{"id":2154869,"date":"2025-07-03T09:11:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T08:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/northwest\/?p=2154869"},"modified":"2025-07-03T11:04:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T10:04:58","slug":"back-office-group-sapphire-surpasses-500m-turnover-mark-and-eyes-acquisitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/northwest\/news\/2154869-back-office-group-sapphire-surpasses-500m-turnover-mark-and-eyes-acquisitions","title":{"rendered":"Contracting and accounting group Sapphire exceeds \u00a3500m sales and eyes takeovers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stockport-based contracting and accounting firm, Sapphire, <\/span>has reported turnover of \u00a3525m for the year ending September 30, 2024, its strongest performance to date and a major milestone for the fast growing business.<\/span><\/p>\n

It said the revenue improvement was due to the continued growth of its contractor base and wage growth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The employee-owned business also reported a slight increase in pre-tax profits, from \u00a34.044m in 2023 to \u00a34.142m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing director, Mark Connor, said the company will \u201ccontinue to explore potential acquisitions with one eye on the legislative landscape as well as accelerating growth around diversification initiatives such as software and international reach to help with our ambitious growth plans.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The company\u2019s employee ownership model, introduced in 2021, remains a central pillar of its growth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Productivity, engagement and retention have all strengthened as a result. In 2024, Sapphire awarded its first employee ownership bonus, an industry-first initiative that saw \u00a3350,000 shared with long serving umbrella contractors.<\/span><\/p>\n

This marked the beginning of an ongoing commitment to ensuring all employees share in the company\u2019s success.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Connor said: \u201cReaching the \u00a3500m mark is a significant milestone and a reflection of the momentum we\u2019ve built since becoming employee owned.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery team member, including our contractors, has a real stake in what we\u2019re building, and that\u2019s created an environment where people are motivated, engaged and committed to delivering great outcomes for clients.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The firm secured SafeRec Certification for its Umbrella offering, giving recruitment agencies access to real time auditing and full visibility across every payslip, a key differentiator as the regulatory environment tightens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sapphire also completed the acquisition of Quartz, a cloud-based SaaS platform that automates pay and bill, timesheet and expense management.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quartz is already reducing back office admin by up to 80% for clients and forms the foundation of Sapphire\u2019s growing technology offering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, the company has expanded its international footprint, with payroll and accounting services now live in more than 100 countries, including fully compliant, localised solutions in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n

Connor added: \u201cOur focus is on helping recruitment agencies grow, whether that\u2019s through stronger compliance, access to international markets, or smarter back office technology. We\u2019ll keep investing in what matters most to our clients and the people who power our business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Revenue improvement was due to continued growth of contractor base and wage growth<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217725,"featured_media":2138193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127684],"coauthors":[46761],"class_list":["post-2154869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recruitment","tag-featured-story","tag-greater-manchester"],"yoast_head":"\nContracting and accounting group Sapphire exceeds \u00a3500m sales and eyes takeovers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Revenue improvement was due to continued growth of contractor base and wage growth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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