HtE Recruitment
HtE Recruitment is a UK private limited recruitment agency founded in 2007, headquartered in Manchester with a London office, placing permanent candidates into Hospitality & Catering, Logistics & FMCG, Sales, and IT & Digital roles across the UK via sector-specialist consultant desks and a subscription-plus-transactional pricing model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersManchester, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What HtE Recruitment does
HtE Recruitment Ltd is a UK-based, founder-owned permanent recruitment agency founded in 2007 by Rick Ashton (current Director) and headquartered in Manchester, with a secondary sales office in London (Airport City Business Park). The company operates specialist desks across four sectors — Hospitality & Catering (its original chef-agency foundation), Logistics & FMCG, Sales, and IT & Digital — and places candidates on a permanent (not contract/temp) basis for hotels, restaurants, pubs, freight forwarders, manufacturers, and commercial sales teams across all UK regions.
The company delivers through a direct sales-led model in which sector-specialist consultants (named individuals including a London-based chef recruiter and regional recruiters for the Lake District and Cornwall/Devon) manage the full recruitment cycle end-to-end via phone, email, LinkedIn, and a recruitment CRM linked to its phone system, using a six-step matching process. Its technology stack is conventional for a recruitment SME — no proprietary AI, marketplace, or app product is disclosed — and the company's underlying value lies in sector knowledge, long-tenured consultant relationships, and a 100% UK-based sourcing approach it markets as a differentiator against offshored competitors.
HtE monetises through three pricing tiers: HtE Select (the default model, charging a 12% finders fee on placed-candidate salary on a pay-as-you-go basis), HtE Partner (a partnership model with reduced fees starting at 7% plus an engagement fee for clients seeking ongoing engagement), and HTE Advantage (a monthly subscription plan for regular hirers). Customer mix ranges from individual SMBs (head chefs, restaurant managers, single-site operators) to enterprise clients in logistics and hospitality chains, with repeat-client tenures exceeding 10 years documented in testimonial evidence. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the company is privately held with no external institutional investment, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity.
HtE Recruitment firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HtE Recruitment
- Legal name
- HtE Recruitment Ltd
- Website
- https://hterecruitment.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- HtE Recruitment is a UK private limited recruitment agency founded in 2007, headquartered in Manchester with a London office, placing permanent candidates into Hospitality & Catering, Logistics & FMCG, Sales, and IT & Digital roles across the UK via sector-specialist consultant desks and a subscription-plus-transactional pricing model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
HtE Recruitment industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recruitment Services
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire (BPACAFAD)
Keywords
Where HtE Recruitment is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Manchester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
HtE Recruitment business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Traditional Finders Service (HtE Select): Traditional recruitment finders fee model where clients pay a percentage of the placed candidate's salary upon successful placement. This is the company's default service offering.
- Partner-Based Recruitment Model (HtE Partner): Partnership approach recruitment model with reduced percentage fees starting from 7% plus a small engagement fee to begin matching. Designed for clients wanting an ongoing partnership relationship.
- Subscription-Based Recruitment (HTE Advantage): Monthly subscription plan for businesses hiring regularly, offering reduced fees through a simple monthly billing structure.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | HtE Select (Traditional Finders Service) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | HtE Partner (Partnership Model) |
| Subscription | Monthly | HTE Advantage (Subscription-Based) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
HtE Recruitment product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HtE Recruitment is a UK-based national recruitment agency that sources permanent candidates for UK businesses across three core sectors — Hospitality & Catering, Logistics & FMCG, and Sales. It delivers recruitment via two distinct service models: HtE Select (a traditional finders service charging a default 12% fee of placed candidate's salary) and HtE Partner (a partnership model with reduced fees from 7% plus an engagement fee), with an additional subscription option (HTE Advantage) for clients hiring regularly. The firm operates from offices in Manchester and London, using sector-specialist UK-based consultants organised by division.
Product overview
HtE Recruitment is a UK-based national recruitment agency offering permanent recruitment solutions through two main services: HtE Select (traditional finders service with percentage-based fees) and HtE Partner (subscription-based model with reduced fees for regular hiring). The company operates three specialized divisions—Hospitality & Catering, Logistics & FMCG, and Sales—each staffed by sector-specialist recruiters. The business operates from Manchester and London offices, covering the whole of the UK.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HtE Select: Traditional finders service recruitment offering for clients.
- HtE Partner
- HTE Advantage
Products and services
- HtE Select Traditional recruitment finders service for permanent placements, charging a default 12% fee of the placed candidate's salary upon successful placement. Designed for UK businesses seeking permanent candidates across Hospitality, Logistics & FMCG, and Sales sectors on a transactional basis.
- HtE Partner Partnership-based recruitment service offering reduced fees starting from 7% of salary plus a small engagement fee to begin matching, targeted at UK businesses wanting an ongoing partnership relationship with HtE rather than a one-off placement.
- HTE Advantage Monthly subscription-based recruitment plan for UK businesses hiring regularly, offering reduced placement fees billed through a simple monthly payment structure.
