Spinnaker
Spinnaker is a UK-based maritime recruitment and HR services firm founded in 1997, providing contingency recruitment, executive search, HR consulting, and salary benchmarking to shipowners, shipmanagers, oil majors, and P&I clubs globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersSouthend-on-sea, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Spinnaker does
Spinnaker is a UK-headquartered maritime recruitment and HR services firm operating since 1997 under Spinnaker Global Ltd (Leigh-on-Sea, Essex) with a Singapore subsidiary. The company specialises in permanent and temporary shore-based recruitment, executive search for C-suite and board roles, and HR consulting for shipowners, shipmanagers, oil majors, P&I clubs, and marine insurers across 80 countries. Its underlying technology consists of a recruitment database, CRM, CV management system, and cloud-based candidate-matching tools, supplemented by an industry-leading proprietary compensation dataset through the Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' Association that publishes the Daily Wage Cost Report.
The business monetises through four primary streams: employer-funded recruitment fees on successful placements (transaction model), retained executive search engagements (professional services), HR consulting and Learning & Development offerings including leadership programmes, personality profiling, DEI workshops, and maritime security courses (professional services), and subscription/annual salary benchmarking reports across shore-based, seafarer, cruise, and P&I categories (recurring). Job seekers access services at no charge while employers pay placement fees, creating a two-sided model reinforced by £1,000 referral incentives.
Spinnaker's go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, leveraging the world's largest maritime HR conference (Maritime People & Culture Conference), the 30 Under 30 talent initiative, the Changing Course blog/newsletter, and direct consultant engagement in key shipping hubs. The company remains privately owned with no disclosed external funding, operating as an SME with 11-50 employees and a diversified but vertically concentrated maritime enterprise customer base.
Spinnaker firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Spinnaker
- Legal name
- Spinnaker Global Ltd
- Website
- https://spinnaker-global.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Spinnaker is a UK-based maritime recruitment and HR services firm founded in 1997, providing contingency recruitment, executive search, HR consulting, and salary benchmarking to shipowners, shipmanagers, oil majors, and P&I clubs globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Spinnaker industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Maritime Recruitment Services
- NAICS
- Temporary Help Services (56132)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire (BPACAFAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Administrative, Clerical & Office Support Direct Hire (BPACAFAF), Tax, Payroll & Compensation Advisory for Relocation (HSAKAJAG)
Keywords
Where Spinnaker is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Southend-on-sea
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Spinnaker business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Recruitment Services (Employer-Funded): Spinnaker provides work finding services to job seekers at no charge, funded entirely by employer clients who pay recruitment fees when placements are made. The firm acts as an employment agency for permanent and temporary placements.
- Executive Search: Specialist executive search services for C-suite and senior leadership positions within maritime organisations, including non-executive roles for private and public shipping companies.
- HR Consulting Services: HR consulting services including leadership development, personality profiling, maritime training courses, higher education programmes, coaching & mentoring, and diversity & inclusion workshops.
- Salary Benchmarking Reports: Publication and sale of salary survey reports including Shore-based Salary Reports, Seafarer Wage Cost Reports, Cruise Salary Reports, and P&I Salary Reports, using anonymous aggregated compensation data.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Recruitment Services |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Refer-a-Friend Scheme |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Refer-a-Client Scheme |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Spinnaker product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Spinnaker provides specialist maritime recruitment (contingency permanent/temporary placements and executive search for C-suite and board roles) plus HR consulting, leadership development, training, and salary benchmarking services to the global shipping industry. Employer clients pay recruitment fees on successful placements, while the firm also publishes the Daily Wage Cost (DWC) Report through the Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' Association, offering the industry's largest total compensation benchmarking dataset.
Product overview
Spinnaker operates as a maritime recruitment and HR services company offering a comprehensive suite of people-related services to the shipping industry. The core offering consists of recruitment (contingency-based shore-based recruitment and executive search for senior roles) combined with HR consulting and support services. Spinnaker's product portfolio includes salary benchmarking products under the Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' Association brand, particularly the flagship Daily Wage Cost Report now in its 14th edition. Learning and development services encompass leadership development, personality profiling, maritime training courses, coaching, diversity initiatives, and maritime security courses. Events include the Maritime People & Culture Conference (the world's largest maritime HR conference) and the OSCAR Dragon Boat Race. The company also runs the 30 Under 30 initiative celebrating emerging maritime talent. An online job board platform supports jobseekers and employers in the maritime sector.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' Association: Industry association that publishes the Daily Wage Cost Report covering seafarer pay data across multiple vessel types and nationalities.
Products and services
- Shore-based Recruitment Full-service recruitment solutions for maritime companies seeking permanent or temporary shore-based staff across all sectors of the shipping industry.
- Executive Search Specialist executive-level recruitment for C-suite and board-level positions within private and public shipping companies.
- HR Support and Consulting Comprehensive HR consulting services including policy development, compliance support, and strategic HR guidance tailored for maritime organisations.
- Shore-based Salary Reports Annual salary benchmarking reports providing compensation data for shore-based maritime professionals across various sectors and locations.
- Daily Wage Cost (DWC) Report / Seafarer Wage Cost Reports The Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' Association's flagship seafarer pay benchmarking report. The 14th edition (2026) covers 115 nationalities, 53+ seafaring ranks, and 123,000+ lines of raw data with 9,800+ lines of verified pay data for all standard vessel types.
