Active Staff

What Active Staff does

Active Staff Limited is an independent UK employment agency founded in 1999, headquartered in Andover, Hampshire, with a regional office in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The firm supplies both temporary and permanent workforce solutions across industrial/warehouse, commercial/administrative, transport and logistics (HGV Class 1 and 2), hospitality, manufacturing and engineering, GLAA-regulated food production and agriculture, and science/pharmaceutical/R&D sectors. Revenue is generated through two transaction-fee streams: permanent placement fees charged on successful candidate matches and temporary staffing margins on the hourly rate differential billed to clients versus paid to workers.

The company operates without proprietary technology beyond standard recruitment management software, an iOS/Android candidate app launched in 2018, and an online registration portal. Its competitive position rests on its GLAA licence (ACTI0012) for regulated labour supply, REC membership, GDPR-compliant data handling, and a consultant-led sales motion targeting enterprise and SMB clients across the South of England. Long-tenured named clients include Carlsberg, A Plan and Driving Plus.

In 2026 Active Staff completed its first acquisition, taking in Riverside Recruitment and creating a multi-brand group with new senior roles across compliance and audit, sales and operations, and payroll and finance. The company remains privately held with founder-directors Lisa Armstrong and Graham in control and no external private equity or venture capital backing.

Name

Active Staff

Legal name

Active Staff Limited

Website

https://active-staff.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Active Staff Limited is an independent UK employment agency, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Andover, Hampshire, supplying temporary and permanent staff across industrial, logistics, hospitality, commercial, and GLAA-regulated sectors to enterprise and SMB clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Staffing and Recruitment Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (561320), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Generalist Staffing Agencies (BPACACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

High-Volume / High-Turnover Temp Staffing (BPACACAF), Office & Administrative Temp Staffing (BPACACAA), Seasonal & Peak Workforce Staffing (BPACACAE), Administrative, Clerical & Office Support Direct Hire (BPACAFAF)

Keywords

• Temporary staffing services
• Permanent recruitment
• Industrial recruitment
• HGV driver staffing
• Employment agency services

Headquarters

HQ city

Andover

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

Revenue model

1. Permanent Placement Fees: Fees charged to clients for successfully placing candidates in permanent positions. The company matches candidates to support client resourcing needs for full-time employment.
2. Temporary Staffing Margins: Margin markup on hourly rates for temporary workers supplied to clients. The company provides flexible labour solutions with workers placed across various sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Active Staff is an independent employment agency providing temporary and permanent recruitment and staffing solutions across industrial, commercial, transport & logistics, hospitality, manufacturing, engineering, scientific/pharmaceutical, and GLAA-licensed sectors. The company matches pre-qualified, compliant candidates to client resourcing needs via dedicated consultants and offers both flexible temporary labour and permanent placements, with associated temp-to-perm conversion and training services.

Product overview

Active Staff is an independent employment agency headquartered in Andover, Hampshire, providing recruitment and staffing solutions across multiple sectors including industrial, commercial, hospitality, logistics, driving, manufacturing, engineering, and GLAA-licensed roles. The company operates as a unified staffing platform offering candidate matching, training services, and transport division training. Following a recent acquisition of Riverside Recruitment, the group has expanded its compliance, audit, payroll, finance, and sales operations capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Supply Chain & Logistics Resourcing Recruitment service connecting supply chain and logistics companies with qualified candidates for warehouse, distribution, and supply chain roles.
• Industrial Staffing Recruitment for industrial pickers, packers, loaders, and unloaders serving manufacturing and distribution clients.
• Hospitality Recruitment Staffing solutions for the hospitality sector including catering and food service positions.
• Driving Recruitment HGV and logistics driver recruitment for transport and logistics operations, including Class 1 and Class 2 drivers.
• Warehouse Operative Staffing Provision of experienced warehouse operatives for distribution and manufacturing facilities.
• Science, Pharmaceuticals & R&D Staffing Specialized recruitment for scientific research, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and research and development positions.
• Commercial Administration Staffing Recruitment for commercial talent in administration, bookkeeping, and accounting roles.
• Manufacturing & Engineering Staffing Skilled workforce solutions for manufacturing and engineering sectors including CNC operators, quality inspectors, and press brake operators.
• GLAA-Licensed Recruitment Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority licensed recruitment services for food production and agricultural sectors.
• Candidate Training Services Training programs for candidates including transport division training to enhance employability.
• Active Staff Mobile App Mobile application for candidates to directly contact Active Staff recruitment consultants, view real-time job vacancies, and receive company news updates. Available on iPhone (iOS) and Android platforms.

