Cherry Professional
Cherry Professional is a specialist Nottingham-based recruitment consultancy providing permanent, temporary, interim, and executive search staffing across Accounting & Finance, Professional Services, Engineering, and Not-for-Profit sectors for employers and job seekers in the East Midlands.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersNottingham, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Cherry Professional does
Cherry Professional is a specialist recruitment consultancy headquartered in Nottingham, East Midlands, founded in 2008-2009 by Danielle Asano and two co-founders. The firm provides permanent, temporary, interim, fixed-term contract, and retained executive search staffing solutions across four core verticals: Accounting & Finance, Professional Services (administration, HR, marketing, sales, procurement), Engineering & Manufacturing, and Not-for-Profit/Public Sector. It serves both candidates (job seekers) and clients (employers) primarily within the East Midlands region, with the executive search practice extending across the broader Midlands for C-suite and Director appointments. Cherry Professional operates as Cherry Professional Ltd, a UK private limited company (Companies House registration 06573099), founder-owned with no external investment or parent entity.
The firm's operational technology stack is built on Bullhorn as the core CRM for candidate and client data, job applications, and recruitment workflow management, augmented by ChatGPT used to enhance and summarise candidate profiles. The company runs weekly company-wide data-quality sessions and maintains GDPR compliance under ICO registration Z1577727, with privacy-by-design controls including data minimisation, pseudonymisation, and encryption. Candidate acquisition is layered across self-service job alerts, CV upload via the website, and partnerships with major UK job boards (Reed, CV Library, Total Jobs) plus LinkedIn for passive sourcing. Client acquisition is consultant-led and relationship-driven, with dedicated sector specialists handling each vertical; there is no public API or platform product.
Cherry Professional generates revenue through three streams: permanent placement fees calculated as a percentage of placed candidate salary, temporary/interim staffing under a managed-services model where the firm handles recruitment, onboarding, payroll, tax, and pensions, and retained executive search fees for senior appointments. Operational metrics include a 74% fill rate on exclusive jobs, 55% first-call/preferred-supplier share, 2.91 interviews per placement, average time-to-fill of 7 days for temporary roles and 26 days for permanent roles, and 914 businesses supported to hire YTD. The firm claims the highest Google rating among East Midlands recruitment consultancies (4.9/5 from 361 verified reviews) and has operated continuously for 17+ years under founding leadership.
Cherry Professional firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cherry Professional
- Legal name
- Cherry Professional Ltd
- Website
- https://cherryprofessional.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cherry Professional is a specialist Nottingham-based recruitment consultancy providing permanent, temporary, interim, and executive search staffing across Accounting & Finance, Professional Services, Engineering, and Not-for-Profit sectors for employers and job seekers in the East Midlands.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cherry Professional industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recruitment & Staffing Services
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Executive Search Services (561312)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare) (BPACAFAC), Local & Regional Generalist Staffing Agencies (BPACACAH), Executive & Leadership Direct Hire (BPACAFAB)
Keywords
Where Cherry Professional is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nottingham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Cherry Professional business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Permanent Placement Fees: Recruitment fees for permanent placements, typically calculated as a percentage of the placed candidate's annual salary. The company fills 74% of exclusive jobs and achieves 2.91 interviews per placement.
- Temporary/Interim Staffing: Pay-as-you-go access to highly qualified professionals. The company handles recruitment, onboarding, and payroll for temporary staff, providing reduced administrative burden for clients. Average time to fill temp positions is 7 days.
- Retained Executive Search: Specialist retained and executive search services for C-suite and senior appointments across Finance, Professional Services, and Engineering sectors.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Permanent Placement - Percentage of annual salary |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Temporary/Interim Staffing - Hourly/daily rates |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Interim Executive Search - Day rate or annual equivalent |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Cherry Professional product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cherry Professional is a specialist recruitment consultancy that places permanent, temporary, interim, and fixed-term contract staff across the East Midlands, focused on four sector specialisms: Accounting & Finance, Professional Services (HR, Marketing, Administration), Engineering & Manufacturing, and Not-for-Profit. The firm also provides retained and executive search for Director and C-suite appointments and operates a self-service Job Alerts platform for candidates. Revenue is generated through placement fees as a percentage of salary for permanent hires and hourly or day-rate billing for temporary and interim staff.
Product overview
Cherry Professional is a specialist recruitment agency operating as a single unified service offering. The core product encompasses end-to-end staffing solutions delivered through dedicated sector-specialist teams covering Accounting & Finance, Professional Services (Administration, HR, Marketing), Engineering & Manufacturing, and Not-for-Profit sectors. Supporting services include Executive Search for senior appointments, Temporary & Interim Staffing with payroll administration handled by the agency, and Career Coaching for candidates. The company also provides a Job Alerts platform for candidate registration and job matching. All services are unified under the Cherry Professional brand and delivered through their East Midlands-based team.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cherry Professional Recruitment Services Full-service recruitment agency providing permanent, temporary, interim, and fixed-term contract staffing solutions across Accounting & Finance, Professional Services, Engineering & Manufacturing, Not-for-Profit, and Executive Search sectors in the East Midlands region.
