Fri, 11 Aug 2023 | BUSINESS SALE
Instinct Resourcing, a recruitment firm specialising in digital learning and learning technology, has transitioned to employee ownership. The Manchester-based company was founded in 2011 and has a team of 18 staff.
In 2022, the company reported revenues of £9.6 million – its sixth consecutive year of growth – and is set to hit £11.5 million in 2023. The firm has seen rapid growth since the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to surging demand for e-learning as educational institutions shifted their tuition online.
This growth continued as the pandemic receded, with demand for e-learning from the commercial sector surging as businesses resumed hiring and rebuilt their teams after either pausing recruitment or making redundancies during COVID-19.
As a result of Instinct’s solid growth, co-founders Mike Ward and Matt Owens have received significant interest in the business. However, rather than sell to a third party, the pair opted to transfer the business to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) in order to safeguard jobs.
Mike Ward commented: "When Matt and I were looking at our options, we had dozens of approaches but none felt right except the employee ownership route.”
"Our team have shown us a huge amount of loyalty over the years – without them, we would not have been able to grow the business to such an extent. The last thing we wanted to do was to sell the business and put their futures in jeopardy."
Instinct’s shareholders were advised by a team from accountancy and advisory firm HURST, including partner Liz Gallagher, associate tax manager Sam Ryan and corporate finance partner Ben Bradley.
Liz Gallagher commented: "Since its inception, Mike and Matt have steadily grown Instinct into one of the most successful specialist recruitment businesses in the North West. This success has been in large part due to the quality of the dedicated people employed in the business.”
“This is why Mike and Matt decided on the employee ownership route – to add stability and ensure that Instinct would continue to thrive and prosper with the business now in the hands of the staff."
Read about the numerous factors driving the growing popularity of employee ownership.
Find out more about M&A in the e-learning sector.
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