Thorn Baker Group

What Thorn Baker Group does

Thorn Baker Group is a UK private recruitment company operating under the legal entity Thorn Baker Ltd (Companies House No. 02470455), founded in 1988 and headquartered in Nottingham. The firm runs four specialist sub-brands — Thorn Baker Construction, Thorn Baker Industrial Recruitment, Thorn Baker Facilities Management (FM), and the newer Enhanced Facilities Management (EFM) division — delivering permanent and temporary staffing solutions to contractors, manufacturers, waste and recycling operators, logistics providers, and commercial FM buyers across England. Service is delivered through a 'Proven Process' six-step methodology (Engage, Discover, Attract, Select, Manage, Review) by dedicated Account Managers, with a stated national coverage model backed by nine staffed branch offices.

Underlying technology is a Volcanics CMS-powered recruitment CRM and job management platform running the thornbaker.co.uk website, with conventional session, authentication, and saved-jobs cookies handling candidate and employer interactions. No proprietary AI/ML tooling, public API, or mobile application is disclosed; the platform functions as a standard web-based recruitment management system rather than a differentiated software product.

Revenue is generated transactionally through permanent placement fees and temporary staffing margins, with timesheet-based billing across the three core verticals. The firm processed 80,000+ timesheets and handled 12,500 transactions in its central Group Services function during the most recent reporting period, and the FM division alone placed 6,000+ temporary workers in 2025. Pricing is quote-based for permanent roles and usage-based for temporary work, with published job-level rates ranging from £12.71/hour for entry-level industrial roles to £280-£300/day for skilled project managers. Distribution is direct (website plus branch-based Account Managers); no resellers, marketplace channels, or platform integrations are referenced. The customer base spans enterprise buyers in construction, industrial, and FM with no single named anchor account disclosed.

Name

Thorn Baker Group

Legal name

Thorn Baker Ltd

Website

https://thornbaker.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Thorn Baker Group is a UK private recruitment firm founded in 1988, operating four sub-brands (Construction, Industrial, FM, and EFM) to supply permanent and temporary staffing to contractors, manufacturers, and facilities management buyers across England via nine branches and a proprietary six-step 'Proven Process'.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (56132), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)

Keywords

• Construction recruitment services
• Industrial staffing solutions
• Facilities management recruitment
• Temporary staffing agency
• Permanent placement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Temporary/Permanent Placement Fees: Thorn Baker Group generates revenue by placing candidates in both permanent and temporary roles across Construction, Industrial, and Facilities Management. The company charges employers for finding suitable staff, with temporary placements involving timesheet-based billing. The company processed over 80,000 timesheets annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Thorn Baker Group is a UK recruitment agency that supplies permanent and temporary staff to employers across three specialist verticals: construction, industrial, and facilities management. It operates through dedicated Account Managers and a six-step 'Proven Process' methodology, processing over 80,000 timesheets annually and placing 6,000+ temporary candidates in 2025 alone through its FM division.

Product overview

Thorn Baker Group operates as a unified recruitment services company home to three specialist brands — Thorn Baker Construction, Industrial Recruitment, and Facilities Management (FM) — with an additional EFM division. Founded in 1988, the company provides flexible staffing solutions for permanent and temporary roles across the UK construction, industrial, and facilities management sectors. The group operates through their 'Proven Process,' a six-step recruitment methodology encompassing Engage, Discover, Attract, Select, Manage, and Review stages. Each brand serves its respective vertical while sharing group infrastructure including payroll, marketing, IT systems, credit control, audit & compliance, finance, and accounting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Thorn Baker Construction Specialist construction recruitment brand providing permanent and temporary staffing solutions for construction projects across the UK, including contractors, developers, and construction companies requiring staff for construction sites, commercial projects, refurbishments, and infrastructure work.
• Industrial Recruitment Specialist industrial sector recruitment brand offering staffing solutions for manufacturing, warehousing, waste & recycling, and other industrial operations, including onsite temporary and permanent placements.
• Facilities Management (FM) Specialist facilities management recruitment brand providing staffing for cleaning, maintenance, and FM services across commercial offices, healthcare, student accommodation, retail spaces, distribution centres, and public sector buildings.
• EFM (Enhanced Facilities Management) Enhanced facilities management recruitment division providing comprehensive FM staffing solutions as a step-up service tier within the Thorn Baker Group's facilities management offering.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,000+ temps placed in 2025 alone (FM division)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• REC (Recruitment & Employment Confederation)coreOthersThorn Baker Group holds REC accreditation/membership, demonstrating compliance with industry standards for recruitment practices in the UK.
• ApscocoreOthersThorn Baker Group holds Apsco membership, a professional body for recruitment companies providing compliance and best-practice standards.
• CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme)coreOthersCHAS accreditation demonstrates Thorn Baker's commitment to health and safety standards in contractor and recruitment vetting.
• Offsite AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThorn Baker Group participates in the Offsite Alliance, a partnership focused on the offsite construction sector connecting recruitment expertise with offsite building projects.
• GLAA (Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority)coreOthersThorn Baker Group works in partnership with the GLAA to raise awareness of labour exploitation and modern-day slavery risks, and trains its teams to identify signs of human trafficking.
• SedexcoreOthersSedex membership demonstrates Thorn Baker's commitment to ethical and responsible supply chain practices, supporting due diligence in labour standards.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Hays plc: Global FTSE-listed recruitment group with significant UK Construction & Property and Office Support divisions. Directly comparable as a multi-sector UK staffing incumbent, though substantially larger and more diversified than Thorn Baker.
• Reed Global: One of the largest UK-domestic recruitment agencies covering multiple sectors including construction, industrial, and commercial. Comparable as a broad UK staffing incumbent with national branch presence similar to Thorn Baker's three-brand model.
• Adecco Group UK: Global staffing leader with a substantial UK temporary staffing and permanent placement business across industrial, construction, and FM-adjacent sectors. Comparable as a multi-vertical UK staffing incumbent competing for similar client contracts.
• ManpowerGroup UK: Global workforce solutions provider with strong UK temporary staffing and permanent placement coverage in industrial and facilities management. Comparable incumbent competing for similar blue-collar and FM staffing contracts.
• Randstad UK: Major global staffing firm operating across industrial, construction, and office support in the UK. Comparable broad incumbent with overlapping verticals and similar permanent/temporary placement mix.
• Gi Group UK: International staffing group with a UK footprint covering industrial, construction, and FM sectors. Comparable broad incumbent offering similar permanent and temporary staffing services as Thorn Baker.

Direct peers

• Skilled Careers: UK specialist recruitment agency focused on construction, FM, and property services. Closely comparable to Thorn Baker as a vertical-specialist peer competing head-to-head for the same construction and FM temporary/permanent placements.
• Coyle Personnel: UK recruitment specialist serving construction, FM, and industrial sectors with a permanent and temporary placement model. Direct peer with similar sector mix and UK-only geographic focus to Thorn Baker.
• McGinley Support Services: UK infrastructure and construction recruitment specialist providing temporary and permanent staffing solutions. Direct peer competing for similar construction and infrastructure client contracts across the UK.
• Blue Arrow UK: UK-focused multi-sector recruitment and staffing agency covering industrial, driving, and office support. Comparable UK-centric specialist with overlapping temporary placement business in blue-collar and FM segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thornbaker
• Facebookfacebook.com/thornbakergroup

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Thorn Baker Group