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Cordell HealthminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership with Cordell Health for workplace health and wellbeing seminars. Hosted first seminar on workplace health & wellbeing topics beneficial to clients.
• Hope for TomorrowminorOthers · 1 January 2016Official charity partner for 2016, supporting Hope for Tomorrow's Andover-based mobile chemotherapy unit. Active Staff donates and raises funds for this charity.
• Easy as HGVminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with Easy as HGV, one of the biggest HGV Training & CPC Training providers in the UK. Active Staff supplies newly qualified HGV and LGV Drivers with work for long-term, short-term and Ad-Hoc assignments.
• LGV Training CominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with LGV Training Co, one of the biggest HGV Training & CPC Training providers in the UK. Provides pipeline of newly qualified drivers for placement.
• Help for HeroesminorOthersCharity partner for Help for Heroes. Active Staff has participated in fundraising activities including Bake for Heroes events and the Stocking Appeal.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Driver Hire: UK's largest specialist logistics and HGV driver recruitment franchise network. Direct competitor in Active Staff's Transport & Logistics segment, with similar candidate pipeline partnerships and a focus on driving-class placements.
• Pertemps: One of the UK's largest independent staffing agencies, providing temporary and permanent placement across industrial, commercial, driving, and professional sectors with a strong regional branch network. Highly comparable to Active Staff's multi-sector, regional service model, though at significantly greater scale.
• Blue Arrow: UK-wide generalist staffing agency with strong presence in industrial, driving, hospitality, and warehouse verticals — directly overlapping with Active Staff's primary sectors. Similar sales-led GTM model serving enterprise clients with temporary and permanent workforce solutions.

Broad incumbents

• Manpower UK: Major UK staffing provider under ManpowerGroup with broad coverage of industrial, warehouse, driving, and office staffing. Comparable business model and multi-sector coverage though with substantially larger branch network and corporate clients.
• Reed: UK's largest family-run recruitment firm providing temporary, permanent, and outsourced recruitment across industrial, commercial, professional, and healthcare verticals. Overlaps with most of Active Staff's service lines but at significantly larger national scale.
• Gi Group: Global staffing group with substantial UK operations across industrial, logistics, and professional staffing. Overlaps heavily with Active Staff's industrial and logistics segments, but at much larger scale and with broader geographic reach.
• Adecco UK: UK arm of global staffing leader Adecco Group, providing temporary staffing and permanent placement across industrial, office, logistics, and professional sectors. Comparable in offering breadth though operating at vastly greater scale and with deeper enterprise contracts.
• Hays UK: UK arm of global recruitment firm Hays, specializing in professional, technical, and skilled industrial staffing. Comparable in recruitment service delivery and candidate matching, though with greater focus on professional/white-collar placements than Active Staff's industrial-heavy mix.

Emerging players

• Indeed Flex: Digital-first temporary staffing platform targeting hospitality, warehouse, and industrial workers via mobile app. Represents the technology-driven threat to traditional recruiters like Active Staff, particularly in commodity industrial placement where matching is increasingly commoditized.

Regional players

• REED Temporary Works: While Reed operates nationally, its branch-network service model in southern England (where Active Staff operates) is the most directly comparable regional competitor for industrial and commercial temp placements at the local level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Active_staff_
• Facebookfacebook.com/Active-Staff-Oxfordshire-100063691386128
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/active-staff-ltd

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Active Staff