Big-hitters join Hiring-Hub amid growth spurt

ONLINE recruitment portal Hiring-Hub.com  has strengthened its board with the appointment of experienced chairman Paul Gilbert, and Colin Stevens, one of the region’s up-and-coming stars.

Mr Gilbert, the former FD and managing director of retailer Matalan, who is now chairing and mentoring a number of growing businesses, has also invested in Manchester-based Hiring-Hub.

He was introduced to the business by Colin Stevens, the award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Better Bathrooms – whose business he also chairs. Better Bathrooms has been a customer of Hiring-Hub for some time.

The appointments following a successful fundraising last month via the  crowdfunding platform, VentureFounders.

Launched in 2011 by Simon Swan and Sara Jones, Hiring-Hub helps companies find and work with independent recruitment agencies online.

Colin Stevens said: “Better Bathrooms has been using Hiring-Hub.com successfully for over a year and, as a customer, when I heard about the fundraise I was keen to invest.

“With a fast-growth, nationwide business like Better Bathrooms recruitment can be a struggle, but Hiring-Hub.com made it much easier for us – it’s a fantastic proposition.”

Mr Gilbert, added: “It is a fantastic online tool that is well-placed to fundamentally change the way companies engage and trade with third-party recruitment agencies, so I was interested straight away.

“The management team has done well to build a stable and sustainable business, so I am looking forward to working closely with them to help it scale.”

The recent investment takes the firm’s total funding to over £925,000 and will be used to accelerate sales and marketing activity, and develop its online platform.

Co-founder Simon Swan said: “That the senior team of one of our customers chose to invest really validates our product and service, and is a real coup for us.

“Paul and Colin’s experience and insight is already proving valuable. We’re confident they will help Sara and I steer the business through a period of sustained growth.”