Sanctuary Graduates

What Sanctuary Graduates does

Sanctuary Graduates (legal entity Sanctuary Search Ltd) is a UK-based graduate recruitment agency and early careers specialist operating since 2003. The company connects employers with graduate, intern, apprentice, and school-leaver talent through a web-based job board (sanctuarygraduates.co.uk) backed by a segmented talent database of 250,000+ candidates. Its core technology is the candidate database and email-targeting platform, augmented by ATS integration, microsite creation for employer clients, and brand ambassador tooling — there is no proprietary AI or ML stack. Distribution is built on physical campus relationships: 120+ university partnerships (including 59 formal careers service agreements and 1,000+ academic department partners), 4,000+ UK school connections, and 250+ student societies that the agency pays per engagement.

The company operates a B2B sales-led model, charging employers for recruitment services, campus attraction campaigns, targeted email marketing, brand ambassador programmes, and diversity events. Student registration and use of the job board is free. Employer pricing is not publicly disclosed but is consistent with per-hire, project, or retainer structures typical of UK recruitment agencies. Sanctuary has won multiple industry awards including the Recruiter Awards 2025 DE&I Service Excellence, OnRec Awards 2025 Best Early Careers Strategy, and ISE Awards 2023 Best Single Purpose Attraction, and is an official partner of The Sutton Trust since Autumn 2024.

The business is privately held and founder-led by Managing Director Tom Freeman, with operational headquarters in Norwich and a registered office in London. Headcount sits in the 11-50 band with a named team of around 13 spanning account management, client partnerships, marketing, university network management, and recruitment specialism. Employer clients include Goldman Sachs, KPMG, Cisco, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, British Airways, National Grid, AWE, Markel, Baillie Gifford, Hiscox, M&G, Police Now, and the National Audit Office, spanning financial services, legal, technology, engineering, aerospace, government, transport, and consulting.

Name

Sanctuary Graduates

Legal name

Sanctuary Search Ltd

Website

https://sanctuarygraduates.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sanctuary Graduates is a UK graduate recruitment agency connecting employers with graduate, intern, and apprentice talent via a 250,000+ candidate database and 120+ university partnerships, with a particular focus on diversity and social mobility recruitment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Work-Based Learning Programs (Internships, Apprenticeships, Community-Based Instruction) (EDAKANAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mentorship & Coaching (Career, Academic, Industry-Specific) (EDAMAKAA), Alumni, Peer & Community Networking Programs (EDAMAKAM)

Keywords

• Graduate recruitment
• Early careers hiring
• Campus recruitment
• Diversity recruitment
• Apprenticeship recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Employer Recruitment Services: Sanctuary Graduates charges employers for recruitment services including graduate/intern/apprentice placement, campus attraction campaigns, targeted email marketing, brand ambassador programs, diversity events, and outsourced attraction partner services. Registration for job seekers is free. Revenue is derived from fees paid by employer clients, likely on a per-hire, project, or retainer basis typical of recruitment agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sanctuary Graduates is a UK-based graduate, intern, and apprentice recruitment agency that connects employers with early-careers talent through a campus network spanning 120+ universities, 4,000+ schools, and 250+ student societies. Service offerings include recruitment campaigns, targeted email marketing, campus brand ambassadors, diversity consulting and events, and outsourced attraction strategy. Employers are charged for these professional services while students register free.

Product overview

Sanctuary Graduates operates as a unified graduate recruitment platform offering a coordinated suite of early careers services. The core offering centers on Recruitment Services (graduate, intern, and apprentice placement), supported by Campus Networks (120+ university partnerships, 4,000+ school connections, 250+ student societies), Diversity Experts Consulting, and Attraction Partner Services. Sub-products include Campus Brand Ambassadors for on-campus promotion, Diversity Events for inclusive hiring initiatives, and Targeted Email Marketing for precise student outreach. These services work together as an integrated recruitment solution rather than modular add-ons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recruitment Services Core graduate, intern, and apprentice recruitment service connecting employers with early-careers talent through Sanctuary's campus networks, 250,000+ segmented candidate database, and targeted campaigns.
• Campus Brand Ambassadors Programme in which student brand ambassadors represent employer clients on UK campuses, promoting job opportunities and employer brands directly to their peer networks.
• Diversity Events Inclusive events and conferences focused on diversity and social mobility in early careers, including the Social Mobility in Early Careers Conference co-hosted with The Sutton Trust.
• Targeted Email Marketing Email marketing service reaching students at UK universities and schools based on demographic, academic, and career-interest targeting, leveraging Sanctuary's campus network relationships.
• Attraction Partner Services Outsourced university and school marketing strategy service for employers, including content creation, paid social, media buying, microsite creation, and campus outreach.
• Diversity Experts Consulting Consulting advisory on diversity recruitment, including contextualised recruitment practices, disability adjustments support, and D&I monitoring/measurement for employer clients.
• Campus Networks Access to Sanctuary's partnership network covering 120+ UK universities, 4,000+ schools, and 250+ student societies, enabling employers to engage targeted student audiences for early-careers hiring.

