How is a recruitment business valued?
Buyers look past headline revenue to four things. Net fee income (also known as gross profit), which is what the business actually makes. Net fee income percentage, which is how much of that gross profit you keep. The mix of contract and permanent work, because contract recurs and permanent has to be won again from nothing. And the direction of your market, because nobody pays a premium to buy into one that is shrinking.
Read Nick Gordon on what buyers look for ›What do buyers look for in a recruitment business?
Three things before any price. Market: is it specialist rather than a bit of everything, and is it growing? Model: what is the real value and the real return, what converts and what recurs? People: are the right people in the right seats, and will they stay?
Try the two-minute buyer check ›What puts buyers off?
One client that matters more than all the others. Revenue that lives in two people’s phones. A business that is entirely permanent recruitment. And employment law that turns a clean deal into a long commitment. None of these get fixed by paying more.
How do I get my recruitment business ready to sell?
Get your numbers clean, with three years of them. Line your lawyers and advisers up before you need them, not after. And have one version of your story that everybody in the business tells the same way.
When is the right time to sell?
Earlier than most owners think. The strongest conversations happen while the business is still performing. Talking early gives you more options, and talking to a buyer is not the same as deciding to sell.
Why liquidity matters ›What happens to my team after a sale?
With the right buyer, they stay. In every Meraki deal, the people who built the business have stayed at the centre of it, and leaders from acquired businesses now run regions and businesses across the group.
What happens in the first 90 days ›Will my business keep its name?
It depends on what is best for the business. SERT kept its name. Hamlyn Williams became HW3. Five businesses joined under Magnus Search. Six businesses bought from Hays became Tessero. A good buyer will tell you which it recommends before you sign anything.
What happens to your name ›Does AI change what my recruitment business is worth?
Only where it moves the numbers. Nobody pays more because you have bought the software. If it lifts net fee income or gross profit margin, or the share of recurring work, it is worth money. If it just sits in the tech stack, it is not.
AI won’t value your business ›Can I stay on after selling?
Yes, if you want to. Some founders who sold to Meraki stepped back after a proper handover. Others stayed to lead, including Bradley Wood, who still runs Magnus Search.
Read the Magnus Search story ›What if my business is under financial pressure?
Talk to a buyer sooner rather than later. In 2026, several UK recruitment businesses joined Meraki after a period of real trading pressure, and across those deals more than 80 permanent jobs were protected and more than 2,000 workers kept in their roles.
When it is harder than it should be ›