A Scottish recruitment firm has been acquired by one of the top 50 players in the world.
Glasgow-based Solutions Driven, which was established by Walter Speirs in 1998 and specialises in senior and executive recruitment, has been snapped up by French giant Groupe Adéquat for an undisclosed sum. It is the first UK acquisition to be completed by Groupe Adéquat, which is understood to be the 46th largest recruitment firm in the world.
Solutions Driven, which today is run by Mr Speirs’ son Gavin, employs more than 50 people worldwide, servicing more than 150 clients globally. Its expertise lies in areas such as search services for critical and executive roles, embedded recruitment for longer-term projects, and tailored talent solutions withing the global engineering sector.
Solutions Driven will continue to operate under its own brand, with the management ream remaining in place, further to the acquisition.
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The deal meanwhile continues the global expansion of Groupe Adéquat, following the recent opening of an office in London. It already has established positions in France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Canada which it has built through the targeted acquisition of “expert-led” staffing businesses.
Gavin Speirs, chief executive of Solutions Driven, said: “This is a really special moment for Solutions Driven. After 25 years of building the business around integrity, partnership and right-first-time outcomes, joining Groupe Adéquat marks an exciting new chapter. Their values, ethics and approach to partnership made this a natural fit, and I’m excited about what we can achieve together globally.
“Both my dad and I remain fully committed to the business and will stay central to the operations and the leadership of our firm. Groupe Adéquat invest in and empower local teams, and this creates broader visibility and opportunity for our people over time. This is very much about strengthening Solutions Driven, not changing who we are.”
Arnaud Brun, chairman of the supervisory board of Groupe Adéquat, said: “This acquisition reflects our long-term vision of building an international staffing group driven by expertise, specialisation and strong local leadership.
“Solutions Driven brings outstanding executive recruitment know-how in engineering and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), while offering new opportunities to develop our core staffing activities in the UK and beyond.”
Olivier Hemar, chief international operations officer at Groupe Adequat, added: “The UK is a key market for our group. Solutions Driven shares our values, our international outlook and our focus on specialist recruitment."
Gaelle Blake, country head of the UK for Group Adequat, noted: “This acquisition provides a strong foundation for our continued UK growth, and we intend to continue to welcome and pursue further acquisition opportunities.”
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