The business was established in 2003 by Chris O’Connell; it has grown significantly over recent years with a turnover of £17 million with offices in London, Bristol and Manchester. TJC is targeted to double its staff in the next 24 months - they currently employ 60 staff with projected revenue set to reach over £35 million.
The core business focus is on senior level and executive appointments primarily in IT, Digital Media, Project Programme & Change Management. The team expect to see these market sectors steadily grow despite challenging market conditions.
The business will continue to be led by Chris O’Connell as CEO and the board will be chaired by Tristan Ramus of Hamilton Bradshaw who will develop the company’s strategy on M&A, joint venturing, board development and long term exit strategy. Adam Fletcher, HB Investment Director, will also be joining the board bringing expertise in key hiring, development of the national and international footprint and key client positioning. Deepak Jalan, HB Chief Investment Officer, will be strengthening the team with his skills in finance, tax and structuring to help expand the business.
Commenting on the investment, James Caan, Chairman of Hamilton Bradshaw, said: “Hamilton Bradshaw has invested in over 20 recruitment businesses and we were very keen to get into the information technology space, which we identified as having good investment potential a while ago.
We had seen 17 recruitment businesses in that space and TJC was the most impressive. Its management team is experienced and passionate, and it has an exceptional client base as well as a fantastic training culture. We viewed it as having the potential to grow substantially in the next few years. This positive growth trajectory in such a buoyant sector coupled with the name and reputation sets up TJC as a very scalable platform for an organic and acquisitive growth strategy.
My background has seen me substantially grow several recruitment businesses, including Humana International, which grew to a global brand with 147 offices in 30 countries and Alexander Mann which reached £130m in fee income at the point of sale. I think my ability to help management scale a business will be key to the partnership with TJC.
We are looking to add strength to their already impressive board, with the expertise to help and facilitate expansion nationally and internationally. The Asian market is a prime focusing for us. We work extremely well with the team at TJC; their visions for growth make it a good marriage between the two companies, and we are working together to drive growth in headcount, revenue and profitability.”
Caan added, “TJC is the latest addition to Hamilton Bradshaw’s significant recruitment portfolio and as a result of our successful track record, I am delighted that HB has recently been ranked in the Top 30 recruitment companies globally. I am continually seeking exceptional companies with excellent management teams who want to scale their business to become market leaders, and TJC is no exception.” The motivation to invest was firstly led by the passion of Chris O'Connell. As you know, my primary mantra has always been investing in people with passion. Chris ticked all the boxes. He is driven, motivated and passionate about people and the business he is in. As a perfectionist, Chris demonstrated the value he puts in both candidates and employees and as an investor, that was an attractive proposition.
Far too often I see businesses being distracted from the importance of the services they provide. In a challenging market, service becomes paramount. Currently the UK economy is going through a very difficult time. However, some of the few sectors seeing growth are information technology, programme project management, digital media and change management. All of which, happen to be part of TJC's core strategy.
As we all know attracting talent for any recruitment business is key. TJC has seen headcount growth over the last 12 months by adding over 20 new members of the team which we were really impressed by, and it speaks volumes about the business and the brand. Furthermore, TJC opened in Manchester only last week, adding to the existing Bristol and London offices. These 3 hubs will provide the infrastructure for further growth across the UK and into Europe.
Another point was the sustainability of margins which the business is achieving. Generally I am seeing a decline in margins. So I was very inspired to see a business bucking the trend. The outlook for the business is forecasted to grow gross margin and profit over 30% in the next 12 months which makes this an excellent investment.
Timothy James Consulting have also received a number of industry awards throughout 2011. They have been awarded the Virgin Fast Track award for growth for the 3rd year in a row, ranked 5th in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work for List and were named 3rd Best Small Company to Work for in the UK and 32nd Best Small Company to Work for in Europe by Great Place to Work.
Chris O’Connell also commented:
“Choosing the right business partner for an already extremely successful business is a very difficult task with many factors to consider. It can be a tough journey making the correct decision, especially being so emotionally attached to your business, a business that takes years of hard work to build. There were several key elements in Timothy James Consulting's decision to partner with Hamilton Bradshaw - not simply their prolific track record in enhancing many successful businesses to even greater heights. Their world class team operate to not only identify, invest and grow businesses, but truly develop their leaders and their peers alike. They understand the process and the demands it has on the organisation superbly, offering to work unequivocally with their investment companies to achieve excellence beyond expectations. The key is they completely understand that successful recruitment businesses are only truly successful because of the people who operate within them. By backing the team they invest in and offering expert guidance and support when required, they allow businesses to flourish of their own accord, offering unrivalled experience in their field. In challenging times exceptional people and organisations will inevitability succeed, this is an extremely exciting phase in the Company's expansion and a new chapter for us all.