Quantifiable outcome

• Drove 574 female graduate applications in a 13-day campaign for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, winning the ISE Best Single Purpose Attraction Award 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers31 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Sutton TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Sanctuary Graduates is an official partner of The Sutton Trust (since Autumn 2024, having supported the Social Mobility Foundation for many years prior). The partnership provides access to the latest social mobility research, knowledge, and expertise. Together they deliver diversity conferences for early careers, university, and D&I professionals. The Sutton Trust student panel contributes lived-experience voices to Sanctuary's events and programmes.
• ISE (Institute of Student Employers)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerISE is the professional body for student employers. Sanctuary Graduates is listed as an ISE member and has won multiple ISE Awards for recruitment campaigns. The relationship is primarily through award participation and industry membership.
• 120+ UK UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSanctuary Graduates has built relationships with over 120 UK universities through careers service partnerships and department-level agreements, enabling email outreach to any student at any university. Universities benefit from employer connections and funding for social mobility initiatives.
• 4,000+ UK Schools and CollegescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe company has built reliable access to students at over 4,000 schools and colleges across the UK, working with heads of careers, heads of Y13, and heads of 6th form to reach prospective apprentices and graduates.
• 250+ Student SocietiescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSanctuary partners with over 250 diverse student societies (BAME, Women in STEM, 93% Club, ACS, and others) across UK campuses. Societies share employer opportunities via email and social media in exchange for payment per engagement, extending Sanctuary's reach into targeted student communities.
• Farrer & CominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarrer & Co hosted the Social Mobility in Early Careers Conference 2025 co-organised with The Sutton Trust. The partnership provided the venue for the event.
• KokoonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMD Thomas Freeman appeared as a guest on Kokoon's 'People Unplugged' Podcast to discuss retention, social mobility, and Gen Z expectations, providing thought leadership content for Sanctuary.
• Carpmaels & RansfordminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSanctuary attended a Carpmaels & Ransford event where students collaborated with the firm, strengthening the relationship with this employer client.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Reed (Reed.co.uk / Reed Specialist Recruitment): Reed is a major UK generalist recruitment and job board platform with significant graduate and early-careers volume. It competes with Sanctuary on employer brand visibility and candidate access but as part of a much broader recruitment portfolio rather than as an early-careers specialist.
• Handshake: Handshake is the dominant US-headquartered early-careers recruitment platform connecting students with employers across universities. While Sanctuary focuses on the UK with bespoke DE&I campaigns, Handshake competes for the same employer budget on a much larger scale and is increasingly expanding into UK campuses.
• Hays Early Careers: Hays is one of the largest UK recruitment firms with a dedicated Early Careers practice that places graduates, interns, and apprentices across sectors. It is a broad incumbent competing with Sanctuary on enterprise early-careers mandates but lacks Sanctuary's specialist DE&I and campus-network positioning.

Emerging players

• Prospects (Prospects.ac.uk): Prospects is a UK graduate careers website operated on behalf of higher education careers services, providing job listings, advice, and events to students and graduates. It is a partial competitor on the candidate side and increasingly partners with employers on early-careers campaigns.
• Even (geteven.com): Even is a skills-based hiring platform that helps employers find candidates based on skills and potential rather than pedigree, with a focus on early-careers and underrepresented talent. It overlaps with Sanctuary's contextualised recruitment and DE&I use cases and represents an emerging technology-driven alternative in the same employer budget pool.

Direct peers

• Target Jobs: Target Jobs is a long-established UK graduate recruitment platform serving employers and students with job listings, advice, and employer branding. It competes with Sanctuary Graduates on the same UK campus channel and for the same early-careers employer budgets.
• Bright Network: Bright Network is a UK early-careers platform connecting ambitious students and graduates with employers through events, content, and recruitment campaigns. It is a direct peer to Sanctuary in the UK graduate recruitment space with a similar focus on employer-led student engagement.
• Milkround: Milkround is a UK-focused graduate recruitment media and job board that connects employers with students and graduates. It is the closest direct competitor to Sanctuary Graduates' core job board and employer attraction offering, though Milkround is more media-led while Sanctuary emphasises bespoke campaigns and DE&I.
• Graduate Fog: Graduate Fog is a UK graduate careers advice and recruitment platform reaching students with job opportunities and employer content. It overlaps with Sanctuary's candidate-facing job board and career resources for UK graduates and students.
• RateMyPlacement: RateMyPlacement is a UK-focused platform for student internships, placements, and graduate roles with employer reviews and career content. It overlaps with Sanctuary on internship and industrial placement recruitment for the same UK student audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SanctuaryGrads
• Facebookfacebook.com/sanctuarygrads
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sanctuary-search

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Sanctuary Graduates