What Calibre Search does

Calibre Search Ltd is a UK-headquartered specialist recruitment consultancy serving the built environment, facilities management, planning & architecture, science, surveying, and technology sectors. Founded in 2009 by Mark Lyons and Matthew Finlay, the firm operates from registered offices in Leeds (headquarters), London, Manchester, and Raleigh, North Carolina, placing both permanent and contract professionals into roles across civil/structural/geotechnical engineering, FM trades (refrigeration, HVAC, gas, electrical, fire & security, pest control), architecture, environmental sciences, quantity and building surveying, and emerging technology hires.

The firm's core offering is sector-specialist permanent and contract placement delivered by long-tenured consultants (over 60% with five or more years of tenure), supported by a six-stage client onboarding process and a six-stage candidate journey. Technology layer is modest: a Bullhorn-backed CRM, an AI-powered AI Job Search recommendation engine that parses uploaded CVs and surfaces matched vacancies, and a self-serve jobs portal hosting 177 live roles across the UK and US East Coast. Two proprietary research publications — Pulse FM 2026 and the Pulse Benefits Survey 2026 — function as thought-leadership and lead-generation assets. Calibre also operates a managed Payroll Services line covering IR35, PAYE/PSC/Umbrella compliance and weekly/monthly payroll cycles for contractor engagements.

Calibre makes money primarily on permanent placement fees (transactional, take-rate, negotiated per role) supplemented by contract/temporary staffing mark-up and payroll administration fees for contractor engagements. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is relationship-led direct sales anchored in repeat business (81% of revenue from repeat clients; 58% of clients retained for over a decade) with inside-sales and self-serve digital channels (jobs portal, AI job search, callback request forms) supporting the specialist consultant motion. Customer segments span Tier 1 construction and property consultancies, contractors, manufacturers, end users, public sector bodies, and SMEs across the UK and selective US states.

Name

Calibre Search

Legal name

Calibre Search Ltd

Website

https://calibresearch.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Calibre Search is a UK-founded specialist recruitment consultancy placing permanent and contract professionals across engineering, facilities management, planning & architecture, science, surveying, and technology sectors, with offices in Leeds, London, Manchester, and Raleigh, NC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Permanent Placement / Retained Search: Placement of candidates in permanent roles for clients. The company has placed over 2,449 professionals in the past five years. Fee structure is not publicly disclosed.
2. Contract / Temporary Staffing: Supply of temporary or contract workers to clients. The jobs page lists temporary/contract roles alongside permanent positions (6 temporary roles listed among 177 total vacancies).
3. Payroll Services: Managed payroll service for contractors and temporary workers, handling compliance, contracts, and payments. Includes IR35, PAYE/PSC/Umbrella compliance, GDPR, and REC-approved contracts. Revenue generated through payroll administration fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Calibre Search is a specialist recruitment consultancy placing permanent and contract professionals across the built environment, facilities management, engineering, planning and architecture, science, surveying, and technology sectors. The firm operates a six-stage client onboarding and candidate journey process, supplemented by payroll services for contractors and an AI-powered CV-to-job matching tool on its website.

