Connecting Excellence Group (XCE) has completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of James Gray Recruitment (JGR) and simultaneously James Gray Engineering (JGE).<\/p>\n
Leeds-based XCE said the deal adds a profitable business generating \u00a31.79m of revenue and \u00a3431,000 of EBITDA, with revenue up 21.5 per cent in the 12 months to June 2026.<\/p>\n
James Gray Recruitment 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 retains its brand, management and operating independence, and gains permanent capital, a listed platform and access to the wider group.<\/p>\n
XCE said 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 acquired firms by their shareholders, has resulted in a net cash outflow from the group on completion of approximately \u00a3150,000, before transaction costs.<\/p>\n
In addition, the consideration includes \u00a3531,223 reflecting the market value of the 8.216 Bitcoin held by JGR and JGE.<\/p>\n
A further payment of \u00a360,000 is due in 2028, with the remaining consideration deferred and subject to EBITDA performance in each of the calendar years 2027, 2028 and 2029.<\/p>\n
Scott Ellam, chief executive officer of Connecting Excellence Group, said: \u201cThe completion of our first acquisition is a significant milestone for XCE.<\/p>\n
“It 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. Many are profitable, with strong brands and committed owners, but no natural exit.<\/p>\n
“Most are not suited to private equity, and trade buyers are rare. XCE is built for them. Owners and their teams keep their brand, their people and their independence, and gain a permanent home on a listed platform.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Richard Samuels, managing director of James Gray Recruitment, added: \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
“Joining 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
“We have ambitious plans for the business, and this gives us a bigger platform to deliver them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“James Gray Recruitment is exactly the type of business we are built for: profitable, specialist and founder-led”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238857,"featured_media":2000633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,127684],"coauthors":[62387],"class_list":["post-2161089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deals","category-recruitment","tag-featured-story","tag-west-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\n