO, Jeremy brings a wealth of experience in his capacities as a board director, advisor and investor.

Until January 2019, Jeremy was the founder and Managing Director of Talent Collective, now the talent consulting division of Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS). Initially founded by Jeremy, Talent Collective is a management consultancy specialising in talent acquisition. Following the acquisition of Talent Collective by AMS in 2014, Jeremy became part of the AMS Executive Team during a five year period of unprecedented growth, culminating in an £820m acquisition by OMERS Private Equity in July 2018.

Prior to founding Talent Collective, Jeremy founded and built Capital Consulting, a pioneer in the Recruitment Process Outsourcing industry, which was also subsequently acquired by AMS in 2008.

His early career was spent running graduate recruitment at NatWest Bank, as a Director at Robert Walters (initially based in the UK and subsequently setting up and running their operation in Australia) and as the Head of Recruitment at Vodafone.

Trevor Lambert
Marketing

A marketing strategist with hands on experience, Trevor has achieved particular success in establishing and executing marketing strategies that enable recruitment organisations to punch above their weight.

Trevor is a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Institute of Marketing. He led the marketing function at Penna Plc, a top three HR consultancy, and was Marketing Director at Medacs Healthcare, the leading provider of locums and agency nurses to the NHS.

Since becoming a consultant in 2013, Trevor has specialised in advising SME consultancies and executive search and recruitment firms. Clients include Stratum International, Swann Global, Regan & Dean, and Eton Bridge Partners.

Abi Staines
Operations

Over 25 years’ experience in talent acquisition across recruitment agency, in-house, RPO and consulting environments. Abi has been involved with creating and growing companies from the ground up.

Both strategically and operationally she has helped both her employer and client organisations attract, engage and retain the best talent.

As part of her early recruitment career at Robert Walters, Abi was part of the founding team of Resource Solutions, the Recruitment Process Outsourcing division of Robert Walters plc, where she was Operations Director.

She then became part of the founding teams of boutique, specialist RPO and talent consulting companies Capital Consulting and Talent Collective, both of which were subsequently sold to Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS).

Abi has been involved with creating and growing companies from the ground up, with particular emphasis on Operational Delivery, Client Services and Corporate Planning.

Abi co-founded Hyvve with Justin Pearson in 2019

Brad Dowden
Digital & Technology

Brad brings 20+ years technology experience gained across a range of recruitment businesses from start-ups through to fortune 500 firms.

He has a strong track record of successful change initiatives across a broad range of industries, including the recruitment sector where he has worked Adecco and TMP.

He is regularly quoted in various publications for his thoughts and views on a variety of technology related subjects including cloud, digital transformation and leadership. In addition, Brad is the Founder of The CIO Circle; a network of CIOs with the aim of improving businesses through technology leadership.

At Adecco, Brad held a global role responsible for a budget of E24m per annum. He was responsible for transforming UK&I business infrastructure to a cloud based utility priced model across 13 different business units, 3200 employees and 260 offices. At TMP he led all technology aspects of an MBO from the parent company, separating all systems and services and designed and delivered an inhouse technology function and reduced overall technology expenditure.

Tony Perkins
Finance and Business Strategy

A former Lead Partner at BDO, Tony has acted for recruitment businesses ranging from niche agencies to multi-national quoted firms.

With a stellar career at BDO, where he was ultimately Audit/Advisory Partner, Tony is a highly experienced Chartered Accountant with exceptional leadership, client management, business winning and technical skills.

Being part of the Leadership Team at BDO, Tony has experience of both managing and leading professional service firms. He is a board adviser (both UK and internationally) on technical, regulatory and business issues to a range of organisations. Tony is an excellent communicator with a strategic yet pragmatic approach to business and clients, and his wide knowledge of professional services firms, audit and risk/governance is enviable.

Tony is a widely known expert in Recruitment, having acted for businesses ranging from niche agencies to multi-national quoted organisations. He advises on all aspects of growth; including financial, commercial, strategy and ultimately, sale and shareholder value. Clients have included, Robert Walters, Hydrogen, K2, Huntress, SR Group and Directorbank.

Mark Carriban
Business Advisor

An entrepreneurial CEO, with a strong track record of success in both public and PE backed international recruitment businesses, Mark has a wealth of international experience, both strategic and operational.

Most recently, 2014-2019, as CEO of London headquartered FiveTen Group, he had strategic responsibility for a diverse portfolio of PE owned, market leading specialist recruitment businesses, c.£ 70m turnover and 450 staff across the UK, Mainland Europe, Russia, UAE, India, US and Asia-Pac. Renowned brands included Marks Sattin (Finance & Accounting), EMR (Digital, Marketing), Laurence Simons (Legal), Greythorn (IT) and Antal Russia. Mark and his team executed on a brief to restructure/refocus the group, improve operational and financial performance, and ultimately achieve a final liquidity event for shareholders (achieved via six separate sale transactions 2015-2019).

