The RE Excellence Awards lives up to its name

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Recently named Best Recruitment Start-up Investment Firm - UK, Recruitment Entrepreneur hosted its own awards ceremony to recognise and reward the 17 businesses in the group portfolio.

On January 23rd, we hosted the first RE Excellence Awards at Plaisterers’ Hall, London. The evening was a celebration of the group portfolio’s success, noting the outstanding individual and team achievements of the past year. Chairman James Caan CBE opened the ceremony with a speech in which he congratulated everyone on navigating a turbulent business year and coming out the other side even stronger. As a group, we hit our annual target, grew our GP to £18.8m and increased EBIT by 38%; all of which contributed to being named Best Recruitment Start-Up Investment Firm – UK in the Corporate Coaching and Recruitment Awards 2019.

Reflecting on the evening, James Caan CBE said, “It was fantastic to see so many old and new faces come together to celebrate as a wider group. In what was a difficult year, the portfolio’s growth and success in 2019 exceeded my expectations, proving the dedication and resilience of the individuals, teams and businesses we invest in. Well done to all.”

With 17 portfolio companies and 11 award categories, competition was steep and there were many worthy runners-up. The categories and winners were:

Best Rookie: Sarah Hutchinson, Meraki Talent

Best Newcomer: Mo Bakshi, Beeken Reeves

Best Operational Support: Katie Smith, Hanami International

Best Contribution to Employer Brand: GKR London

Biggest Contract Biller (non-CEO): Ryan Bingham, Clarus Education

Biggest Perm Biller (non-CEO): Dan Nathan, Euromedica

Best Recruiter: Sophie Allen, Venatrix

Salesperson of the Year: Annabel Estephan, EliteCyber

Best New Company: Darwin Hawkins

Best Company: Venatrix

Entrepreneur of the Year: James Absalom, Walter James

Abid Hamid, CEO of Recruitment Entrepreneur, commented, “The RE Excellence Awards was a much-deserved night of celebration. As a group, we accomplished a lot last year, and it was a pleasure to award those who have helped lead the charge in securing our reputation as a group of industry-leading businesses. I’d like to congratulate everyone who was nominated, as well as the final winners. Truly deserved – now onwards and upwards for 2020!”

Following the awards, the newest portfolio partner founder who signed earlier that day, also took to the stage to share his thoughts on why he chose to partner with Recruitment Entrepreneur and his plans for building his new business. Recruitment Entrepreneur will officially launch this latest joint venture in the next month.