Recruitment firm Acorn has bought up one of its rivals in a multi-million deal which will boost its turnover by over 50%.
Acorn has bought Advance Personnel and says its turnover with increase from around £40m last year to around £65m. The company says it has set a target of £100m for 2008 as a result of the deal.
Advance, founded by Jason Canny, is a major provider of migrant workers in the UK with a turnover of over £18m and offices across Eastern Europe. Canny will be remaining with the company which will continue to trade under its own name.
“Becoming part of the Acorn group will help provide us with an increase in resource and coupled with their considerable experience, will allow us to grow our activity considerably in the years ahead,” Canny said.
“The UK continues to experience a highly publicised skills shortage in many sectors.
“Advance's labour pool stretches across Europe eradicating any skills shortage when recruiting professionals for any sector.”
The value of the deal is not being disclosed but Acorn feel confident that it can take advantage of Advance’s strong market position.
Matt Southall, founder and managing director of Acorn, said: “The team at Advance has developed an excellent reputation for quality of its service delivery and they will play a significant role in Acorn's continuing development plan.”
Acorn says that it is likely to continue making acquisitions and that there are likely to be several deals over the next three years.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
