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Acorn announces record turnover of £41.5M
Acorn, Wales’ leading recruitment and training specialist, today announces a record turnover of £41.5m for 2006, an increase of 15.3% on the previous year’s figure of £38.5m.
The performance reflects another period of significant branch expansion and sector diversification for the Newport-based company, which has recently celebrated its 15th year.
Synergie, Acorn’s French-based partner with more than 450 branches in Europe and Canada, also reports a significant increase in revenues for 2006, with nearly 15% growth to Euro 1,064m (2005: Euro925.6m). The group states that its sales revenue forecast in 2007 is Euro1.2bn.
Managing Director Matt Southall said, “It has been a fantastic way to celebrate our 15th birthday – and we have our loyal customers and tens of thousands of candidates to thank.
“2006 saw us further establish ourselves as one of the UK’s leading recruitment and training specialists, and we are particularly pleased that at a time when we are expanding into new areas of the UK we continue to enjoy excellent growth in our existing Welsh branch network, from North Wales to Swansea, Cardiff, Bridgend, Pontypridd and Newport.”
Acorn’s growth strategy is to increase turnover via a mix of organic growth and acquisitions to more than £100m by the end of 2008, Mr Southall added.
Acorn highlights for 2006 included an 8% increase in the number of temporary workers put to work by Acorn and an increase in permanent placements over the year of 156%.
The company also reported an increase in the number of workplace training programmes delivered by Acorn in Wales of 64%.
Investments in 2006 saw the opening of new multi-disciplinary branches in Preston and Runcorn in the North West England, as well as establishing a new Forensic Nursing Division through the acquisition of Link a specialist nursing and healthcare agency serving Wales and the West.
The company continued to invest heavily in its IT infrastructure and at the same time was successful in retaining its Investors in People accreditation.
The year also saw the appointment of former Wales Grand Slam-winning rugby coach Mike Ruddock as Commercial Development Manager, and the agreement of sole labour supply status with TST, the industry leader for rail telecoms and safety services.
Mr Southall said, “These figures further reinforce the fact that we continued to be the preferred agency for attracting high numbers of good candidates.
“Our candidate attraction rates improved month-on-month and year-on-year - at a time when most other agencies and many employers continue to struggle to find suitable people.
In 2007, Acorn has already opened new branches in Gloucester and Devon as well as launching a new division in defence and technology to provide contract, managerial and executive staff in the burgeoning defence, aerospace, IT and engineering sectors.
Recent feedback from clients has showed record levels of customer satisfaction, together with retention and longevity of key accounts. “We put a great deal of resource into ensuring we put the right people forward for the right jobs – and this approach continues to pay off,” Mr Southall said.
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