Nine Twenty

What Nine Twenty does

Nine Twenty is a boutique UK recruitment agency founded in 2004 by Gordon Brown and headquartered in Glasgow, with a secondary office in Edinburgh. The firm specialises in STEM talent acquisition across four verticals: Technology, Digital, Marketing & Sales, and Engineering & Manufacturing (including Procurement and Supply Chain). It serves both enterprise clients (such as Microsoft Partners, hyperscale data centre operators, and global consumer brands) and mid-market employers (such as AI consultancies and specialist manufacturers) primarily in Scotland, the wider UK, and selectively across continental Europe. Nine Twenty also operates an in-house Employer Branding Digital Solutions team and recruits for both permanent and contract roles, with leadership including Chris Lowden (UK Director for Technology & Digital), Kerry McFarlane (Director of Marketing & Digital), and Carla McKenzie (Head of Sales Recruitment).

The company's core technology is Firefish, a cloud-based recruitment CRM and candidate database that stores CVs, contact details, salary expectations, notice periods, and role preferences for five years. This platform underpins candidate matching, job board operations, and application tracking. Nine Twenty's service portfolio spans Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), executive Search and Select, Employer Branding Digital Solutions (brand consultancy, web content, social media, SEO), and Data and Market Mapping Intelligence, positioning it beyond a pure contingency recruiter.

Revenue is generated primarily through contingency-based placement fees on permanent and contract hires, complemented by professional-services revenue from RPO and employer-branding engagements. Go-to-market is sales-led via direct employer engagement, supported by a self-serve candidate portal, LinkedIn sourcing, email marketing, blog content, and industry events. The firm is privately held with no disclosed external funding and no parent company, suggesting founder-led, bootstrapped growth across its 20+ year operating history.

Name

Nine Twenty

Legal name

Nine Twenty Recruitment Ltd

Website

https://weareninetwenty.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nine Twenty is a Glasgow-based boutique recruitment agency founded in 2004, specialising in STEM hiring across Technology, Digital, Marketing & Sales, and Engineering verticals for enterprise and mid-market employers across the UK and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment Services / Specialist Staffing

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Enterprise RPO (End-to-End Program Management) (BPACABAA), Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD), Onsite / Embedded RPO (In-House Recruiter Teams) (BPACABAD)

Keywords

• Stem recruitment services
• Technology recruitment agency
• Executive search services
• Recruitment process outsourcing
• Employer branding solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Recruitment Placement Fees: Contingency-based recruitment services placing permanent and contract candidates for employers, charging success-based fees upon successful placement.
2. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO): Comprehensive outsourced recruitment solutions tailored to organizational goals and talent acquisition strategy.
3. Employer Branding Digital Solutions: In-house digital branding services including brand consultancy, web content, press releases, creative imagery, social media campaigns, blog content, and SEO services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nine Twenty is a boutique recruitment agency that places permanent and contract technology, digital, marketing, sales, and engineering candidates into UK and European employers. Its portfolio spans contingency Search and Select placements, end-to-end Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), in-house Employer Branding Digital Solutions, and Data and Market Mapping Intelligence, all powered by the Firefish cloud recruitment platform.

Product overview

Nine Twenty is a boutique STEM specialist recruitment agency founded in 2004, operating from Glasgow and Edinburgh with a presence across Europe. The company offers a portfolio of four specialist verticals covering Engineering, Technology, Procurement/Supply Chain, and Digital/Marketing sectors. Their core services include Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Search and Select, Employer Branding Digital Solutions, and Data and Market Mapping Intelligence. The agency runs on Firefish Recruitment Software, a cloud-based candidate management platform that powers their job board, candidate matching, and application tracking capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) End-to-end outsourced recruitment where Nine Twenty takes ownership of the full hiring process on behalf of client organisations, tailored to their talent acquisition strategy and organisational goals.
• Search and Select Specialist executive search service that identifies and places senior-level and leadership candidates across the Technology, Digital, Marketing & Sales, and Engineering sectors.
• Employer Branding Digital Solutions In-house digital branding offering covering brand consultancy, web content, copywriting, press releases, creative imagery, social media campaigns, blog content, creative solutions, and SEO to enhance employer brand and attract top talent.
• Data and Market Mapping Intelligence Market intelligence and data analytics service that provides structured insights to support strategic hiring decisions and workforce planning.

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FirefishRecruitment SoftwarecoreTechnology or IntegrationFirefishRecruitment Software is used as the underlying recruitment CRM and candidate database management platform. It is a cloud-based system where candidate details including CVs, contact information, salary expectations, and role preferences are securely stored. The platform maintains candidate records for 5 years.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SThree: Global STEM specialist recruiter operating multiple brands across technology, engineering, and life sciences. Comparable to Nine Twenty in STEM vertical focus and contract/permanent placement model, though significantly larger and publicly listed.
• Computer Futures: Technology recruitment specialist covering software development, cloud, data, and infrastructure roles across the UK and Europe. Direct overlap with Nine Twenty's Technology & Digital vertical and enterprise client base.
• Harvey Nash: UK-headquartered technology and professional services recruiter with RPO and executive search offerings. Overlaps directly with Nine Twenty's mix of placement, RPO, and Search and Select across technology and digital.
• Cobalt Recruitment: UK boutique recruitment firm specialising in property, construction, and engineering sectors. Comparable boutique-scale specialist model with vertical focus, overlapping with Nine Twenty's engineering and manufacturing vertical.
• Lorien: UK-based specialist technology and digital recruitment firm offering permanent, contract, and RPO services. Closest direct peer to Nine Twenty given shared STEM/digital focus, UK/European footprint, and multi-vertical model.

Emerging players

• FRG Technology Consulting: Specialist technology recruitment and consulting firm active in the UK and Europe. Comparable boutique positioning to Nine Twenty with overlapping enterprise technology and digital transformation mandates.

Broad incumbents

• Michael Page: Large multi-vertical professional recruiter with dedicated technology, engineering, and marketing practices. Competes with Nine Twenty across multiple verticals but with substantially greater brand recognition and candidate flow.
• Reed Technology: UK's largest domestic recruitment brand with a strong technology practice and a national branch network. Provides overlap with Nine Twenty's technology recruitment and employer branding services, though at much greater scale.
• Robert Walters: Established UK-listed professional recruitment firm with technology, engineering, and marketing practices. Comparable in service breadth but operates at significantly greater scale and geographic reach than Nine Twenty.
• Hays: Global recruitment incumbent with deep UK presence across technology, engineering, and professional services. Competes with Nine Twenty in most verticals but at much larger scale and with broader geographic coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Nin9Twenty
• Facebookfacebook.com/Nin9Twenty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Nine Twenty