Cathcart Associates

What Cathcart Associates does

Cathcart Associates (operating as Cathcart Technology) is a specialist technology recruitment consultancy founded in 2009 in Edinburgh by Gordon Kaye and Sam Wason. The firm provides permanent and contract technology recruitment services across software development, data, DevOps, IT security, and adjacent disciplines, operating from offices in Edinburgh (headquarters), Manchester, Helsinki, and Bangkok. Its core technology is a recruitment database and candidate matching platform supported by a website job portal; revenue is generated through transaction-based placement fees — percentage-of-salary fees on permanent placements (£37K–£110K+ salary range observed) and day-rate margins on contract placements (£225–£600/day observed).

The company serves two primary customer segments: private-sector technology companies seeking to build and scale engineering, data, and IT teams, and UK public sector organisations accessed through the Crown Commercial Service's Permanent Recruitment 2 framework (RM6229), where Cathcart is one of only four Scotland-headquartered approved suppliers. Its go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct one-to-one client relationships with dedicated specialist consultants, supplemented by content marketing, community-led brand-building through ScotML and MancML data analytics meetups, and event sponsorship.

Cathcart is a privately held, founder-owned business that has grown organically from two co-founders to a team of over 40 across four markets with no external investment, funding rounds, or M&A activity disclosed. The company is led by co-founders Gordon Kaye and Sam Wason as Joint Managing Directors, with a senior team of Operations, Sales, and Business Directors who largely progressed internally from trainee or consultant roles.

Name

Cathcart Associates

Legal name

Cathcart Associates Ltd

Website

https://cathcarttechnology.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cathcart Associates (trading as Cathcart Technology) is a specialist technology recruitment consultancy founded in 2009 in Edinburgh, providing permanent and contract tech staffing across the UK, Finland, and Thailand, with public sector access via the CCS framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Contractor Management Systems (CMS) & Workforce Management (BPACAGAE)

Keywords

• Technology recruitment
• Permanent placement
• Contract staffing
• Tech talent acquisition
• Specialist recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Permanent Placement Fees: Fees charged as percentage of salary for permanent technology job placements. Recruitment consultants match candidates to roles and facilitate hiring process.
2. Contract/Interim Recruitment: Fees for placing contractors in technology roles, ranging from short-term to long-term contract positions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cathcart Associates (trading as Cathcart Technology) is a specialist technology recruitment consultancy that places technology professionals into permanent and contract roles for employer clients. The firm matches candidates across software development, data, DevOps, IT security, and management functions to organisations in Scotland, Northern England, Finland, and Thailand, and is an approved supplier on the UK Crown Commercial Service framework for public sector technology hiring.

Product overview

Cathcart Technology operates as a specialized technology recruitment platform offering permanent and contract staffing solutions. The company provides a job search platform with hundreds of technology roles, salary benchmarking guides, interview preparation services, and candidate branding support. Their core offering centers on matching qualified technology professionals with client organizations seeking to build and scale technology teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ScotML: Data analytics meetup organized by Cathcart Technology in Scotland, promoting talent in the technology industry.
• MancML

Products and services

• Permanent Technology Recruitment Recruitment service that matches employers with technology professionals for permanent full-time roles across software development, data, DevOps, IT security, and IT management functions in Scotland, England, Finland, and Thailand. Fees are charged as a percentage of the placed candidate's salary.
• Contract and Interim Technology Recruitment Recruitment service placing technology contractors in short-term to long-term contract roles across the UK, Finland, and Thailand. Typical day rates range from £225 to £600 depending on role seniority, with placements such as AI Engineer, IT Business Analyst, Senior Systems Business Analyst, and IT Support Engineer currently advertised.
• UK Public Sector Technology Recruitment via CCS Framework (RM6229) Framework-approved supply of permanent technology recruitment services to UK public sector organisations including central government, local authorities, the health sector, police, fire services, and education providers via the Crown Commercial Service's Permanent Recruitment 2 framework.
• Website Job Portal and Salary Benchmarking Guide Online job board searchable by location, type, and keywords with hundreds of specialist technology roles, combined with downloadable salary benchmarking guides such as the 2026 salary guide to inform candidates and clients on market pay.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Crown Commercial Service (CCS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 August 2022Cathcart Technology was awarded a position on the Crown Commercial Service's Permanent Recruitment 2 framework (RM6229), specifically Lot 2 for Non-Clinical General Recruitment. This enables the company to supply technology recruitment services to UK public sector organisations including central government, local authorities, health sector, police, fire services, and education providers for a period of two years.
• TechSystersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with TechSysters community events, hosting fireside chats and networking events for women in technology. Ally Maxwell from FanDuel and Kat McGurk from Flutter have participated as speakers.
• ScotMLcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganises and recruits for ScotML, one of Scotland's most prominent data analytics meetups that promotes the best talent in the industry.
• MancMLcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganises and recruits for MancML, one of the UK's most prominent and best-attended data analytics meetups in the North of England.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Computer Futures: Specialist technology recruitment consultancy operating across the UK and Europe with a focus on contract and permanent IT placements, directly comparable to Cathcart's niche specialism and cross-geography model.
• Sanderson Recruitment: UK-listed specialist recruitment group with a technology, digital and engineering division offering perm and contract solutions; comparable mid-sized UK specialist with overlapping customer base and service mix.
• Nigel Frank International: Specialist technology recruitment consultancy focusing on Microsoft, Salesforce, and other enterprise-tech communities, comparable to Cathcart's niche perm/contract tech placement offering and similar mid-market firm size.
• Investigo: UK-based specialist recruitment consultancy covering technology, digital, and change/transformational hiring across contract and permanent models, directly comparable in service portfolio and target client base.
• Harvey Nash: UK-listed technology recruitment and business services firm with a technology practice covering permanent, contract, and executive tech placements across the UK and internationally, comparable in both customer type and contracting mix.
• Lorien (Impellam Group): UK-headquartered specialist technology and digital transformation recruitment brand, focused on contract and permanent tech placements across UK and EMEA, with similar mid-market scale and specialist positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Hays: Global FTSE-listed recruitment conglomerate with a dedicated Hays Technology / Hays Digital & Technology practice covering perm and contract placements across the UK, mirroring Cathcart's core service line at much greater scale.
• Michael Page Technology: Global FTSE-listed recruitment firm with a dedicated Michael Page Technology division covering software, infrastructure, and digital hires across the UK, comparable in service line but with materially larger scale and brand presence.
• Robert Half Technology: US-listed global staffing firm with a dedicated technology practice for permanent, contract, and project-based IT placements, comparable in functional offering with far greater geographic and segment reach.
• Reed Technology: UK-headquartered generalist recruitment firm with a dedicated technology division offering permanent and contract IT recruitment to enterprise and public-sector clients, directly comparable in service mix and geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Cathcart-Associates-182109498653525
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cathcart-associates?trk=fc_badge
• Xx.com/cathcartrecruit

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Cathcart Associates