Celsus Group

What Celsus Group does

Celsus Group is a UK-headquartered healthcare recruitment and consultancy company founded in 2008 by two brothers in Luton. It supplies temporary, permanent and managed medical services staffing to primary care (GP surgeries, OOH providers, APMS contracts, primary care networks), secondary care (NHS trusts and hospitals) and private healthcare providers (private hospitals, clinics and independent practice owners). Its end customers include NHS Trusts, Health Boards, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), local authorities, GP practices, care and nursing homes, mental health and learning disability units, and urgent care centres. The group is positioned as one of the largest healthcare recruitment agencies in the UK, with claims of over 20,000 clinicians placed, more than 1 million shifts worked and a database of 100,000+ clinicians.

The portfolio operates a platform-plus-modules architecture across three wholly-owned sub-brands: Medical Staffing (staffing agency placing GPs, nurses, doctors and allied health professionals), Key Medical Services (medical service provider supplying GPs, nurses and pharmacists), and Neighbourhood Health Group (primary care consultancy offering mock CQC inspections and GMS contract management, launched April 2025). Supporting service modules include temporary staffing, framework staffing, permanent placement, remote clinical assessment, CQC readiness, funding advice (ARRS, QAF), and turnaround teams. The underlying technology is described as a healthcare recruitment platform with a clinician database; no proprietary AI/ML, API or mobile product is disclosed. Approved supplier status on the CCS, HTE and NHS Workforce Alliance frameworks provides compliant public-sector procurement access.

The revenue model is multi-stream: temporary/agency staffing on a transaction fee per shift, permanent placement on a one-time license fee, managed medical services, framework staffing with pre-negotiated terms, and consultancy/professional services. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales to NHS and private clients, framework-led public-sector procurement, and self-serve clinician registration supported by a referral programme paying up to £500 per successful clinician introduction. The company is privately held, was acquired by Sullivan Street Partners in March 2020, and in January 2025 was acquired by ICG Medical Group, a global healthcare recruitment operator, under which it continues to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Name

Celsus Group

Legal name

Celsus Group Limited

Website

https://celsusgroup.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Celsus Group is a UK healthcare recruitment and consultancy company placing GPs, nurses, AHPs and other clinicians into primary, secondary and private care providers via three sub-brands (Medical Staffing, Key Medical Services, Neighbourhood Health Group), operating on NHS procurement frameworks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Staffing Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional Employer Organization (PEO) / Co-Employment Services (BPACAHAB)

Keywords

• Healthcare staffing
• Medical recruitment
• Locum services
• NHS framework staffing
• Primary care recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Luton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Temporary/Agency Staffing: Celsus Group supplies temporary healthcare clinicians including GPs, Nurses, AHPs to fill rota gaps through locum/agency placements, charging for each placement or shift filled
2. Permanent Recruitment: Permanent placement of healthcare clinicians into GP surgeries, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities with one-time placement fees
3. Medical Services: Providing prescribing clinicians as a medical service for over 10 years, supplying GPs, Nurses, and Pharmacists as a managed service to primary care organisations
4. Consultancy Services: CQC readiness assessments, mock inspections, gap analysis, and bespoke compliance support services
5. Framework Staffing: Supply of clinical staff through approved NHS framework agreements with capped costs and pre-negotiated terms

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Celsus Group is a healthcare recruitment and consultancy agency placing GPs, nurses, allied health professionals, and other clinicians into primary, secondary, and private care facilities across the UK and internationally. It delivers temporary locum staffing, permanent recruitment, NHS framework-compliant placements, managed medical services, remote clinical assessment, CQC readiness consultancy, and primary care funding advice through its Medical Staffing, Key Medical Services, and Neighbourhood Health Group sub-brands.

Product overview

Celsus Group is a healthcare recruitment and consultancy services company operating a platform-plus-modules architecture. The portfolio consists of three sub-brands: Medical Staffing (staffing agency for GPs, nurses, doctors and AHPs), Key Medical Services (medical service provider), and Neighbourhood Health Group (primary care advisors offering CQC inspections and GMS contract management). These core brands are supported by service modules including temporary staffing, framework staffing (via NHS frameworks), permanent staffing, medical services, remote clinical assessment, CQC readiness, funding advice, and turnaround teams. The company primarily serves the UK's primary, secondary and private care sectors, with operations expanding internationally following its acquisition by ICG Medical in January 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Medical Staffing: Staffing agency matching GPs, nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals with primary care providers, NHS hospitals, and local authorities across the UK and internationally.
• Key Medical Services
• Neighbourhood Health Group

