What Fawkes & Reece does

Fawkes & Reece is a UK specialist recruitment agency focused on the construction, house building, civil engineering, rail, and infrastructure sectors. Founded in 2001 by Ray Connolly and headquartered in London, the company supplies permanent, contract, and freelance candidates across white-collar (professional, commercial, technical, design, and management roles) and blue-collar (trades and labour) segments, alongside executive search for director and board-level appointments. It operates as both preferred supplier and sole recruitment partner for a portfolio of Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors and housebuilders, assigning dedicated account managers to each major client and running in-house compliance and payroll functions for contract placements.

The business is built on a traditional recruitment services model rather than a proprietary technology platform. Its core assets are sector specialisation (22+ years), a UK-wide office network of 8-9 locations (London, Bolton, Southampton, Sheffield, Birmingham, Northampton, Brighton, Cardiff, Bristol), an ISO 9001:2015 certified quality system, and an experienced consultant bench with deep tenure. The company has grown primarily through acquisition, taking over Alltek Limited (Southampton, 2019) and Bromak Ltd (Bolton, 2021, rebranded as Fawkes & Reece (North) Limited), taking group headcount to 110+ staff. A self-serve candidate job board with sector, region, and contract-type filters supports applicant flow. Industry memberships include Constructionline Supply Chain, Achilles RISQS, and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

Revenue is generated via transaction fees on permanent placements (typically a percentage of candidate salary) and mark-ups on hourly/daily/weekly contract staffing rates, with no publicly disclosed pricing. The company markets through LinkedIn, blog content, email, and earned media via industry awards, having been named 7th in the Recruiter Fast 50 (up from 31st) and included in the FT1000 list of Europe's fastest-growing companies in 2023. The business remains privately held by founder Ray Connolly with no disclosed external institutional investment.

Name

Fawkes & Reece

Legal name

Fawkes and Reece Limited

Website

https://fawkesandreece.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Fawkes & Reece is a UK specialist recruitment agency founded in 2001, supplying permanent, contract, and executive candidates to construction, house building, civil engineering, and infrastructure clients across 8-9 regional offices. It serves Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors as a preferred supplier.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Recruitment Services

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

National Generalist Staffing Firms (BPACACAI)

Keywords

• Construction recruitment services
• Executive search staffing
• Trades and labour hiring
• Permanent placement agency
• Built environment staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Permanent Placement/Executive Search: Fees for placing permanent candidates in executive and senior-level positions within construction companies. The company specialises in search and selection for hard-to-fill roles at director and board level.
2. Contract/Freelance Staffing: Supply of temporary and contract workers charged at hourly, daily, or weekly rates. Candidates are reference checked, fully compliant and supported by a Contracts and Compliance Team and Payroll Managers.
3. White and Blue Collar Recruitment: Placement fees for both professional (white collar) and trades/labour (blue collar) positions across the construction sector.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fawkes & Reece is a specialist UK recruitment agency for the construction and built environment sector, supplying white collar (professional/technical/commercial), blue collar (trades, labour, freelance), and executive search (director and board-level) candidates to construction, house building, rail, and infrastructure employers. The firm operates as both preferred and sole supplier to clients, supported by a Contracts and Compliance Team, Payroll Managers, dedicated Account Managers, and a candidate-facing online job board. The group covers all areas of the UK through a network of eight offices (London HQ plus Southampton, Bolton, Sheffield, Birmingham, Brighton, Northampton, Cardiff, Bristol) and two wholly-owned regional subsidiaries, Fawkes & Reece (South) Limited and Fawkes & Reece (North) Limited.

