Rapier Employment

What Rapier Employment does

Rapier Employment Limited is a UK private limited company (Company No. 02374214) founded in 1989, operating as a specialist recruitment agency focused on the transport, logistics, and warehousing sectors. From its principal place of business in Abingdon and registered office in Meriden, the company runs a network of 10+ branch offices across England and supplies temporary, contract, and permanent workers — including LGV/HGV and van drivers, warehouse operatives, forklift drivers, production staff, and construction workers — to logistics, distribution, manufacturing, and home-delivery employers. Alongside its core industrial staffing activity, a dedicated commercial division places permanent professionals in finance, HR, sales, customer service, administration, and operations roles.

The company's service portfolio is supported by a digital layer — the Sabre worker portal for logging start/finish times, availability, and assignment forms, and the ePay electronic payslip system — and by Rapier Career Training, which delivers Driver CPC courses (RTITB/DSA registered, JAUPT approved), Smith System advanced driver training, warehouse equipment training, and fully funded apprenticeships across driving, warehousing, forklift, logistics management, and team leadership, delivered in partnership with accredited providers including Pertemps. The company is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and Stronger Together Agreement and maintains formal modern slavery, GDPR, and gender pay gap disclosures.

Rapier generates revenue through three streams: temporary worker supply (weekly invoicing on 28–30 day terms, with the Employment Business paying workers via PAYE/NI and charging an hourly rate that bundles wages, holiday accrual, employer NI, expenses, commission, pension, and the Apprenticeship Levy); permanent placement and transfer fees (10% of annual wage at 0–300 hours worked, stepping down to 5% at 301–450 hours and 2.5% thereafter, with no fee after 450 hours); and training/apprenticeship services. The go-to-market is sales-led and branch-based, with direct employer engagement across the UK; pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Rapier Employment

Legal name

Rapier Employment Limited

Website

https://rapieremployment.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Rapier Employment is a UK-based specialist recruitment agency, founded in 1989, that supplies temporary, contract, and permanent staff — primarily drivers, warehouse operatives, and production workers — to transport, logistics, warehousing, construction, and commercial employers through a 10+ branch nationwide network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Logistics Staffing Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (56132)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Warehousing, Distribution & Material Handling Staffing (BPACAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Manufacturing & Production Line Staffing (BPACAEAC), National Generalist Staffing Firms (BPACACAI)

Keywords

• Temporary staffing services
• Logistics recruitment
• Warehouse staffing
• Driver recruitment
• Permanent placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Abingdon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Temporary Worker Supply: Supply of temporary agency workers to clients in warehousing and distribution. The Employment Business pays workers and handles PAYE/National Insurance, invoicing clients on a weekly basis with payment terms of 28-30 days.
2. Permanent Placement / Transfer Fees: Fees charged when clients directly engage or transfer temporary workers to permanent positions. Transfer fees range from 10% of annual wage (0-300 hours worked) to 2.5% (301-450 hours), with no fee after 450 hours of assignment.
3. Training Services: Training services including driver training (RTITB/DSA registered), Driver CPC courses, warehouse equipment training, and apprenticeships delivered through affiliated training providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Rapier Employment supplies temporary, contract, and permanent workforce solutions to transport, logistics, and warehousing employers across the UK through a nationwide branch network. The company complements its core staffing services with a commercial division focused on permanent professional placements and a dedicated training division delivering apprenticeships, Driver CPC, and Smith System driver training. Worker-facing digital tools (Sabre portal and ePay) underpin the staffing offering.

