this profitbale recruitment operation was established in 2004 by a qualified aircraft engineer, looking to capitalise on a growing employment marketplace. With a raf engineering background, the vendor was well placed to gain clients and candidates with confidence and offer a high quality service to the marketplace. He really started pushing the business in 2006, but has continued to hold down full tiem employment in the sector. Working out of small office located on his residential property, the business quickly grew in size and required the employment of a full-time consultant to handle day-to-day business. From the beginning the vendor invested time and money into a state of the art web presence. Not only is the corporate site top ranking for natural search on google, but the business also owns a separate job board, which recieves job adverts from clients direct, other recruitment agencies and obviously gives prominent listings to the main business. The business focuses on the supply of contract and permanent aerospace engineers to a large and divers range of airlines, aircraft engineering and support companies. From its inception the business has drawn huge numbers of applicants, and now has an internal database of over ten thousand qualified engineers worldwide. Currently the business gains 70% of it’s revenue from uk placements, with the remaining 30% derived internationally. The vendor and his key member of staff have focsed on an up-front, honest and knolwedgeable approach to winning new business. With this in mind the company has some high profile clients, and continues to win new accounts from recommendation and referral, by both candidates and clients offering testimonials to their quality of service. The business is cash positive, and has a streamlined model to all processes. Fees for contractors are factored, which providing a stable cash flow with great margins. There is also a constant stream of permanent placements, which provides regular large one-off payments that add to the bottom line. The business is easy to operate in terms of overall management, has built an excellent market share, and is well placed to move to the next level under new ownership. Equipment: the business is run with the leading recruitment back-office system “maxhire”. The software is accessed via the internet, and enjoys continual updates via a monthly service fee. The office utilises a number of pc’s and interconnected telephone system with 24/7 voicemail and call forwarding. The website is linked to the back-office, with all candidates’ registrations being saved directly to the company database. The vendor also owns a number of domains, and a key internet job board. Customer service: the company has succeeded, and won clients from their continual focus on customer service. Offering a consultative and honest ‘non-salesy’ approach to all dealings that is appreciated by both the contract engineers and their employers alike. The vendor and recruitment manager have a hands-on approach to dealing with the recruitment process at every step of the way, with any issues being dealt with in a an efficient and professional manner. Key strengths: the web presence is quite obviously market leading and the business has a corporate image that belies their size. With the scope of their candidate database, and the recommendations of a large client database – the company has built a fantastic market share, that in itself offers stable revenue streams and potentially higher margins than competitors. The operation is slick, streamlined and easy to operate. The financial arrangements allows for consistent cash-flow and profit with minimal headaches. Growth and expansion opportunities: the business is now in a great position for growth and expansion. The market share is leading, and ability to source qualified engineers for jobs across the sector is 2nd to none. With further promotion into other geographic regions, the business can easily handle many more vacancies internationally. A growth in staff would also allow for extra revenue generated from permanent placements, and there is an excellent opportunity to diversify into related sectors. Extra profits can be driven from bringing the finances in house and reducing the costs associated with running the business via invoice factoring.
