Start People

What Start People does

Start People Ltd is a UK-based recruitment agency headquartered in Durham with a second office in Manchester, founded in 2014. The firm delivers temporary and permanent staffing solutions across five core verticals: manufacturing, engineering, logistics, food & beverage, and commercial roles. It serves both small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporate clients throughout Northern England, with a sales-led go-to-market model in which recruitment consultants manage relationships on both the candidate and employer sides of the market.

The company's product surface is a traditional recruitment stack: a website job board, a candidate CV registration portal, email-based job alerts via MailChimp, and LinkedIn/Facebook channels for candidate engagement. No proprietary technology, matching algorithm, or AI/ML capability is disclosed; differentiation rests on the firm's regional brand (recognised as a Top 3 recruitment agency in Durham for two consecutive years by ThreeBestRated), testimonials, and a partnership-oriented service approach. The business model is transaction-fee based, charging employers for temporary placements (where workers are employed by Start People) and one-off fees for permanent placements, with pricing quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

In February 2026, Start People acquired Sunderland-based SG Personnel in a deal the firm described as a milestone, with the acquisition intended to support a £20 million turnover plan and create up to 15 new jobs. The combined group operates in the manufacturing, distribution, and technical staffing sectors. The firm is privately held with no disclosed external institutional investors, and the data protection posture includes GDPR, UK DPA, and EU DPD compliance.

Name

Start People

Legal name

Start People Ltd

Website

https://startpeopleltd.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Temporary Help Services (56132), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

Temp-to-Hire Staffing (BPACACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA), Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare) (BPACAFAC)

Keywords

• Industrial recruitment agency
• Temporary staffing services
• Permanent placement services
• Manufacturing workforce solutions
• Logistics recruitment UK

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Temporary Staffing Placement: Placement of temporary workers with client companies, charging employers for recruitment and staffing services. Workers are employed by Start People and supplied to client businesses.
2. Permanent Placement: Recruitment of permanent candidates for client businesses, charging placement fees upon successful hiring.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Start People is a recruitment agency placing temporary and permanent workers with client businesses across Engineering, Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, Logistics, and Commercial sectors. It supplies workers (who are employed by Start People) to client companies for temporary assignments and charges placement fees for permanent hires, supported by an online job board, CV registration, and email job-alert services.

Product overview

Start People operates as a recruitment agency providing talent and labour solutions. The core offering is recruitment agency services that connect candidates with employers, supported by an online job board platform for job listings and a CV registration system for candidate onboarding. Additional platforms include job alert email notifications. The company specialises in temporary and permanent placements across Engineering, Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, Logistics, and Commercial sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recruitment Agency Services
• Job Board
• CV Registration Service
• Job Alerts

Quantifiable outcome

• Listed as Top 3 Recruitment agency in Durham for second consecutive year
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SG PersonnelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Start People, a Durham and Manchester-based recruitment firm, has acquired Sunderland-based SG Personnel in a deal described as a milestone for the company. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Start People's £20 million turnover plans and create up to 15 jobs, while expanding its operational scale in the manufacturing, distribution, and technical staffing sectors.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ManpowerGroup: Global workforce solutions provider with a large UK industrial and logistics staffing business. Direct overlap in temporary industrial placement with significantly greater technology, scale, and geographic reach.
• Gi Group: Global staffing provider with a strong UK industrial and manufacturing presence, offering temporary and permanent workforce solutions. Closely comparable business model and sector mix to Start People, but with international reach and greater scale.
• REED: One of the UK's largest recruitment agencies with a broad portfolio across industrial, professional, and commercial staffing. Comparable as a multi-sector, multi-region UK recruiter with both temp and perm placement — though at significantly larger scale than Start People.
• Hays: Global recruitment firm with strong UK presence across industrial, construction, engineering, and professional staffing. Comparable as a multi-vertical recruiter, though skewed more toward professional/white-collar than Start People's blue-collar focus.
• Adecco: One of the world's largest staffing firms, with a substantial UK industrial and logistics staffing business. Direct overlap in temp/permanent industrial placement, with greater technology investment and geographic coverage.

Direct peers

• Search Consultancy: UK-focused multi-sector recruiter (industrial, commercial, professional services) operating through regional branches. Directly comparable business model with both temporary staffing and permanent placement across overlapping verticals.
• Acorn Recruitment:
• Brook Street UK: UK recruitment agency providing temp and permanent staffing across industrial, office, and professional sectors. Closely comparable in multi-vertical mid-market recruitment model with both SMEs and corporate clients.
• Staffline Group: UK-listed specialist in industrial, logistics, and manufacturing staffing with a strong Northern England footprint. Closely comparable in sector mix, temp/permanent offering, and regional concentration — a near-direct competitor for Start People's core verticals.

Emerging players

• Taskmaster Resources: UK recruitment agency specializing in industrial, manufacturing, and logistics temporary staffing with a regional branch model. Comparable sector mix and temp-heavy business model, though smaller in scale and geographic coverage than Start People.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/startpeopleltd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/start-people-ltd
• Xx.com/startpeopleltd

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Start People