Product overview

Calibre Search operates as a specialist recruitment agency for the Built Environment, Facilities Management, and Technology sectors. The portfolio consists of a core recruitment service supplemented by ancillary offerings: the primary offering is permanent and contract placement across six specialist sectors (Engineering, Facilities Management, Planning & Architecture, Science, Surveying, and Technology), supported by Payroll Services for contractor management and an AI Job Search tool for candidate matching. The company does not offer a unified software platform; its 'products' are service lines rather than software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Permanent Placement / Retained Search Placement of candidates into permanent roles across the built environment, FM, engineering, planning & architecture, science, surveying, and technology sectors. Calibre has placed over 2,449 professionals in the past five years under this offering.
• Contract / Temporary Staffing Supply of temporary and contract workers to clients across the same specialist sectors. The jobs portal lists temporary and contract roles alongside permanent positions, with six temporary roles listed among 177 total vacancies.
• Payroll Services Managed payroll administration for clients engaging flexible or contract staff, including one invoice covering multiple workers, weekly or monthly payroll cycles, IR35/PAYE/PSC/Umbrella compliance, GDPR-compliant data handling, and REC-approved contracts.
• AI Job Search AI-powered self-service tool on the Calibre Search website that allows candidates to upload their CV and receive automated job matches based on their skills, experience, and preferences, drawn from the company's live vacancy database.
• Engineering Recruitment Permanent and contract placement of civil, structural, geotechnical, M&E, water, environmental, highways and rail, and construction engineering professionals across UK sectors including Building, Highways, Water, Housing, Transportation, Energy, and Defence.
• Facilities Management Recruitment Placement of gas, electrical, refrigeration, HVAC, fire and security, and pest control professionals on permanent and contract basis, plus FM management roles, with national UK coverage.
• Planning & Architecture Recruitment Placement of town planners, architects, architectural technologists, transport planners, traffic engineers, landscape architects, GIS professionals, and environmental planners across private practice, consultancy, and developer-led firms throughout the UK.
• Science Recruitment Placement of ecologists, environmental scientists, geo-environmental and sustainability professionals, hydrologists, geologists, contaminated land specialists, and waste management professionals across consultancies and public sector clients.
• Surveying Recruitment Placement of quantity surveyors, building surveyors, project managers, contract managers, employers agents, asset managers, cost managers, and land surveyors across construction, development, and consultancy roles.
• Technology Recruitment Placement of technology professionals including AI specialists, cloud architects, DevOps engineers, cybersecurity experts, full stack developers, digital transformation professionals, infrastructure, testing, and business analysts across the technology ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of placements still in post after 14 months
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hays: Global FTSE-listed recruitment firm with a strong UK property, construction, and engineering practice that directly competes with Calibre in the built environment and FM markets. Operates at significantly larger scale with regional and international coverage, including dedicated consultant networks in the same niche sectors.
• Reed Specialist Recruitment: One of the UK's largest recruitment agencies with a dedicated built environment, property, and engineering division. Operates as a broad incumbent offering permanent, contract, and temporary staffing across many sectors, including direct overlap with Calibre's engineering and FM desks at greater scale.
• Michael Page: Global FTSE-listed recruitment group with dedicated built environment, property, and engineering practice placing mid-to-senior professionals. Broader incumbent operating across many sectors but with a directly overlapping engineering and construction recruitment offering.

Direct peers

• Matchtech: UK specialist engineering and technology recruitment agency owned by Gattaca plc, with deep focus on aerospace, defence, and built environment engineering. Closely comparable to Calibre in sector specialisation and target candidate base across civil, structural, and mechanical engineering roles.
• Macdonald & Company: UK specialist recruitment consultancy focused on the built environment, property, and real estate sectors, including surveying, planning, and development roles. Direct peer with overlapping candidate network in Calibre's planning, surveying, and property disciplines.
• RGB Network: UK specialist built environment recruitment agency placing professionals across construction, property, and facilities management. Closely comparable in niche focus on hard-to-recruit built environment disciplines, with similar mid-market client profile.
• Fircroft: Global technical recruitment firm with strong built environment, engineering, and facilities management practices. Comparable to Calibre in the technical-skills placement model and contract/permanent mix, with additional international scale.
• Conrad Consulting: UK specialist recruitment agency for the built environment, covering civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering, plus architecture and surveying. Direct peer in niche technical placement with similar mid-market client base and candidate focus.
• Aldwych Consulting: UK specialist built environment and property recruitment consultancy covering construction, surveying, and engineering disciplines. Direct competitor in the same niche markets, with comparable permanent and contract placement offerings.
• Carrington West: UK specialist recruitment consultancy covering built environment, town planning, and property disciplines. Direct peer in permanent and contract placement of planners, surveyors, and engineers, with overlapping candidate and client base to Calibre.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Calibretweets

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Calibre Search