A PriceWaterhouse qualified ACA, Mark began his recruitment career with Michael Page UK, spent seven years with Bernard Hodes UK, ultimately as COO of this award winning, integrated consulting and recruitment marketing firm, before joining Hudson. Initially, as MD of the UK HR and Legal recruitment businesses and as MD Asia from 2007, Mark reshaped and grew the Asia wide businesses during and post the GFC.

Today, Mark’s focus is on conducting business reviews and health checks, advising on business turnaround and restructuring exercises, and the requisite refining and re-imagining of strategic growth plans (often including diversification into adjacent or new specialisms and geographies). Further areas of focus include: coaching and mentoring business leaders, developing management teams; international expansion, notably into Asia and UK; and M&A consulting and advice, including exit planning and early preparation for sale.

Knowledge to move your business forward

How We Do It

Ours is a collaborative approach which starts by defining the desired outcomes and then developing a strategy and plan to achieving them.

Our diverse team of experts combine deep industry knowledge with functional expertise and are deployed according to the specific needs of each client. We always work side by side with our clients, tackling each challenge and capturing every opportunity as a team, helping mould and shape their businesses to meet their goals.

Strategy & Planning

Our Advisory team are experts in coaching, guiding and mentoring senior executives on their professional journey. We help our clients develop and implement their strategic plans using a variety of analytical tools and techniques as well as drawing on our own in-depth knowledge of building successful recruitment businesses.

Finance & Administration

As a recruitment company grows, it is vital that its systems and processes grow with it. The single biggest barrier to business growth is poor financial management which, if left unchecked, can ultimately lead to business collapse. We work with our clients to understand their financial and administrative set up and then advise on the appropriate solution to suit their current and future needs, from outsourced accounting support to building and managing an inhouse finance function.

Marketing & Branding

Branding is who you are and marketing is how you build awareness. Recruitment is a competitive landscape and as a business owner it is vital to understand how you can effectively utilise them together. Hyvve works with business owners and managers to ensure that their branding creates a quality connection with their candidates, clients and employees whilst at the same time advising on the marketing tools and strategies to deliver the brand message.

Technology

To be truly successful, a recruitment consultancy’s technology strategy must not only facilitate the company business plan but also add a competitive advantage. Whilst choosing the right recruitment software is of vital importance, unless it is part of a well thought out tech stack, the company will struggle to move through the growth curve, particularly when managing multilocational teams. At Hyvve we can advise on strategy, recommend providers and project manage implementation.

People

Usually taken to mean ‘internal recruitment’ a company’s people plan is much more than that and is crucial to its growth and success. Workforce planning, selection, onboarding, training and performance management must all be in place to ensure the right people are recruited at the right time and are managed and developed to deliver the company’s goals. We partner with our clients, setting up the appropriate systems and processes to meet their current and future needs. We also offer search solutions for main board and executive level roles.

Learning & Development

Whilst part of our People offering, learning and development is a separate vertical at Hyvve. We help our clients plan, structure and implement management development and skills based training programmes delivered by recommended Hyvve partners. Whether a one-off intervention or a long term programme we ensure our clients’ L&D programmes are tailored to deliver the company’s performance goals.

International Expansion

Most recruiters will consider international expansion part of their overall growth strategy. In the first instance, we will look to understand our client’s ultimate goals and advise as to whether international expansion is the right way forward. Expensive and complex; setting up and managing international offices is time consuming and challenging. The right strategy and an effective implementation plan is essential to international success. We have extensive experience in building international recruitment businesses and can help our clients make the correct decisions quickly and simply.

Corporate Finance

Funding, whether for investment or working capital, has a big part to play in growing a successful recruitment consultancy.

We have long term relationships with a wide variety of funding alternatives including banks, private equity and high net worth individuals. We are able to make appropriate introductions when financing is required.

We also maintain relationships with third party buyers and have a track record of facilitating trade deals.

On top of all of this we have a number of professional partners who are integral to the funding process including M&A advisors, lawyers and accountants.

How will you stand out from the crowd?

31,140

The number of UK registered recruitment companies
Mar 2019

£38.9 billion

The value of UK Recruitment Industry
Mar 2019

Creating Value

The challenges that need addressing prior to selling a recruitment consultancy are significant and need addressing well before the point that the owner and employee shareholders actually decide to sell.

We help our clients to get a clear idea of where their business needs to be to achieve an exit, where they are currently, and crucially, what they need to do to bridge the gap.

“Ultimately a company’s value is just the sum of the decisions it makes and executes.”

Harvard Business Review

HYVVE MIND

Sharing perspectives and news articles to learn and keep informed, Hyvve Mind is our content hub and provides relevant and informative editorials on a range of topics that will be of interest to owners of recruitment businesses.

Access the resources you need to succeed