C2 Recruitment
C2 Recruitment is a UK specialist recruitment consultancy founded in 2008 that places permanent candidates across retail operations, hospitality, head office functions, and the charity sector, serving national chains, global retailers, independents, and non-profits from offices in Shrewsbury, London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersShrewsbury, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What C2 Recruitment does
C2 Recruitment is a UK-based specialist recruitment consultancy founded in 2008 and headquartered in Shrewsbury, with additional offices in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. The company places permanent candidates into retail operations, hospitality and leisure, head office functions (Buying, Merchandising, Marketing, E-Commerce, HR, Finance, Supply Chain), senior and executive roles, and, through the C2 Charity Recruitment sub-brand, the non-profit sector. It serves a mix of national chains, global retailers, fast-growing independents, and charities across the UK and Ireland, with named enterprise clients including Retail & Asset Solutions (RAS), Fuelcare, Garden House Hospice Trading, and Saint Francis Hospice.
The business operates on a traditional consultancy model. Its core revenue stream is permanent placement fees, typically structured as a percentage of placed candidates' annual salaries, supplemented by an Online Job Advertising service that lets employers distribute vacancies through C2's candidate network. The firm runs a candidate-facing job portal with sector and location filtering, LinkedIn integration, and a Stream.co (Wagestream) partnership that provides placed workers with early wage access. Technology is described as standard recruitment software with no proprietary platform or disclosed AI/ML capability. Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative on the B2B side (dedicated client services team, face-to-face relationship management through the regional office network) combined with self-serve vacancy submission and direct candidate applications. The company is privately held, self-funded, and founder/owner-operated under Managing Director Shane Hawkins, with no disclosed external investment.
C2 Recruitment firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- C2 Recruitment
- Legal name
- C2 Recruitment Ltd
- Website
- https://c2recruitment.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- C2 Recruitment is a UK specialist recruitment consultancy founded in 2008 that places permanent candidates across retail operations, hospitality, head office functions, and the charity sector, serving national chains, global retailers, independents, and non-profits from offices in Shrewsbury, London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
C2 Recruitment industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recruitment Services
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG)
Keywords
Where C2 Recruitment is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Shrewsbury
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
C2 Recruitment business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Permanent Placement Recruitment: Recruitment fees charged to employers for successfully placed candidates. Typically a percentage of the annual salary for the hired position. This is the primary revenue stream for filling permanent positions across retail, hospitality, and charity sectors.
- Online Job Advertising: Package and service offerings for employers to advertise vacancies on the C2 Recruitment platform and across job boards.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
C2 Recruitment product offering
Product offeringCore offering
C2 Recruitment is a UK-based recruitment consultancy that delivers permanent placement, executive search, and volume hiring services for employers across the retail, hospitality, leisure, and charity sectors. The firm recruits at all levels, covering stores, multi-site operations, and head office functions including Buying, Merchandising, Marketing, E-Commerce, HR, Finance, and Supply Chain. It serves national chains, global retailers, and fast-growing independents across the UK and Ireland.
Product overview
C2 Recruitment operates as a unified recruitment services platform offering three distinct but complementary offerings: its core C2 Recruitment brand provides specialist retail, hospitality, and head office recruitment services across the UK since 2008; the C2 Charity Recruitment sub-brand extends these capabilities to the non-profit sector; and an Online Job Advertising service enables employers to distribute vacancies through the company's candidate network. Together these form an integrated hiring solution spanning executive search, permanent placement, and volume recruitment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- C2 Recruitment (Retail, Hospitality & Head Office Recruitment) Bespoke permanent placement and recruitment consultancy for employers in UK retail, hospitality, leisure, and head office functions, recruiting across stores, multi-site operations, and disciplines including Buying, Merchandising, Marketing, E-Commerce, HR, Finance, and Supply Chain.
