Recruiter targets healthy growth with Fund’s help
A SPECIALIST healthcare recruitment company is set to hire more staff after sealing a funding boost of around £1m from the North West Fund for Development Capital.
St Helens-based Castlerock Recruitment Group has a turnover of £15m and provides permanent and temporary staff to public sector organisations including the Ministry of Defence, the NHS, HM Prisons as well as the private sector.
It is the first company in the region to access a new mezzanine finance product through the North West Fund.
The owner-managed company has 10 offices around the country and employs 57 staff, including 31 recruitment specialists.
The investment from The North West Fund for Development Capital, managed by YFM Equity Partners, will allow Castlerock to expand by employing extra staff to support recent contract wins, as well as providing additional funds for working capital purposes.
Recent contract wins include private healthcare firm General Healthcare Group, to provide general ward nurses, theatre staff and healthcare assistants.
Closer to home it has the contract to provide domiciliary carers for Liverpool District Council, Wirral Borough Council and Children’s Services contracts with St Helens and Warrington Councils.
Joseph Bergin, head of the North-West team at YFM Equity Partners and Matthew Male, investment manager worked on the deal.
Mr Bergin said: “The Castlerock management team have delivered strong growth in their business over the last couple of years by winning new customers and expanding their offering into new segments of the healthcare market.
“We have been particularly impressed by the high regard with which they are viewed by their customers.”
Castlerock chief executive Ian Munro, added: “This cash injection will enable us to grow our business, take on new staff and offer a larger number of top notch health professionals to under-resourced hospitals, clinics, care homes and other institutions that rely on experienced healthcare professionals to deliver the best quality healthcare every day.”
Joseph Bergin added: “The investment into Castlerock is the third investment from the North West Development Capital Fund but the first investment of our new MEZZ product.
“Since launching in December there has been significant interest in the new MEZZ product as it fills a gap between conventional bank funding (which is difficult to obtain in the current market) and traditional private equity funding.
“The simplicity of the MEZZ product and the fact that the repayments can be made over a period of up to seven years has been very appealing to businesses looking for a long term source of funding without the need to give up a large shareholding.”
YFM Equity Partners were advised on financial due diligence by PKF and Gunnercooke provided legal advice. Castlerock were advised on corporate finance by RSM Tenon and legal advice by JMW.