- Hospitality & Catering Recruitment Division Specialist recruitment division placing permanent chefs (Head Chef, Sous Chef, Chef de Partie, Pastry Chef, Sushi Chef) and hospitality managers (Restaurant Manager, Bar Manager, Operations Manager, Hotel Manager) across UK hotels, restaurants, and gastro pubs.
- Logistics & FMCG Recruitment Division Specialist recruitment division covering permanent placements in Air Freight, Ocean Freight, Customs Clearance, Warehouse Management, Transport Planning, Manufacturing, NPD, Quality Control, and Maintenance roles across UK logistics and FMCG employers.
- Sales Recruitment Division Specialist recruitment division placing permanent Business Development Managers, Sales Managers, Sales Executives, Account Managers, and National Account Managers into UK clients across logistics, hospitality, and general commercial sectors.
Quantifiable outcome
- 18+ years of successful permanent placements across UK
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use HtE Recruitment
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
HtE Recruitment technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
HtE Recruitment partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
HtE Recruitment competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Caterer.com: UK specialist job board and recruitment platform focused on hospitality and catering roles. Directly comparable to HtE's Hospitality & Catering division in target candidate pool and employer clients, with overlapping focus on chefs and hospitality management placements.
- Blue Arrow: UK staffing and recruitment agency with strong presence in industrial, logistics, and warehouse/distribution sectors. Closely comparable to HtE's Logistics & FMCG division in terms of target roles (warehouse management, transport planning, freight forwarding) and UK-based SME employer clients.
Broad incumbents
- Reed: One of the largest UK-based recruitment agencies, offering permanent, temporary, and contract placement across virtually all sectors including hospitality and logistics. Comparable to HtE as a UK-domiciled recruiter, though Reed operates at materially greater scale and breadth rather than specializing in HtE's verticals.
- SThree: UK-listed specialist recruiter focused on STEM, technology, and contract professional sales roles. Comparable to HtE on the IT & Digital and Sales recruitment divisions, though SThree operates internationally and skews toward higher-value contract placements.
- Hays: Global UK-headquartered professional recruitment group with established desks across multiple verticals. Comparable to HtE on permanent placement in the UK, though Hays' scope, international footprint, and salary bands sit well above HtE's mid-market focus.
- Michael Page: UK arm of PageGroup, a FTSE-listed professional recruiter covering permanent placement across sales, marketing, hospitality, and supply chain. Comparable to HtE on permanent recruitment methodology and the sales/logistics verticals, but operating at substantially higher salary bands and scale.
- Robert Half: Global professional staffing firm with a significant UK operation focused on finance, accounting, sales, and marketing permanent and contract placements. Comparable to HtE on sales recruitment methodology and UK SME/mid-market clients.
- Randstad UK: UK arm of global staffing leader Randstad, offering permanent, temporary, and contract staffing across hospitality, logistics, and commercial sectors. Comparable to HtE on UK hospitality and logistics verticals, though Randstad's scale and RPO capability vastly exceed HtE's.
- Adecco UK: UK division of global staffing group Adecco, providing permanent and temporary placement across industrial, hospitality, and commercial sectors. Comparable to HtE on UK hospitality and logistics talent pools, though Adecco's scale, temporary focus, and breadth are much larger.
Others
- Totaljobs: UK job board and recruitment platform serving candidates and employers across hospitality, logistics, sales, and IT. Not a direct recruiter but a competing candidate-sourcing channel that HtE's consultants compete against for employer spend and candidate attention.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HtE Recruitment social profiles
Digital presenceHtE Recruitment financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HtE Recruitment leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
HtE Recruitment funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HtE Recruitment M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HtE Recruitment
What does HtE Recruitment do?
HtE Recruitment is a UK-based national recruitment agency that sources permanent candidates for UK businesses across three core sectors — Hospitality & Catering, Logistics & FMCG, and Sales. It delivers recruitment via two distinct service models: HtE Select (a traditional finders service charging a default 12% fee of placed candidate's salary) and HtE Partner (a partnership model with reduced fees from 7% plus an engagement fee), with an additional subscription option (HTE Advantage) for clients hiring regularly. The firm operates from offices in Manchester and London, using sector-specialist UK-based consultants organised by division.
Is HtE Recruitment a public or private company?
HtE Recruitment is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was HtE Recruitment founded?
HtE Recruitment was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is HtE Recruitment based?
HtE Recruitment is headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does HtE Recruitment make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Traditional Finders Service (HtE Select) is the primary driver. The others are partner-Based Recruitment Model (HtE Partner) and subscription-Based Recruitment (HTE Advantage).
Who are HtE Recruitment's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Caterer.com and Blue Arrow. Broad incumbents are Reed, SThree, Hays, Michael Page, Robert Half, Randstad UK and Adecco UK. Totaljobs is listed as an others.
Does HtE Recruitment have an API?
No public API is recorded for HtE Recruitment.
What industry is HtE Recruitment in?
HtE Recruitment's product category is Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAD, Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire. Its NAICS code is 56131 and its SIC code is 7361.