Bluestones Group

What Bluestones Group does

Bluestones Investment Group Limited (trading as Bluestones Group) is a UK-based, privately held human capital investment company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Chester, England. It operates a three-division model: a Recruitment Division comprising 24 wholly-owned recruitment and staffing service brands organised across five sectors (Education, Generalist, Healthcare, Professional, Technical); an Investment Division that recruits and funds recruitment start-ups and scaling businesses with 100% funding plus operational support, taking equity and offering exit pathways; and a Support Division that provides specialist recruitment funding, payroll, and compliance services (Quest Pay Solutions, Recruitment Funding Solutions, QPS Group, Bluestones Support Partners) to recruitment businesses throughout the UK.

The Group generates revenue primarily through transaction-fee based placement services across its portfolio brands, with placement fees for permanent and contract recruitment across education, healthcare, professional, technical, and generalist/logistics roles. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with client engagement conducted through direct-sales recruitment consultants within each brand and through sector-specific job boards (Totaljobs, Indeed, LinkedIn, Reed, CV Library, Glassdoor). Ancillary revenue is generated by the Support Division, which sells payroll, funding, and compliance services to third-party recruitment agencies; QPS Group has achieved SafeRec certification for payroll compliance. The Group has completed 7 acquisitions in 2024 and extended into New Zealand, indicating a serial-acquisition roll-up strategy.

At the technology layer the Group operates a multi-brand portfolio architecture with each brand retaining its own website, domain and front-end (e.g., bluestonesmedical.co.uk, connex-education.com, mepresourcing.co.uk) while sharing group-level infrastructure for payroll, funding, and compliance. Stated AI usage is limited to generative-AI driven candidate screening and selection, automated job ad creation, and candidate engagement, with no proprietary model, vendor, or benchmark disclosed. The Group holds GDPR compliance and a Modern Slavery Act compliance statement, and is recognised as a two-star Best Companies employer for three consecutive years.

Name

Bluestones Group

Legal name

Bluestones Investment Group Limited

Website

https://bluestonesgroup.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bluestones Group is a UK-based human capital investment company that owns 24 recruitment and staffing brands across education, generalist, healthcare, professional, and technical sectors, while funding recruitment start-ups and selling payroll and funding services to third-party agencies via its Support Division.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment & Staffing Services

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Business Services (B2B) Growth Equity (FSANACAD)

Keywords

• Recruitment services
• Staffing solutions
• Human capital investment
• Payroll services
• Recruitment funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Chester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Recruitment and Staffing Services: The company generates revenue through its portfolio of 20+ recruitment and staffing service brands that operate across five core sectors (Education, Generalist, Healthcare, Professional, Technical). Revenue is generated through placement fees for permanent and contract recruitment across various industry sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bluestones Group is a human capital investment company operating three core divisions: Recruitment (a portfolio of 20+ recruitment and staffing brands across Education, Generalist, Healthcare, Professional, and Technical sectors), Investment (100% funding and operational support for recruitment start-ups and scaling businesses with equity ownership and exit strategies), and Support (specialist recruitment funding and payroll services for recruitment businesses across the UK).

Product overview

Bluestones Group is a human capital investment company operating three core divisions: Recruitment (20 staffing and recruitment brands across Education, Generalist, Healthcare, Professional, and Technical sectors), Investment (funding and support for recruitment startups and scaling businesses), and Support (specialist payroll and funding services). The company owns 24 recruitment and staffing brands, primarily in the UK with recent expansion into New Zealand, employing over 325 people across 27 locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bluestones Medical: Healthcare recruitment for community nursing, general nursing, mental health and theatres jobs in England and Wales.
• Bluestones Medical Complex Care
• Bluestones One
• Bluestones Staffing
• Bluestones Supply Chain
• Chad Harrison International
• Cogent Staffing
• Connex Education Partnership
• Harrison Sands
• MEP Resourcing
• NC Associates
• Quest Pay Solutions
• Recruitment Funding Solutions
• Technical Partners
• QPS Group
• Bluestones Support Partners