Product overview

Fawkes & Reece is a specialist construction and infrastructure recruitment agency offering three core service lines: Executive Search (for senior/director-level appointments), White Collar Recruitment (professional/office-based roles), and Blue Collar Recruitment (trades, labour, and freelance placements). The company operates UK-wide through a network of 8 offices (London HQ, Bolton, Southampton, Sheffield, Birmingham, Northampton, Brighton, Cardiff, Bristol). The portfolio includes two acquired regional brands — Fawkes & Reece (North) Limited (formerly Bromak, 2021) and Fawkes & Reece (South) Limited (formerly Alltek, 2019) — which maintain local operations under the shared national brand. A candidate-facing job board platform supports job searching, alerts, and applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Specialist search and selection service for senior management, director, and board-level appointments in construction and infrastructure, including exclusive hard-to-fill roles delivered with a considered, sensitive approach.
• White Collar Recruitment Supply of professional candidates in administrative, managerial, technical, and commercial roles (e.g., quantity surveying, BIM, design management, project management, site engineering) to construction, house building, civil engineering, and infrastructure clients nationwide.
• Blue Collar Recruitment Supply of trades and labour candidates for construction sites, including skilled tradespeople such as bricklayers, joiners, painters, and electricians, plus freelance and interim placements processed through a reference-checked, CSCS-compliant database and managed by in-house Payroll Managers.
• Job Board Platform Candidate-facing online job search and application platform allowing users to search by sector, position, region, contract type, and salary, with job alerts, saved jobs, and bulk-application functionality.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rose from 31st to 7th position nationally in Recruiter Fast 50 2023, making them the fastest growing construction recruiter in the country
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Bromak Ltd (renamed Fawkes & Reece (North) Limited)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 July 2021Effective 13th July 2021, Bromak officially became Fawkes & Reece (North) Limited. This enabled clients and candidates from both companies to benefit from combined audience while maintaining service levels. The Midlands and Northern offices continued to be led by Cameron Berry (MD) and Chelsey Nuttall (Sales Director).
• McLaren ConstructionmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2021Fawkes & Reece partnered with McLaren Construction to fill professional roles as the company's workload continued to grow. The partnership supported McLaren's recruitment strategy across all regions of the McLaren Group. Fawkes & Reece led recruitment drive searching for ambitious and talented people to join McLaren.
• Bromak LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2021Fawkes & Reece acquired Bromak Ltd, a leading construction recruiter based in Bolton with four offices in the Midlands and North of England. The acquisition expanded the group to over 110 staff across 6 offices. Bromak provides permanent and freelance candidates to house building and construction sectors. Cameron Berry continues as Managing Director and Chelsey Nuttall as Sales Director of Fawkes & Reece (North) Limited.
• QDOSsupportingTechnology or Integration · 25 March 2021Fawkes & Reece partnered with QDOS to address IR35 compliance concerns for candidates and clients. QDOS provides an online compliance system called Status Review for managing IR35 reform. QDOS has specialised in IR35 legislation since 2000 and successfully defended over 1,600 IR35 enquiries.
• Constructionline Supply ChainsupportingOthersMembership in Constructionline Supply Chain helps assess compliance of UK contractors and suppliers at pre-qualification stage of procurement processes.
• Achilles RISQSsupportingOthersMembership in Achilles RISQS helps assess compliance of UK contractors and suppliers at pre-qualification stage of procurement processes for rail sector.
• Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)supportingOthersMembership in the Recruitment and Employment Confederation indicates adherence to industry standards and best practices in recruitment.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hays: FTSE-listed UK recruitment major with a dedicated Construction & Property division covering white- and blue-collar placements, executive search, and contract staffing — directly overlapping F&R's core offering at greater scale.
• Michael Page (PageGroup): Specialist white-collar permanent recruiter with an active Construction & Property practice in the UK, competing head-to-head for executive and professional mandates in the same tier-1 contractor client base.
• Robert Walters: Listed UK-based recruitment firm with a Construction & Property division placing professionals across the built environment — competes with F&R's white-collar and executive search lines for permanent placements.

Broad incumbents

• Reed Specialist Recruitment: One of the largest UK-domestic recruitment brands with broad sector coverage including construction; not vertically specialized like F&R but competes on volume perm and contract staffing for the same clients.
• ManpowerGroup UK: Global staffing provider with construction and infrastructure volume staffing capability in the UK; competes most directly with F&R's blue-collar and contract placement service line for large contractor programmes.
• Randstad UK: Global staffing leader (parent of the former Hill McGlynn) with UK construction and infrastructure staffing capability and considerably larger scale; overlaps with F&R on contract staffing and high-volume recruitment.

Emerging players

• Ackerman Johnson: London-based specialist construction and property recruiter for permanent and contract hires across housebuilding and main contracting — overlapping sub-sectors of F&R's white- and blue-collar practices.
• Brandon James: UK specialist construction recruiter focused on permanent placements across construction, real estate, and infrastructure — narrow specialism similar to F&R but with a smaller geographic footprint.
• Skilled Careers: UK niche construction and property recruiter focused on professional and technical roles for contractors and consultancies; comparable specialist positioning to F&R with overlapping candidate pools.

Others

• Indeed UK: Largest UK job aggregator and recruitment platform; not a direct placement competitor but an adjacent ecosystem participant that powers F&R's candidate-sourcing channels and competes for advertising-driven hiring budgets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FawkesandReece
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fawkes&reece

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A2 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Fawkes & Reece