We recently caught up with Jeremy Nicholls and Samantha Webster, founders and former owners of Australasian Recruitment Company (ARC) in London and Home Recruitment in New Zealand, to reflect on their successful sale to Bluestones Investment Group, and their experience of working with RG Corporate Finance (RGCF) and RG Business Tax throughout the transaction.
Tell us a little about the background of your businesses.
Jeremy Nicholls: ARC was established in 2003, originally focused on placing Australians and New Zealanders, as well as local talent, into white collar positions across a range of London-based sectors. Over time, ARC developed a really strong reputation, with high-quality clients including Google and Goldman Sachs.
In 2015, Sam relocated to New Zealand and set up Home Recruitment in Auckland in 2018, which helps professionals returning from overseas find new opportunities back home. Both businesses grew well over the years, with experienced management teams in place.
What prompted you to start thinking about selling the businesses?
Jeremy Nicholls: I had moved to Australia in 2019 and the onset of Covid in 2020 led to a period where neither Sam or I could travel to London to support the business in a time of need. At the same time, we could see that our succession planning and management team had withstood its toughest challenge, and we came to the conclusion that, in time, selling both businesses could provide the best outcome for us, the businesses, our clients, and our team. So, we reached out to Carl Swansbury and the team at RGCF to explore our options.
How did you find the preparation process?
Samantha Webster: Incredibly valuable. The time spent getting the businesses ‘sale ready’ was really important. Carl and the RGCF team gave us clear advice on what we needed to do to shape the businesses in a way that would appeal to buyers and make the sale process as smooth as possible, whilst maximising the value of both businesses.
Jeremy Nicholls: It really is worth investing time in that preparation phase. The work done up front gave us the best shot at achieving maximum value, not just on day one of the sale, but also on delivering our earn-out targets post-completion.
What was your experience of the sale process itself?
Samantha Webster: It was intense, but very well structured. The level of due diligence was greater than we anticipated, but thanks to the RGCF team, we were well prepared and able to respond quickly. RGCF were proactive throughout and helped us protect our position, especially around the earn-out.
Jeremy Nicholls: Having those vendor / earn out protections in place made a huge difference. We now feel confident that we’ll achieve everything we wanted to from the transaction, including the full earn out consideration . The whole process was managed in a way that gave us great reassurance.
What advice would you give to other business owners thinking about selling their business?
Jeremy Nicholls: Start early. I’d meet with a corporate finance advisory firm like RGCF at least two years before you intend to sell. You wouldn’t start a business without a business plan, so why start a sale without a sales plan? It takes time to get everything in place.
Samantha Webster: Make sure you have a strong succession plan. Buyers want to know that the management team is experienced and capable of running the business after the founders exit. Having that plan ready in advance will really help you achieve a better outcome.
And finally, how do you feel now the deal has completed?
Jeremy Nicholls: Very satisfied. ARC and Home exceeded the year one Adjusted EBITDA target, which saw our maximum year 1 earn out paid, and the businesses are on track to hit the year two Adjusted EBITDA target. The businesses are in great hands with the management team and Bluestones, and are set up for future success.
Samantha Webster: We’re delighted. It’s a great result for the businesses, our teams, and for us personally. Working with RGCF was key to making this happen, and we couldn’t have asked for better advice, nor support throughout.
We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jeremy and Sam once again on a fantastic outcome, and we wish them both, along with ARC and Home Recruitment every success for the future.