- C2 Charity Recruitment
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 90% client retention through recommendations
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use C2 Recruitment
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
C2 Recruitment technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
C2 Recruitment partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- RAS Supply Chain IntegritycoreC2 Recruitment places significant volume of warehouse stock auditor, mobile auditor, and warehouse team leader roles on behalf of RAS Supply Chain Integrity. RAS is described as 'the globe's only end-to-end stock audit provider' trusted by major retailers. Multiple job postings across UK locations (Livingston, Aylesford, Southampton, Belfast, etc.) indicate substantial ongoing recruitment partnership.
- Retail & Asset SolutionscoreMajor client relationship with over 60 years in audit and stocktaking industry. C2 recruits retail merchandisers, pharmacy stock counters, pharmacy stock drivers, and retail stock replenishers for RAS. With revenues of over £38m and approximately 3,500 employees, RAS is one of C2's largest clients. Job listings indicate hundreds of active positions across UK.
- Saint Francis HospiceminorC2 Recruitment places Head of Finance and other positions for Saint Francis Hospice. Charity sector recruitment partnership supporting hospice operations.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
C2 Recruitment competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Reed: One of the UK's largest generalist recruitment firms with a broad permanent placement offering. Comparable as a competitor on volume hiring across multiple sectors C2 serves.
- Office Angels: Established UK recruitment brand (part of PageGroup-adjacent ecosystem) offering office and support function recruitment. Comparable as a broad UK recruiter overlapping C2's head office function placements.
- Michael Page: Global recruitment consultancy with a dedicated UK retail and consumer practice. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping executive search and head office recruitment capability.
- Hays: Global professional recruitment firm with UK coverage across multiple sectors including retail and hospitality. Comparable broad incumbent competing with C2 on multi-discipline head office placements.
- Robert Half: Global recruitment firm with strong UK presence in finance, HR, and operations. Comparable on cross-sector professional hiring mandates that overlap C2's head office function placements.
- Adecco UK: Global staffing leader with UK retail and hospitality coverage. Comparable broad incumbent competing on volume placements and enterprise RPO contracts in C2's core sectors.
Direct peers
- Quest Search & Selection: UK-based specialist recruitment consultancy focused on the retail, fashion, and consumer goods sectors. Directly comparable to C2 in vertical specialization, candidate profile, and B2B consultative sales motion.
- Berkeley Scott: UK specialist recruiter focused on hospitality, leisure, and catering sectors. Comparable to C2's hospitality and leisure vertical with a similar relationship-driven, sector-expert consulting model.
- Blue Arrow: UK staffing and recruitment provider with significant retail, logistics, and warehousing coverage. Comparable in the volume retail support and warehouse placement segment where C2 partners with RAS.
- Fashion Field Recruitment: UK specialist recruiter focused on fashion, retail, and head office appointments. Direct peer to C2's retail and luxury retail recruitment practice with similar candidate pool and client base.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
C2 Recruitment social profiles
Digital presenceC2 Recruitment financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
C2 Recruitment leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
C2 Recruitment funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
C2 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 C2 Recruitment
What does C2 Recruitment do?
C2 Recruitment is a UK-based recruitment consultancy that delivers permanent placement, executive search, and volume hiring services for employers across the retail, hospitality, leisure, and charity sectors. The firm recruits at all levels, covering stores, multi-site operations, and head office functions including Buying, Merchandising, Marketing, E-Commerce, HR, Finance, and Supply Chain. It serves national chains, global retailers, and fast-growing independents across the UK and Ireland.
Is C2 Recruitment a public or private company?
C2 Recruitment is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was C2 Recruitment founded?
C2 Recruitment was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is C2 Recruitment based?
C2 Recruitment is headquartered in Shrewsbury, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does C2 Recruitment make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Permanent Placement Recruitment is the primary driver. The others are online Job Advertising.
Who are C2 Recruitment's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Reed, Office Angels, Michael Page, Hays, Robert Half and Adecco UK. Direct peers are Quest Search & Selection, Berkeley Scott, Blue Arrow and Fashion Field Recruitment.
Does C2 Recruitment have an API?
No public API is recorded for C2 Recruitment.
What industry is C2 Recruitment in?
C2 Recruitment's product category is Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAKAG, Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops). Its NAICS code is 561311 and its SIC code is 7361.