What Stopgap does

Stopgap is a London-headquartered recruitment agency founded in 1993, specializing exclusively in marketing, digital, creative, and technology placements. It positions itself as the first UK recruitment firm dedicated to this sector and serves both employers (ranging from SMBs hiring their first marketer to enterprises seeking executive appointments) and candidates (from entry-level to C-suite) through sector-specialist consultants. The core technology is a recruitment platform with job posting, candidate registration, and a proprietary Salary Survey Tool for benchmarking by title, experience, sector, and UK location.

The firm monetizes via transaction fees across four primary streams: permanent placements (contingency or exclusive), freelance/temporary placements with payroll services, executive search under the Stopgap Executive sub-brand, and a lower-cost Advertise & Filter self-managed option. Its go-to-market is consultative and direct, using sector-specialist consultants across agencies, finance & fintech, healthcare & life sciences, technology & digital, consumer/entertainment/sport, and public/not-for-profit verticals. Distribution is handled via direct sales, inside sales, a candidate self-serve portal, and content-led community engagement through a blog, weekly newsletter, podcast, and CIM Marketing Excellence Awards sponsorship.

In November 2021, Stopgap transitioned to an Employee Owned Trust (EOT) structure, removing traditional founder/PE ownership and aligning incentives with employees. The firm has a wholly-owned subsidiary, Stopgap Australia, providing the same specialist proposition in Oceania. There are no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and no public revenue figures.

Name

Stopgap

Legal name

Stopgap

Website

https://stopgap.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stopgap is a UK Employee Owned Trust recruitment agency founded in 1993, specializing in marketing, digital, creative, and technology placements across permanent, freelance, and executive search services, serving employers from SMBs to global enterprises with sector-specialist consultants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing & Digital Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire (BPACAFAO)

Keywords

• Marketing recruitment services
• Digital talent staffing
• Executive search marketing
• Freelance marketing staffing
• Creative recruitment agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Permanent Recruitment Placements: Contingency or exclusive recruitment fees for placing candidates in permanent marketing, digital, and creative roles. The company works with employers from small businesses to large enterprises seeking to build marketing and digital teams.
2. Freelance/Temporary Placements: Placement of freelance and contract workers for temporary assignments, covering absence, project work, or rapid growth needs. The company also offers payroll services for freelance and temporary appointments.
3. Executive Search: Bespoke executive-level recruitment service for senior appointments including Marketing Directors, CMOs, Business Directors, and Client Directors. Uses traditional headhunting techniques, social searching, and their executive network.
4. Advertise & Filter Service: SEO-optimized job advertising across key job boards with application filtering, offered at a fraction of typical recruitment advertising costs for clients who want to manage hiring themselves.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Stopgap is a UK-based recruitment agency that places marketing, digital, creative, and technology professionals into permanent, freelance, and executive roles on behalf of employers. Its service portfolio covers permanent placements, freelance/contract staffing (with payroll), executive search through Stopgap Executive, and an Advertise & Filter self-managed hiring option, supported by a proprietary salary survey tool.

Product overview

Stopgap is a marketing, digital, and creative recruitment agency offering a portfolio of services including Permanent Recruitment, Freelance Recruitment, Stopgap Executive (executive search), and Advertise & Filter. The agency operates across multiple sector specialisms (Agencies, Finance & Fintech, Healthcare, Technology, Consumer, etc.) and job disciplines (Digital Marketing, Creative, E-commerce, CRM, etc.). Additional offerings include a Salary Survey Tool for market benchmarking and Candidate Advice Guides. The company was founded in 1993 and operates from London, UK with an associated office in Australia. Stopgap functions as a service-based recruitment firm rather than a technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stopgap Executive: Bespoke executive search service for senior level appointments including Marketing or Digital Directors, CMOs, Business or Client Directors, and marketing consultants.

Products and services

• Permanent Recruitment Long-term team player placements through contingent or exclusive consultative recruitment for employers expanding, diversifying, or replacing skills in marketing, digital, creative, and technology roles.
• Freelance Recruitment Temporary and freelance resource provision for clients covering absence, project-based work, or rapid growth, including payroll services for freelancers and contractors.
• Stopgap Executive Bespoke executive search service for senior-level appointments including Marketing Director, Digital Director, CMO, Business Director, Client Director, and project-based marketing consultants, using headhunting, social searching, and the executive network.
• Advertise & Filter SEO-optimized job advert writing, multi-job board posting, and application filtering service offered at a fraction of typical recruitment advertising costs for clients with limited recruitment budgets who prefer to manage hiring internally.

Quantifiable outcome

• First recruitment team to focus on marketing, agency, creative and digital since 1993

Named customers6 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Stopgap AustraliacoreOthersInternational extension of Stopgap's specialized marketing and digital recruitment services operating in Australia under the same brand and values. Provides cross-border recruitment capabilities for clients and candidates with international requirements.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Major Players: UK specialist recruitment agency focused on digital, marketing, creative, and tech roles across permanent, contract, and executive placements — directly comparable to Stopgap's core offering and target customer base.
• Salt: Global digital recruitment agency placing marketing, digital, technology, and creative professionals — directly competes with Stopgap in the UK marketing/digital niche and shares a similar specialist positioning.
• DNA Recruit: UK recruitment agency specialising in marketing, digital, creative, and PR talent — a head-to-head competitor with Stopgap serving similar agency and in-house clients across permanent and freelance roles.
• Aspire: Specialist recruitment firm for marketing, digital, technology, and sales talent across the UK — comparable to Stopgap in service mix, sector coverage, and candidate disciplines targeted.
• Creative Personnel: UK creative and marketing recruitment agency placing candidates across agency and in-house roles — overlaps significantly with Stopgap's creative and marketing disciplines and client base.

Broad incumbents

• Michael Page: Global generalist recruiter with a sizeable marketing, digital, and creative practice — competes for the same mid-to-senior marketing roles as Stopgap but offers far broader sector coverage and scale.
• Hays: Large global recruitment group with marketing and digital specialisms — provides overlap with Stopgap's service lines while operating across many other disciplines and geographies at scale.
• Robert Walters: International professional recruitment firm with established marketing, digital, and creative practices — competes with Stopgap Executive for senior marketing appointments while serving a much wider remit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/christine-houston-adams-9066806a
• Instagraminstagram.com/stopgap_recruitment/?hl=en
• Xx.com/stopgap

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Stopgap