Sellick Partnership sells majority stake to leading European services business to accelerate growth

Sellick Partnership Limited, one of the UK’s leading independent recruitment companies, has sold a majority stake to Samsic, one of Europe’s largest soft service providers, it announced today, Wednesday 10 April 2019.

The existing management team, led by founder and Managing Director Jo Sellick, will retain a significant stake in the business and continue to lead the business, with Samsic taking on a strategic advisory role.

The deal is an endorsement of Sellick Partnership’s success building a market-leading, sustainable and profitable business. It places Finance & Accountancy, Legal, HR, Actuarial, Procurement, Change & Transformation and Housing & Property Services professionals in permanent, temporary and locum roles in public, private and not-for-profit organisations across the UK.

Jo Sellick said: “Sellick Partnership has enjoyed a sustained period of client and revenue growth and this deal reflects the work the whole team delivers to clients and candidates every day. Our success has been built on building a strong, tight-knit team with a great culture and Samsic shares our people-first approach, which has shone through in our discussions.

“Sellick Partnership opens the door to new sectors and markets for Samsic whilst we look forward to benefitting from its expertise in making strategic investments in businesses like ours and its track record supporting management teams to drive growth and business success.

“We are confident that the deal will be a springboard for accelerated expansion over time.”

Sellick Partnership was set up in Manchester in 2002 and today has more than 100 employees across Manchester, Liverpool, Derby, Leeds, Newcastle, Stoke-on-Trent and London. The business has built its success around recruiting, developing and retaining the best people: it has been recognised as one of the 100 Best Workplaces™ in the UK by Great Place to Work® and has achieved the Investors in People Gold standard.

It has outperformed the market in recent years and reported a 24% increase in turnover to £49m for the year to February 2019. The UK’s recruitment sector had a turnover of approximately £35bn in 2018, growing by 11% year-on-year, and is forecast to grow for each of the next three years.

Thierry Geffroy, President of Samsic Group and Gilles Cavallari, Vice-President of Samsic HR are delighted and extremely proud to share this new adventure with Sellick Partnership in the UK, which will allow the company to extend its development and enrich its offer of services across Europe.

“It is with complete confidence in Sellick Partnership’s team and all its collaborators that we will strengthen our position in core markets and will continue to successfully develop in the UK and Europe. This new alliance is the starting point of a great human adventure with Jo, Hannah and Ray, and will lead us all to meet the greatest and most interesting challenges.”

Samsic was founded in 1986 and is based in Rennes, France. Today, it is one of Europe’s largest business service providers employing 90,000 people in 25 countries, generating a turnover of €2.6bn annually.

Thierry Geffroy, President of Samsic Group, said: “We are delighted to invest in Sellick Partnership as it is an ideal complement to our existing services and adds to our presence in the UK. We have been impressed by Jo and his team’s record of sustained growth – and especially the way it has built its success through developing a culture which has allowed it to recruit and retain great talent.”

Jo Sellick concluded: “We are extremely proud of what we have achieved since setting up back in 2002. Now we are looking forward to our next phase of growth in partnership with Samsic.”