Eye Connect UK

What Eye Connect UK does

Eye Connect UK Ltd is a UK-based, founder-owned recruitment agency founded in 2009 and headquartered in Derby. The company specializes exclusively in optical and audiology staffing, offering both locum (temporary) and permanent placement services to practices across the United Kingdom, alongside a Practice Selling Service that brokers ownership transitions to candidates within its network. Its operating model is sales-led and service-intensive: three co-founders (Wendy Raphael, Andy Titterton, Vicky Haswell) with over 50 years of combined recruitment experience personally manage relationships with both client practices and candidate professionals, supported by 24/7 availability and a regionally-segmented consultant structure covering all UK regions including remote areas such as Norfolk, Cornwall, Avon, and Wales.

The company's core technology consists of a proprietary 'bespoke portable database' holding over 6,000 locum professionals and native iOS and Android mobile applications that enable self-service booking and candidate management. These technology assets supplement rather than replace the consultant-led service. Data hosting is delivered from an ISO 27001-certified EEA datacenter, and the firm is GDPR-compliant. Revenue is generated on a transaction-fee basis, with placement commissions from matching candidates to client practices; pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Eye Connect UK distributes through direct consultant relationships, app-based self-service, and website registration portals, while credibility is reinforced by partnerships with the Association of Optometrists, ABDO, General Optical Council, College of Optometrists, and The British Society of Audiology, plus a charitable relationship with Vision Care for Homeless People. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investment, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and headcount in the 1-10 range. No acquisitions, funding rounds, or leadership changes have been recorded.

Name

Eye Connect UK

Legal name

Eye Connect UK Ltd

Website

https://eyeconnectuk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Eye Connect UK is a UK-based, founder-owned recruitment agency founded in 2009 that specializes exclusively in optical and audiology locum and permanent placements, serving practices and individual professionals nationwide via a 6,000+ candidate database and mobile app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Derby

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

Revenue model

1. Recruitment Placement Fees: Revenue generated from placing locum and permanent optical and audiology professionals with client practices. Fees likely structured as placement commissions based on candidate placement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Eye Connect UK is a specialist recruitment agency placing optical and audiology professionals into UK practices on both locum and permanent contracts. The agency is supported by a proprietary portable database of more than 6,000 locum professionals and an iOS/Android mobile booking application that enables practices and candidates to view and manage bookings. Consultants deliver personalised 24/7 service across England, Scotland and Wales, with additional support for practice sales between optical owners and qualified buyers.

Product overview

Eye Connect UK offers a unified recruitment platform and mobile application for the Optical and Audiology recruitment sector. The core offering consists of the Eye Connect UK Recruitment Platform, which leverages a bespoke database of over 6,000 locum professionals to match candidates with practices for both locum and permanent placements. This is complemented by a mobile app available on iOS and Android that enables app-based booking. Additionally, the company provides a Practice Selling Service to help practice owners transition their businesses to qualified professionals within their network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Locum Recruitment Placement Service Recruitment of locum optical and audiology professionals (optometrists, contact lens opticians, dispensing opticians, audiologists, wax clinicians, support staff) for short-term, last-minute and block bookings at UK practices, including remote regions. Supported by a bespoke database of 6,000+ locum professionals and 24/7 consultant service.
• Permanent Placement Service Recruitment of optical and audiology professionals into permanent roles at independent and multiple practices across the UK, leveraging the agency's candidate database and industry insight to deliver best-fit matches and vacancy advertising.
• Eye Connect UK Mobile App Mobile application available on iOS and Android that allows locum candidates and practice clients to register, view available opportunities and manage bookings, providing self-service access to the recruitment platform.
• Practice Selling Service Specialist brokerage service that connects optical practice owners wishing to sell their business with self-financed locum professionals from Eye Connect UK's network who are seeking practice ownership, supporting business continuity with like-minded professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,000+ locum professionals nationwide
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Association of OptometristsminorOthersIndustry body partnership providing credibility and referral network for optometry professionals.
• ABDO (Association of British Dispensing Opticians)minorOthersPartnership with professional body for dispensing opticians, enhancing recruitment credibility in the field.
• General Optical CouncilminorOthersRegulatory body partnership ensuring compliance and standards in optical sector recruitment.
• College of OptometristsminorOthersProfessional body partnership for optometrists supporting recruitment expertise and industry standing.
• The British Society of AudiologyminorOthersPartnership with audiology professional body supporting recruitment in the audiology sector.
• Vision Care for Homeless PeopleminorOthersCharitable partnership providing eye care services to homeless people, demonstrating corporate social responsibility.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Prospect Health: Prospect Health is a UK-based recruitment agency focused on optical, dental, pharmaceutical and allied health professionals, operating locum and permanent placement services very similar to Eye Connect UK's core offering.
• Liquid Personnel: Liquid Personnel is a UK healthcare and social-care recruitment specialist with locum and permanent coverage, operating a comparable vertical-specialist recruitment model targeting clinical practice customers.
• Compass Associates: Compass Associates is a UK specialist healthcare recruitment firm covering audiology, optical, and clinical sectors with both locum and permanent placements, directly comparable to Eye Connect UK's vertical focus and customer base.
• Eclectic Recruitment: Eclectic Recruitment is a UK agency that places optical and healthcare professionals, operating a similar vertical-specialist recruitment model with both locum and permanent coverage relevant to Eye Connect UK's customer segments.
• Medical Solutions (UK): Medical Solutions UK provides locum and permanent recruitment across optical, pharmacy and dental healthcare, sharing Eye Connect UK's niche vertical recruitment model and locum database-driven approach.

Broad incumbents

• Reed: Reed is one of the UK's largest generalist recruitment agencies with dedicated healthcare divisions covering locum and permanent clinical roles, representing a broad incumbent that competes across multiple verticals including optical staffing.
• Michael Page Healthcare: Michael Page's healthcare division recruits across UK clinical and allied-health roles including optical and audiology, positioning it as a broad incumbent competitor with deeper resourcing and brand reach than Eye Connect UK.
• Hays: Hays is a global recruitment firm with a strong UK healthcare and life-sciences practice, providing locum and permanent clinical placements that overlap with Eye Connect UK's optical and audiology recruiting activity.

Emerging players

• Indeed Flex: Indeed Flex is an app-first staffing marketplace for temporary and locum work that increasingly targets healthcare verticals, representing an emerging digital-first threat to traditional specialist recruiters like Eye Connect UK.

Others

• Optometry Today Jobs Board: Optometry Today Jobs Board is the Association of Optometrists' recruitment portal connecting practices with optical professionals, functioning as an adjacent industry channel that competes with recruiters for direct client-to-candidate placement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Eyeconnectuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eye-connect-uk

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Eye Connect UK