Six businesses.One name.
In June 2026 Meraki bought six businesses from Hays, in Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg and Czechia, in a single transaction. Ten weeks later they traded as one specialist brand, on the same morning, without missing a day.
The casefor the deal.
Hays wanted a more streamlined business, focused on its core markets and working with partners elsewhere. That left six established businesses in Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg and Czechia looking for a long-term owner.
Meraki saw what they were: good at the job. Experienced local leaders, real teams, years of client relationships and a deep understanding of their own markets. What was being bought was not six revenue lines. It was people who know their markets better than any buyer ever will.
And it moved the group forward in one step. A European footprint in a single transaction, the biggest move in Meraki's buy-and-build story so far, and the deal that took it to nine acquisitions in under two years, seven of them in 2026.
From first dealto Day One.
The deal completed on 17 June 2026, in one transaction across six countries. Every business kept its local leadership. The people who built these companies stayed exactly where they were, and Hays and Meraki agreed to maintain an ongoing relationship so clients who work across borders continue to be looked after.
In July, Gary Elden OBE, former chief executive of SThree, joined Meraki as CEO to lead the group's businesses, including the integration of the six markets.
Then came the name. More than sixty were tested and rejected, each one checked against the same hard tests: was another recruiter using it, could it be protected, would it be safe and easy to say in six languages. Tessero comes from tessera, the single tile a mosaic is built from.
Ten weeks after completion, on 31 August 2026, all six countries launched as Tessero on the same morning, with a new identity and a website live in nine languages. The businesses traded, hired and delivered throughout. Clients and candidates saw no interruption.
Six businesses join Meraki in one transaction, with local leadership in place.
The former SThree chief executive joins Meraki to lead the group's businesses, including the integration of the six markets.
More than sixty names are tested and rejected before Tessero, from tessera, the single tile a mosaic is built from.
Six countries launch on the same morning, with a website live in nine languages. The businesses trade throughout.
Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg, Czechia, London and New York, with a global cybersecurity practice alongside local recruitment in every country.
Where itstands today.
Tessero now has eight offices, with London and New York alongside the six European markets, and around 100 consultants. Its offer has two halves: a global cybersecurity practice delivered as contract and statement of work, and local recruitment in every country.
The six markets now share work, share candidates and back each other up. Each keeps its own leaders and its local strength, under one name that says it belongs to something bigger.
The ambition is clear: to be known across Europe as a specialist recruiter, not a generalist. And the measure Meraki has set itself is simple. Judge us in eighteen months on whether the same consultants are still here.
Two halves.One business.
Cybersecurity, wherever you operate.
Scoped security programmes across six sectors, delivered through statement of work and contract consultancy. Tessero names the consultants before they start, works to agreed milestones and reports against them. One practice, worked from all eight offices.
Hiring, in the markets its offices are in.
Six of the eight offices run a local desk alongside the security practice, with the same six services in each. So a client hiring in more than one market gets the same offer everywhere.
Eight offices. One practice, and a team in each.
Choose an office to see what it does on the Tessero website.
What we kept.What we added.
The first thing we ask a founder is not what we are going to change. It is what must not change. Then we put everything behind it.
Kept
- The leaders. Every office keeps its own leadership. The people who built these businesses are still running them.
- The relationships. Same consultants, same numbers, same clients. Live roles and agreements carried straight on.
- Continuity for clients and candidates. Nobody had to do anything on Day One.
Added
- A name of their own, built to work in six languages, with one endline that stays in English everywhere.
- A clear ambition: to be known across Europe as a specialist recruiter, not a generalist.
- Brand, technology, data and commercial support that a single-market business could not fund on its own.
- A global cybersecurity practice, run from offices in London and New York as well as the six markets.
What we bought was not simply six revenue lines. It was people who know their markets a great deal better than I ever will. So the first rule is straightforward. Do not break it.Andy AgarChief Marketing Officer, Meraki Capital
These are strong, established businesses with real momentum, and our role is to invest behind that success, providing support, capital and opportunity while ensuring local leadership remains firmly at the centre of decision-making.Nick GordonFounder and Chairman, Meraki Capital
The Hays Board believes Meraki Capital will be an excellent long-term owner, providing a strong platform to further support future growth for its employees and customers.Mark DearnleyCEO, Hays plc
Tesserotoday.
Where every piece fits. Find out more at tesserogroup.com.
More onTessero.
The announcements, and the people involved talking about it themselves.
More films
Tessero: where the name came from
Andy Agar, Chief Marketing Officer. Aug 31
Tessero: keep what works
Meraki Capital. Sep 2026
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