Product overview

Rapier Employment operates as a recruitment and staffing agency, not a software product company. The company offers temporary, contract, and permanent workforce solutions across transport, logistics, warehousing, construction, commercial, industrial, and home delivery sectors, complemented by a dedicated commercial division for permanent professional placements. Their service portfolio is supported by Rapier Career Training (offering driving, warehouse, and management training programmes), apprenticeships, the Sabre worker portal, and the ePay e-payslip system. The company operates a nationwide network of branch offices across the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Temporary Staffing Services Supply of temporary workers — including HGV drivers, warehouse operatives, and logistics personnel — to UK transport, logistics, and warehousing employers on a flexible basis via the branch network.
• Contract Staffing Services Placement of contract workers for transport, logistics, and warehousing employers requiring fixed-term or project-based operational staff.
• Permanent Placement Services Recruitment and permanent placement of operational staff — drivers, warehouse operatives, and logistics personnel — into UK transport, logistics, and warehousing employers on a permanent basis.
• Commercial Recruitment (Permanent Professional Placements) Specialist permanent recruitment service operated as a separate commercial division, placing professional, administrative, sales, and management candidates into UK employers across commercial functions.
• Rapier Career Training (Training Division) Dedicated training division delivering workforce development, compliance, and upskilling courses to the UK transport and logistics workforce, including apprenticeships, Driver CPC, and Smith System defensive driver training.
• Apprenticeships Apprenticeship programmes offered through the Rapier Career Training division, providing structured earn-while-you-learn routes into transport and logistics occupations for candidates and workforce development for employers.
• Driver CPC Training Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training delivered as a regulated course to professional HGV and PCV drivers and their employers to ensure ongoing compliance with driver hours and road safety requirements.
• Smith System Defensive Driver Training Smith System defensive driver training course delivered to commercial drivers and transport employers to reduce collisions, improve road safety, and lower fleet incident costs.

Named customers2 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• FlowlineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2021Rapier Employment is working closely with Flowline, described as a modern, dynamic and fast-growing company. Rapier's Hemel branch handles the relationship. This appears to be a commercial partnership for workforce supply to Flowline's operations.
• United Nations Global Compact AgreementcoreOthersRapier Employment is a signatory to the UN Global Compact Agreement, demonstrating commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices.
• Stronger Together AgreementcoreOthersRapier Employment is a signatory to the Stronger Together Agreement, showing commitment to ending workforce exploitation. The company participates in Stronger Together initiatives and trains staff on identifying and preventing modern slavery.
• PertempscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPertemps is referenced as the parent company for data protection officer contact and as an accredited training provider for warehouse and forklift training. Rapier offers apprenticeships and training services in partnership with Pertemps.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ManpowerGroup UK: UK arm of ManpowerGroup offering temporary staffing, permanent placement, and workforce solutions across logistics, industrial, and commercial sectors. Broad incumbent — overlapping temp supply capability but with much broader sector coverage.
• Adecco UK: UK arm of global staffing giant Adecco Group, providing temporary and permanent staffing across industrial, logistics, driving, and professional segments. Broad incumbent — overlapping warehouse and logistics temp supply but operates across many verticals.
• Reed Specialist Recruitment: One of the largest UK staffing brands with a national branch network covering driving, industrial, commercial, and professional roles. Broad incumbent — competes across Rapier's verticals but does not specialize exclusively in transport/logistics.
• Hays UK: UK arm of global recruitment firm Hays, with significant permanent and contract placement activity across professional and commercial roles. Broad incumbent — overlaps with Rapier's commercial division for permanent placements but does not focus on driving/warehouse.

Direct peers

• Gi Group: Global staffing group with strong UK presence in logistics, industrial, and driving staffing. Direct peer — operates in the same transport/logistics/warehouse verticals with a comparable mix of temporary and permanent placements.
• Blue Arrow: UK staffing firm supplying temporary and permanent workers across driving, logistics, warehouse, and industrial roles. Direct peer — core same verticals (driving, warehouse, logistics) and multi-branch UK delivery model.
• Driver Hire: UK's largest specialist transport and logistics recruitment franchise, supplying drivers and warehouse staff nationwide. Direct peer — same transport/logistics/warehousing vertical, same temp and permanent placement model, and franchise-based branch network.
• Staffline Group: UK-listed provider of staffing and workforce solutions with major exposure to logistics, driving, and industrial sectors. Direct peer — overlapping blue-collar and driving verticals, large branch network, and similar temporary-to-permanent placement economics.
• HR GO plc: UK-listed recruitment firm focused on industrial, driving, and commercial staffing across multiple branches. Direct peer — comparable multi-branch UK staffing model with similar driving, warehouse, and commercial segment mix.
• Pertemps: Major UK recruitment group already operating as Rapier's training and compliance partner. Direct peer — same generalist staffing model with significant logistics and commercial coverage, and a strategic partnership that creates both supply and competitive overlap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rapierdrivers

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Rapier Employment