Products and services

• Bluestones Medical Healthcare recruitment brand providing community nursing, general nursing, mental health and theatres jobs in England and Wales.
• Bluestones Medical Complex Care Specialized healthcare recruitment for support workers, healthcare assistants and other medical jobs in complex care settings.
• Bluestones One Generalist recruitment brand providing UK-wide merchandising and installation roles.
• Bluestones Staffing Generalist recruitment brand providing logistics, retail, production and technology jobs in Northern Ireland.
• Bluestones Supply Chain Generalist recruitment brand providing driving, industrial and logistics jobs throughout the UK.
• Cogent Staffing Generalist recruitment brand providing engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and FMCG jobs in Yorkshire.
• Connex Education Partnership Education recruitment brand for supply teachers, TAs, SEND, nursery staff, and tutors.
• Harrison Sands Professional recruitment brand providing jobs in the recruitment sector throughout the UK.
• MEP Resourcing Technical recruitment brand providing mechanical, electrical and plumbing jobs throughout the UK.
• NC Associates Professional recruitment brand providing professional services jobs throughout the UK.
• Clayton Legal Legal recruitment firm operating throughout the UK, recruiting legal professionals across various disciplines.
• ThinkWorkforce Recruitment and staffing services brand within the Bluestones Group portfolio.
• Technical Partners Specialist recruitment brand for technically-focused businesses, unifying established technical recruitment brands within the group.
• Bluestones Support Partners Support division brand delivering operational excellence services to recruitment agencies.
• Recruitment Division Portfolio of 20 recruitment and staffing service brands operating across five core sectors: Education, Generalist, Healthcare, Professional, and Technical throughout the UK.
• Investment Division Provides investment, scale-up growth support, and infrastructure to recruitment start-ups and scaling businesses through 100% funding and operational support, with equity ownership and exit strategies.
• Support Division Provides specialist recruitment funding and payroll services to recruitment businesses throughout the UK, operating across the full spectrum of industries and sectors.
• Quest Pay Solutions Specialist recruitment payroll services provided to recruitment businesses throughout the UK.
• Recruitment Funding Solutions Specialist recruitment funding services provided to recruitment businesses throughout the UK.

Quantifiable outcome

• Achieved 7 acquisitions in 2024 alone
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EcologiminorOthersNC Associates, a brand within the Bluestones Group portfolio, has partnered with Ecologi to reduce their carbon footprint and support sustainability projects around the globe. This partnership supports the company's ESG commitments and sustainability goals.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Impellam Group (Certainty Group): UK-listed human capital group operating a portfolio of specialist recruitment brands across multiple sectors. Direct structural peer to Bluestones' multi-brand recruitment roll-up model.
• Pertemps Network Group: UK private recruitment holding company operating multiple staffing brands across commercial, education, healthcare, and technical verticals. Closely comparable multi-brand UK roll-up structure.
• Reed Specialist Recruitment: Major UK-headquartered recruitment group operating across multiple sectors including education, healthcare, and professional services. Direct competitor in Bluestones' core verticals.
• Hays plc: UK-listed global recruitment firm with strong presence in professional and technical staffing. Directly comparable in technical and professional sector recruitment.
• Michael Page International: UK-listed global professional recruitment firm. Direct competitor in Bluestones' Professional Sector (Harrison Sands, NC Associates, Chad Harrison International).
• SThree: UK-listed specialist recruitment group focused on STEM, technology, and engineering. Direct competitor in Bluestones' Technical Sector (MEP Resourcing, Cogent Staffing, Technical Partners).
• Investigo: UK mid-market professional services recruitment firm, part of The IN Group. Comparable in scale and specialism to Bluestones' professional sector brands.
• Connex Group (non-affiliated): Actually Bluestones' own Connex Education Partnership; replacing with Education sector peer New Direction Education - though not strictly comparable at scale, illustrative of education recruitment competitors.

Broad incumbents

• ManpowerGroup: Global staffing and workforce solutions provider with broad UK presence across multiple sectors. Larger incumbent offering overlapping generalist and specialist staffing capabilities.
• Robert Half International: Global specialised staffing and consulting firm with significant UK operations. Larger incumbent operating in professional and technical recruitment space relevant to Bluestones' portfolio brands.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bluestonesgroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/BluestonesGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bluestones-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/bluestonesgroup

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Bluestones Group