Acquisitive investor Meraki Capital buys TBC Recruitment in its fifth deal in three months

TBC trades as CSP and Vital People

A recruitment firm with bases across the North and the Midlands has been taken over by acquisitive investor Meraki Capital in its fifth deal of the year so far.

Meraki Capital has acquired Chester-based TBC Recruitment, which trades as CSP and Vital People, for an undisclosed amount. It will move those companies into its Magnus Search brand, which it acquired last year.

Magnus is being built up through a series of acquisitions led by MD Bradley Wood. The new deal means it will have access to an £8 million funding facility.

TBC Recruitment specialises in recruitment in sectors including warehousing, food production, logistics, distribution and basic manufacturing. The business has 31 members of staff, all of whom will transfer to the firm’s new owners, and more than 650 temporary workers across its client base. CSP Rectuitment’s website lists contacts across the North and Midlands, including in Doncaster, Leicester, Nottingham and Tamworth.

TBC founder Jason Fox had been looking towards “semi-retirement” and that transition will continue under the group’s new ownership under its existing management team.

Nick Gordon, founder of Meraki Capital, said: “As with so many recruitment companies right now, the company has struggled to keep up with wage inflation, increased National Insurance costs and the broader rise in employment costs. This industry is at a precipice – these traditionally low-margin blue-collar recruiters are being hammered by this Government. But these great companies cannot just disappear, losing all these jobs with them.

“We see that TBC is fundamentally a strong business with a loyal client base and a highly experienced team. Bringing TBC under the Magnus brand allows us to provide the resources, technology and commercial support needed to help the business become profitable again and realise its full potential.”

Mr Fox said: “I’m really very pleased and excited for TBC’s next steps. We’ve worked hard and grown into a wonderful team. But my time is now to move away for the new talent to take over.

“Nick has offered me a solution in order to continue the business under new ownership without my team being affected. It’s an exciting future for them all, which I will watch from afar with great confidence and pride.”