Having overcome the current economic crisis, Italy’s largest group in the employment services market resumes its growth abroad with a major acquisition in the United Kingdom.

Milan, March 28, 2011 - Gi Group began 2011 with a new international operation and entered the English-speaking market with the acquisition of 100% of the capital of right4Staff, one of the top 20 employment agencies in the British market and third independent operator in "blue collar" recruitment. The agency, present on the territory with 102 affiliates (70 of which are onsite), billed more than 160 million pounds sterling in 2010, equal to 184 million Euros, and managed an average of 12,000 workers per week, primarily in the temporary employment sector.

Great Britain thus becomes the twelfth country in which Gi Group is present, joining Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Poland, Romania, China, Hong Kong, India, Brazil and Argentina. The acquisition took place just months after the Italian group entered CIETT, the International Confederation of Employment agencies, as a Multiregional Corporate Member.

"Our launch in Great Britain was one of the planned phases of our international growth process and is a logical consequence of our mission, which is to be a global company in services dedicated to the development of the labor market."

"This acquisition," continues Colli-Lanzi, "allows us to close the year with billings above one billion two hundred million Euros, raising us into the position of the first and only Italian company in the sector among the top employment multinationals in the world. This demonstrates that Italian businesses, if managed with a perspective of medium- to long-term investment, can grow beyond the local reality from which we began to become multinationals."
"The United Kingdom is one of the top labor markets in the world and Europe’s number one in penetrating the temporary labor market. In 2010, the overall billing for temporary staffing and permanent placement services was 20 billion pounds sterling (equal to 23 billion Euros) and for 2011 this amount is predicted to reach 25 billion (approximately 29 billion Euros). These are enormous numbers if compared with Italy, where overall business figures in 2010 were approximately 5.5 billion Euros. We are talking about a major market, extremely dynamic and competitive, where, with the acquisition of right4Staff, we can play a starring role." "Over the next few years," concludes Colli-Lanzi, "our goal is to further develop our presence on the British market, expanding outside of the industrial and blue collar sectors, and to develop search & selection activities.
We are also certain that the competences of right4Staff will decidedly accelerate our steps toward our internationalization goals." 

"right4staff has always been proud of being a different kind of agency," says Jess Watt, CEO of right4Staff. "This has been demonstrated by our exceptional growth after the economic recession, with group billing increasing from 112 million pounds sterling in 2009 to more than 180 million projected for 2011. These impressive numbers show the intrinsic quality of the business and our intense focus on our clients, as well as demonstrating that not only did the company come out of the recession, but even grew during this difficult period. As part of Gi Group, we can now look toward the future to reinforce our presence in the United Kingdom; we and our clients may enjoy the advantages of being part of an enormously successful international group on a path to global excellence in this sector. We are very happy to be part of Gi Group."

The acquisition of right4Staff brought about another historic "accelleration": the number of affiliates of the Gi Group will reach 450, with foreign affiliates (250) outnumbering the Italian businesses.

* Consultation on the evaluation and structuring of the acquisition operation was performed for Gi Group by Studio Tavecchio & Associati

Read our press release