Products and services

• Medical Staffing A sub-brand staffing agency that has been matching GPs, nurses, doctors and allied health professionals (AHPs) with primary care providers, NHS hospitals, local authorities, GP surgeries, OOH providers, APMS contracts, PCNs and private facilities across the UK and internationally for over 10 years. Provides temporary locum and permanent placements with timely UK-wide coverage.
• Key Medical Services A sub-brand medical service provider supplying GPs, Nurses and Pharmacists as a managed clinical service to primary care organisations. Delivers tailored, flexible, cost-effective and safe clinical-talent solutions with high compliance standards for consistent quality care.
• Neighbourhood Health Group A clinically led sub-brand providing high-quality primary care services including insight-driven mock CQC inspections, gap analysis and expert GMS contract management throughout England, aimed at helping practices achieve and sustain required care standards.
• Temporary Staffing Supply of various clinicians (GPs, Nurses, AHPs, Midwives, Pharmacists, Mental Health Practitioners, HCAs, ACPs, ECPs, UCPs, 111 Clinical Advisors) to the NHS and private sector to fill rota gaps via full-time, part-time, ad-hoc shifts, block bookings, annual leave cover, or sickness absences.
• Framework Staffing Staffing services delivered through approved NHS frameworks (CCS, HTE, NHS Workforce Alliance), ensuring adherence to formally agreed terms, conditions, capped costs and legal protections for NHS buyers.
• Permanent Staffing A 360-degree permanent healthcare recruitment service that builds teams of salaried clinicians (GPs, Nurses, AHPs, Pharmacists) for NHS and private sector clients, with quoted fill and retention rates.
• Medical Services Provision of prescribing clinicians (GPs, Nurses and Pharmacists) as a managed medical service to primary care organisations for over 10 years, with high compliance standards for consistent quality care.
• Remote Clinical Assessment Provision of remote clinicians that support healthcare facility needs through clinical assessment and triage services without on-site presence.
• CQC Readiness Mock CQC inspections, gap analysis, tailored solutions, ongoing support and staff training to help primary care practices achieve required care standards and prepare for regulatory inspections.
• Funding Advice Primary care funding advice for GP practices and PCNs covering ARRS (Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme) and QAF (Quality and Outcomes Framework) optimisation to maximise practice income.
• Turnaround Teams Deployment of clinician teams to help turnaround struggling GP surgeries with multidisciplinary support for practices facing operational or quality challenges.

Quantifiable outcome

• Placed over 20,000 clinicians working over 1 million shifts consulting with over 250,000 patients since 2008
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Crown Commercial Service (CCS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCelsus Group is an approved supplier on the Crown Commercial Service framework, the biggest public procurement organisation in the UK. This enables NHS providers to procure staffing services through compliant framework agreements.
• NHS Workforce AlliancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCelsus Group is on the NHS Workforce Alliance framework (RM6161). This collaboration between CCS and NHS Procurement covers supply of Nursing, Midwifery, Medical, Dentistry, Allied Health Professionals and Health Science Services.
• HealthTrust Europe (HTE)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCelsus Group is an approved supplier on the HealthTrust Europe framework, enabling NHS and healthcare providers to access staffing services through pre-approved contractual arrangements.
• Infohealth LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr Ihtesham Sabri, Chief Medical Officer at Celsus Group, also serves as Medical Director for Infohealth Ltd, creating a strategic connection in clinical leadership and mental health expertise.
• IC24minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMariann Cleverley, Director of Primary Care Partnerships at Celsus Group, previously spent 14 years in senior leadership at IC24, managing urgent care services and GMS contracts.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ICG Medical: Parent company of Celsus Group since January 2025; a global healthcare recruitment and workforce solutions provider with operations across the UK, India, South Africa, and other geographies. Directly comparable in core locum/permanent healthcare staffing and is the strategic platform on which Celsus sits.
• Reed Talent Solutions: One of the UK's largest generalist recruitment and workforce solutions providers with a dedicated healthcare division. Comparable to Celsus in healthcare staffing volume, though operates across many sectors beyond healthcare.
• Hays plc: Global recruitment firm with a significant UK healthcare and life sciences practice. Comparable to Celsus in permanent and temporary healthcare placements, though operates at much larger scale across multiple sectors and geographies.
• Maximus UK: International provider of health and workforce solutions with significant UK NHS contracts, including health assessment and employment services. Comparable to Celsus in NHS-facing workforce services with a broader health services portfolio.

Direct peers

• Acacium Group: One of the largest UK healthcare staffing providers (formerly Independent Clinical Services), supplying doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals to the NHS and private sector. Direct competitor to Celsus across temporary, permanent, and framework-based healthcare staffing with a similar multi-brand structure.
• Pulse Healthcare: UK-based healthcare staffing agency placing AHPs, nurses, doctors, and healthcare scientists across the NHS and private sector. Direct competitor to Celsus in allied health and primary care recruitment with established framework agreements.
• Medacs Healthcare: International healthcare staffing provider placing doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals into NHS and private healthcare settings. Direct peer with comparable temporary, permanent, and international placement offerings and similar NHS framework presence.
• Chase Medical: UK specialist primary care recruitment agency placing GPs, practice nurses, and allied health professionals into primary care settings. Direct competitor to Celsus's primary care core business with overlapping GP locum focus.
• Athona: UK healthcare recruitment agency supplying doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals across primary, secondary, and community care. Direct competitor with comparable NHS framework positioning and similar multi-disciplinary placement focus.

Emerging players

• Lifted: Tech-enabled care staffing platform applying digital matching to the UK health and social care workforce. Comparable to Celsus in placement services but differentiated by a software-first, lower-cost model that represents a potential competitive threat to traditional recruiter-led staffing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/celsusgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/celsus-group

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Celsus Group