Connecting Excellence Group (XCE) has completed the acquisition of James Gray Recruitment and James Gray Engineering.<\/p>\n
The international executive recruitment group’s deal for the Glasgow-based firms adds unaudited revenue of \u00a31.79m and gross profit of \u00a31.27m during the year months to 30 June 2026.<\/p>\n
James Gray is a specialist construction and engineering recruiter, placing technical, management and leadership candidates across the UK, US and international markets.<\/p>\n
In line with XCE\u2019s decentralised model, James Gray will retain its brand, management and operating independence, while gaining access to capital and a listed platform.<\/p>\n
The initial cash consideration of \u00a3575,000 – of which approximately \u00a3425,000 has been settled by way of set-off against amounts owed to the targets by their shareholders – has resulted in a net cash outflow from the group on completion of approximately \u00a3150,000, before transaction costs.<\/p>\n
A further payment of \u00a360,000 is due in 2028, with the remaining consideration deferred and subject to earnings performance in 2027, 2028 and 2029.<\/p>\n
More uniquely, the consideration includes an amount equal to the market value of the 8.216 Bitcoin (BTC), now held by James Gray – at \u00a364,657 per BTC – or a total of \u00a3531,223. This is now held within the group, XCE’s total holding to 81.157 BTC, valued at \u00a35.25m.<\/p>\n
The amount of \u00a3531,223 was funded from the proceeds of the \u00a3600,000 subscription announced last month. The balance of the initial consideration, after set-off, was funded from the group\u2019s cash resources and a new revolving credit facility provided by BitGo. This gives immediate access to capital, “so that it can complete acquisitions and make key hires at the pace those opportunities require, rather than waiting for the timing and settlement of equity issuance”.<\/p>\n
Scott Ellam, chief executive of the group, commented: \u201cThe completion of our first acquisition is a significant milestone for XCE.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shows our model moving from strategy to execution, and James Gray Recruitment is exactly the type of business we are built for: profitable, specialist and founder-led, with a strong brand, established client relationships and significant room to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are up to 1,000 owner-managed executive and specialist recruitment businesses in the UK, and around 10,000 worldwide,\u201d he continued. \u201cMany are profitable, with strong brands and committed owners, but no natural exit, most are not suited to private equity, and trade buyers are rare.<\/p>\n
\u201cXCE is built for them,\u201d stated Ellam. \u201cOwners and their teams keep their brand, their people and their independence, and gain a permanent home on a listed platform – we are not consolidating brands, the only thing we intend to consolidate is the value of these businesses, into one listed vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first of a series of potential acquisitions we have in our identified pipeline – alongside continued organic growth across the group, we see a significant opportunity to build a larger and more profitable recruitment group, while continuing to grow our Bitcoin treasury over the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard Samuels, managing director of James Gray Recruitment, commented: \u201cWe\u2019ve built James Gray into a strong specialist business, and the focus now is on how much further we can take it.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoining XCE gives us greater firepower to invest in our team, expand into new markets and build on the opportunities we\u2019re already seeing across the UK and US.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have ambitious plans for the business, and this gives us a bigger platform to deliver them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The construction and engineering sector specialist will retain its brand and team, but now with access to growth capital<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278857,"featured_media":7952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57362,1],"coauthors":[137126],"class_list":["post-7947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acquisitions","category-latest-news","tag-featured-story","tag-greater-glasgow"],"yoast_head":"\n