They will be a supporting guide as the business grows from its current level of 60 employees to 200 over the next few years. We are looking to double our headcount in the London and Manchester offices this year, and the Bristol office is set to grow by 33%. The new staff will work in sectors including financial services, public sector, digital media, retail and ecommerce and emerging markets. This bullish strategy of organic and acquisitive growth stemming from buy-and-build will prove to be the perfect strategy and platform for these exciting expansion plans. On a personal level, I am very excited to see the company continue to grow whilst working closely with everybody at Timothy James Consulting. Our strength in depth as an organisation and the superb consultants and individuals within the team is extraordinary. Our passion and commitment to deliver is crucial, along with our work ethic and continued desire to improve. With the talent and experience we already have in abundance we truly are a specialist in the market. Our fantastically determined and focussed consultants have already help build our excellent reputation and the opportunity for everyone at Timothy James Consulting to achieve our goals is very clear. Leveraging from the experience of Tristan Ramus and Adam Fletcher who will be pivotal in achieving my personal aims for the business as a whole whilst developing our offering for our customer base.
This is a very exciting time for TJC. We met with several potential partners to work with us on our future expansion. What stood out about Hamilton Bradshaw was the fact that they don’t just bring capital, they also bring an incredibly talented team on board who will support the business to achieve its ambition to become the number one in its field.
Hamilton Bradshaw possesses a wealth of experience, an excellent track record and a large portfolio of contacts. They will work with me to help me develop as a leader, as well as improve my business efficiency whilst drive revenue by bringing in some new ideas. The organisation’s culture fit directly allies to that of TJC’s and their entrepreneurial growth strategy mirrors the vision for my company. The true partnership approach that HB will bring to the board serves to add to the existing commercial, financial and operational expertise visible within TJC.
The partnership with HB will be conducted via monthly board meetings and we will be in contact with them on a weekly basis. Ultimately they will act as a silent partner, allowing me to run the business alongside the other three board directors, Iain O’Dair, Andrew Backhouse and Sarah Wilton. The fabric and ethos of the business is instrumental to us as is our internal culture which will remain at the core of our success. Our approach, collaborative, adaptive yet dynamic management style has already served to make us so successful and a great place to work said O’Connell.
Andrew Backhouse – Timothy James Consulting National Contracts Director commented: “Having spent nearly four years at Timothy James Consulting I have seen the company grow and change beyond all recognition and the addition of Hamilton Bradshaw will ensure that growth will continue utilising their knowledge and expertise to help drive the business to the next level. The whole company is excited by the situation and on a personal level see this as a great opportunity to catapult my career working alongside some of the most respected and recognised in the industry”
In terms of objectives for the next year, we are looking at new markets including digital media, oil and gas and pharmaceutical sectors. We intend to expand our ebitda from the current £1m to over £3m, by driving repeat business and building accounts for both the perm and temp side with clients to maintain our competitive margins.”
O’Connell continues: I intend to hire further key experienced individuals. We are also looking at potentially opening offices elsewhere in Europe, Singapore and Sydney in the future. Our newly implemented training and development programme will be applied from board level right through to the sales team. This investment also provides a massive opportunity for our existing sales team. Our fast growth environment and new offices foster great career opportunities for all colleagues. By expanding upon our work hard play hard wealth creation culture, employees are in the fortuitous position to maximise on this alongside us; looking back over 2011, employees’ highlights focus around company rewards, such as the quarterly lunch ups in Michelin starred restaurants and the team holiday to Puerto Banus. Events such as this help to reiterate to our staff how valuable they are to the business whilst simultaneously providing the opportunity to relax and enjoy rewards for their efforts. Talent attraction remains a key driver for us within this business. This is further supported and facilitated by the network of HB and including, Adam, Tristan and James themselves.
Hamilton Bradshaw will provide financial governance, ensuring that the correct infrastructures are in place to fulfil our roles correctly. They have a fantastic pedigree in turning great companies into fantastic companies. We are very excited to have on board the most experienced team we could have partnered with. They will allow us to both work with them and be ourselves in the business. Their passion for the sector and understanding of how we want to run TJC, made them stand out as the best choice to partner with. They recognise that the market we are in is very exciting, and bring an open and honest approach to collaboration.
HB was very enthusiastic to work with us and demonstrated that they have a similar leadership style, in being very professional, very fair and extremely focussed. Having James Caan on board, with his vast knowledge and expertise will be incredibly beneficial for the business. We will work with them on pursuing the opportunity for joint ventures with other companies to accelerate growth, where there is potentially for new entrepreneurs to own their own business under the TJC umbrella. TJC will potentially look at joint ventures with in other companies too.”