- Temporary & Interim Staffing Pay-as-you-go access to pre-vetted temporary and interim professionals with payroll, onboarding, tax, and pension administration handled by the agency. Covers roles such as Interim Finance Directors, Finance Managers, Project Accountants, Payroll Administrators, HR Advisors, and Receptionists.
- Executive Search Retained and exclusive executive search for C-suite and senior Director appointments across the Midlands, delivered through a bespoke search and selection approach with a focus on growing SMEs.
- Job Alerts Platform Self-service platform that lets candidates register, manage job preferences, and receive instant job-specific email alerts matching their criteria.
- Career Coaching Personalised candidate services including CV crafting advice, interview preparation, market intelligence, and honest feedback to support job-seekers during their search.
Quantifiable outcome
- 74% fill rate on all jobs worked
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Cherry Professional
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cherry Professional technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability1 record
Feature3 records
Cherry Professional partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- BullhorncoreBullhorn is the company's CRM system - the core technology platform for managing candidate and client data, recruitment workflows, and business operations. The company has licenses for multiple users to add or amend data.
- ReedcoreJob board partnership for job advertising and CV searching. One of the primary candidate sourcing channels alongside CV Library and Total Jobs.
- CV LibrarycoreJob board partnership for job advertising and CV searching. Primary candidate sourcing channel.
- Total JobscoreJob board partnership for job advertising and CV searching. Primary candidate sourcing channel.
- LinkedInminorLinkedIn is used to access public profiles for candidate identification and sourcing. Also used for professional networking and employer branding.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights6 records
Cherry Professional competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SF Recruitment: Midlands-headquartered recruitment group covering Accountancy & Finance, HR, Office Support, and Executive Search. Comparable multi-vertical specialist model with strong regional presence overlapping Cherry's geography.
- Badenoch + Clark: UK specialist recruiter focused on Finance, Accounting, HR, and Procurement with permanent, interim, and executive search offerings. Direct peer in Finance/accountancy placement and executive search practice.
- Brewster Partners: Yorkshire-based recruitment firm focused on Accountancy & Finance, HR, Procurement, and Executive Search across the Midlands and North. Direct peer in Finance vertical, multi-sector specialism, and senior search offering.
- Macildowie Recruitment: East Midlands-based recruitment agency covering Accountancy & Finance, HR, Procurement, and Supply Chain with permanent, interim, and executive search offerings. Closest direct peer in geography, specialism, and business model to Cherry Professional.
- Pratap Partnership: East Midlands-based Accountancy & Finance and HR recruitment consultancy with retained executive search. Directly comparable in regional focus, Finance specialism, and SME/owner-led positioning.
- Sellick Partnership: UK specialist recruiter focused on Accountancy & Finance, HR, Legal, and Procurement across permanent, interim, and executive search. Directly comparable in Finance/accountancy specialism and SME positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Reed: UK's largest generalist recruitment agency covering Accountancy & Finance, Office Support, Engineering, and Public Sector. Competes with Cherry across all verticals and is a key job board partner/source.
- Robert Walters: International professional recruiter with strong UK Finance, Accounting, Engineering, and Executive Search practices. Overlaps Cherry's specialist verticals but operates across multiple geographies and salary bands.
- Michael Page: Global professional recruitment firm with deep UK presence across Accountancy & Finance, Engineering, and Executive Search. Competes for the same Finance and Engineering mandates as Cherry but at national and international scale.
- Hays: Global professional staffing firm with significant UK presence in Accountancy & Finance, Engineering, and Public Sector recruitment. Competes for permanent and interim Finance and Engineering talent in the Midlands.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cherry Professional social profiles
Digital presenceCherry Professional compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Cherry Professional financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cherry Professional leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Cherry Professional funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cherry Professional 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 Cherry Professional
What does Cherry Professional do?
Cherry Professional is a specialist recruitment consultancy that places permanent, temporary, interim, and fixed-term contract staff across the East Midlands, focused on four sector specialisms: Accounting & Finance, Professional Services (HR, Marketing, Administration), Engineering & Manufacturing, and Not-for-Profit. The firm also provides retained and executive search for Director and C-suite appointments and operates a self-service Job Alerts platform for candidates. Revenue is generated through placement fees as a percentage of salary for permanent hires and hourly or day-rate billing for temporary and interim staff.
Is Cherry Professional a public or private company?
Cherry Professional is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cherry Professional founded?
Cherry Professional was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cherry Professional based?
Cherry Professional is headquartered in Nottingham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cherry Professional make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Permanent Placement Fees are the primary driver. The others are temporary/Interim Staffing and retained Executive Search.
Who are Cherry Professional's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SF Recruitment, Badenoch + Clark, Brewster Partners, Macildowie Recruitment, Pratap Partnership and Sellick Partnership. Broad incumbents are Reed, Robert Walters, Michael Page and Hays.
Does Cherry Professional have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cherry Professional.
What industry is Cherry Professional in?
Cherry Professional's product category is Recruitment & Staffing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAA, General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry), with a secondary code of BPACAFAC, Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare). Its NAICS code is 56131 and its SIC code is 7361.