Recruitment start-up secures £500k investment to drive further growth

A St Helens recruitment start-up has received £500,000 of investment within six days of introduction.

Simply Recruitment Group was aided by West Kirby-based business finance specialist, Bathgate Business Finance after being introduced to the firm by its bank to help source a critical working capital facility to fund its significant growth to a projected £5m turnover in its first 12 months.

Simply Recruitment was established by sole director, Paul Oakes, who operates a group of existing businesses, including an electrical engineering solutions company.

Paul identified an opportunity to establish a recruitment company alongside other parties experienced in this sector and others, including hospitality, engineering and construction.

Bathgate Business Finance BDM, Paul Trickett, said: “When we were introduced to the client, he was self-funding initial sales running at £40k per week, so speed was of the essence to meet the working capital requirements that were critical to growth.”

Bathgate introduced the firm to a number of potential funders. Zodeq, a specialist in the recruitment sector, was selected and the £500,000 facility with credit protection was approved and paid out within six days of the initial introduction.

As part of the deal, the funder also agreed to increase the overall limit to accommodate the increase in sales forecast in the next 12 months, providing flexibility to the client as the business grows.

Paul Cooney, Managing Director at Zodeq, said: “As a Specialist Recruitment Sector Invoice Finance business, the opportunity to support Simply was right in our sweet spot.

“Our thanks go to Paul Trickett and the Bathgate team for their usual high knowledge of ensuring their clients are matched with the right funding partner which is the case here.”

Paul Oakes said: “At the point we started looking for funding, speed and an understanding of the potential of our business was vital. Bathgate Business Finance and Zodeq grasped this quickly and worked closely with us to find a solution that could meet our time constraints and support our projected growth.”