- Cruise Salary Reports Specialised wage cost reporting for cruise industry seafarers, part of the Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' Association research suite.
- P&I Salary Reports Compensation benchmarking reports for Protection & Indemnity (P&I) club professionals within the maritime insurance sector.
- Leadership Development Programme Professional development programmes designed to build leadership capabilities for maritime professionals at various career stages.
- Personality Profiling Psychometric assessment tools and personality profiling services to support recruitment selection and team development in maritime organisations.
- Maritime Training Courses Industry-specific training programmes covering maritime operations, safety, security and professional development for shipping professionals.
- Coaching & Mentoring One-to-one professional coaching and mentoring services for maritime professionals seeking career guidance and development.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Workshops Training and consultancy services helping maritime organisations build inclusive workplace cultures and meet DEI objectives.
- Maritime Security Courses Specialist security training programmes for maritime personnel covering vessel security, piracy awareness and maritime safety protocols.
Quantifiable outcome
- Successfully placed people in 80 countries worldwide
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Spinnaker
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Spinnaker technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Spinnaker partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' AssociationcoreSpinnaker manages the Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' Association, which produces the industry-leading Daily Wage Cost (DWC) Report. The 14th edition covers 115 nationalities, 53+ seafaring ranks, and 123,000+ data lines, making it one of the sector's most trusted benchmarks for seafarer pay.
- OSCAR CampaignminorCharitable initiative raising funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Spinnaker actively supports this campaign as part of its charitable and industry association work.
- Maritime LondonminorIndustry organisation supporting UK shipping. Spinnaker participates in and supports Maritime London's initiatives as part of its industry involvement.
- Maritime London Officer Cadet ScholarshipminorEducational scholarship programme supported by Spinnaker to develop future maritime talent and leadership.
- Women's International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA)minorInternational association for women in shipping and trading. Spinnaker supports WISTA as part of its diversity and inclusion initiatives and industry advocacy.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Spinnaker competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Robert Half International: Global staffing and consulting firm whose finance, accounting, and HR practices compete with Spinnaker for shore-based recruitment mandates at shipping companies.
- Reed Technology & Maritime: UK-headquartered generalist recruiter with specialist maritime, engineering, and HR teams competing for some of Spinnaker's shore-based permanent placement work.
- Michael Page International: Global professional services recruitment firm whose shipping and offshore practice targets the same permanent-placement and executive-search mandates as Spinnaker at a broader scale.
- Hays plc: Global generalist recruitment firm with established maritime/accounting/HR desks competing for the same enterprise budget as Spinnaker, particularly on shore-based finance, HR, and engineering roles.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with an industrial and transport practice that overlaps with Spinnaker's maritime executive search at the C-suite level for shipowners and P&I clubs.
Direct peers
- W Executive: Maritime executive search boutique delivering C-suite and senior leadership placements in shipping, offshore, and energy — overlaps directly with Spinnaker's Executive Search service line.
- Faststream Recruitment Group: UK-based maritime and offshore recruitment specialist focusing on permanent and contract placements across shipping, offshore energy, and marine technology — the closest direct head-to-head competitor to Spinnaker.
- Marine Resources Recruitment: UK maritime-focused recruiter placing technical, engineering, and operational professionals across shipyards, offshore, and commercial shipping — direct competitor in maritime permanent placement.
Others
- OSCAR Maritime People Network: Maritime industry networking and charitable organization partnered with Spinnaker (Dragon Boat Race, etc.) — ecosystem adjacency rather than direct competitor, but indicative of the community Spinnaker operates within.
Emerging players
- Select Offshore / Marlow Recruitment: Offshore and maritime personnel provider with focus on contracting and crew mobilization — competes with Spinnaker on technical/engineering and offshore maritime mandates.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Spinnaker social profiles
Digital presenceSpinnaker compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Spinnaker financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Spinnaker leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Spinnaker funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Spinnaker 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 Spinnaker
What does Spinnaker do?
Spinnaker provides specialist maritime recruitment (contingency permanent/temporary placements and executive search for C-suite and board roles) plus HR consulting, leadership development, training, and salary benchmarking services to the global shipping industry. Employer clients pay recruitment fees on successful placements, while the firm also publishes the Daily Wage Cost (DWC) Report through the Spinnaker Seafarers Employers' Association, offering the industry's largest total compensation benchmarking dataset.
Is Spinnaker a public or private company?
Spinnaker is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Spinnaker founded?
Spinnaker was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Spinnaker based?
Spinnaker is headquartered in Southend-on-sea, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Spinnaker make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Recruitment Services (Employer-Funded) is the primary driver. The others are executive Search, HR Consulting Services and salary Benchmarking Reports.
Who are Spinnaker's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Robert Half International, Reed Technology & Maritime, Michael Page International, Hays plc and Heidrick & Struggles. Direct peers are W Executive, Faststream Recruitment Group and Marine Resources Recruitment. OSCAR Maritime People Network is listed as an others. Select Offshore / Marlow Recruitment is listed as an emerging player.
Does Spinnaker have an API?
No public API is recorded for Spinnaker.
What industry is Spinnaker in?
Spinnaker's product category is Maritime Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAO, Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire, with a secondary code of BPACAFAF, Administrative, Clerical & Office Support Direct Hire. Its NAICS code is 56132 and its SIC code is 7361.