People Solutions Group Acquires Flex Recruitment Temporary Divisions

Ryecroft Glenton Corporate Finance, working alongside Swinburne Maddison LLP, has advised on the sale of two divisions of Midlands-based Flex Recruitment Plus Ltd to Midland Personnel Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walsall-based First Holdings (UK) Ltd, trading as People Solutions Group. With 15 offices across the Midlands, South West, North West, Yorkshire and Scotland, People Solutions Group has expanded its operations with the purchase of Flex Recruitment’s OnDemand and OnSite divisions. This acquisition adds to People Solutions Group’s portfolio of recruitment and training companies, which includes First Personnel, DriveForce, Mainline Employment, Foresight Recruitment Solutions, Inploy and Avidity Training. With turnover in the region of £14m, the two divisions provide high quality, focused staffing solutions. The OnDemand division places temporary workers into the office support, logistics and warehousing sectors. The OnSite division supports businesses, which use large numbers of flexible, temporary staff for long periods of contracted employment, delivering staffing solutions such as recruitment, management support and training. Flex Recruitment Plus was previously owned by CRS Inc and more recently owned by US-based Flex Employee Services LLC. Flex was originally founded in 2001 by Adrian Hobbs.  It has established a respected position in the Midlands recruitment market and has relationships with clients, which include global retailers, blue chip corporates and SMEs. The divisions’ experienced management team will now work with People Solutions Group to support their continued growth, with support from Adrian Hobbs and Flex Recruitment’s Operations Director, Jackie Jackson. All 28 members of staff within the Onsite and OnDemand divisions will remain with the business. People Solutions Group, with a turnover of £85m, places temporary and permanent talent into sectors such as commercial, manufacturing, driving and warehousing and has more than 30 years’ experience in the staffing sector.  In the last year it has placed around 50,000 workers into jobs and placements with blue chip employers. The group will use its national presence and client base to develop the growth opportunities offered by the OnDemand and OnSite divisions, whilst providing enhanced financial and managerial support. Matthew Reddy, Chief Executive of People Solutions Group, commented “I am delighted to welcome Flex Recruitment to the PSG family. This is an exciting acquisition for us all. The Flex business culture and vision fits extremely well with our group, which will enable us to grow each business with our exceptional service delivery standards and create cross sellingopportunities for each other to prosper even further”. Flex Recruitment was advised by a team led by Ryecroft Glenton Corporate Finance partner, Carl Swansbury, supported by Alex Simpson.  Legal adviser to the seller was Alex Wilby and Martyn Tennant of Swinburne Maddison LLP. Adrian Hobbs, former Managing Director of Flex Recruitment, said: “We are very proud of the achievements and market reputation of Flex OnSite and OnDemand.  They will add value to the People Solutions Group offering and I am sure will enjoy continued growth as part of an organisation with a broader geographic coverage.” Alex Wilby, partner at Swinburne Maddison LLP, commented: “It was a pleasure to work with Adrian and Carl in completing the sale of the OnSite and OnDemand services to People Solutions Group and I’m sure both buyer and seller will build upon their operations and go from strength to strength”. Carl Swansbury, partner at Ryecroft Glenton Corporate Finance, said: “People Solutions Group has acquired two very dynamic and successful operations that will enhance its broad portfolio of services.”