Inside Our UK Lunch Series: How Top Agencies Are Building Long-Term Value

2 Cities. 4 Lunches. One Playbook for Building a Valuable Recruitment Business

Over a few days in London and Manchester, we hosted four lunches with Greg Savage, bringing together a mix of recruitment leaders and agency owners.

Each session centred around Greg’s take on what it really means to build a valuable recruitment business today. But what stood out wasn’t just the presentation, it was everything that came after. The conversations were open, honest and grounded in the realities of running an agency right now.

Key Takeaways: What High-Performing Agencies Do Differently

• Go narrow, not broad: Agencies that truly understand their niche, clients, and the value they bring are outperforming generalists.
• Know your numbers: Understanding cost per consultant, tracking productivity, and having clear visibility of margins is essential for sustainable growth.
• Operational excellence drives value: Payroll, funding, systems, and processes are not just admin, they directly impact your ability to scale confidently.
• Focus on relationships and exclusivity: Leveraging networks, internal databases, and positioning as a true partner leads to stronger, more predictable outcomes.
• Adapt to market pressures: Fee pressure is real, and winning agencies are rethinking deals and demonstrating their intrinsic value clearly.

Where operations meet valuation

One of the most valuable extensions of the playbook was how closely operational excellence is tied to business value.

As agencies grow, the backend becomes increasingly important. Payroll, funding, systems and processes are no longer just administrative functions, they directly impact how confidently businesses can scale.

Conversely, small inefficiencies that may go unnoticed early on can quickly become barriers to growth at scale. The agencies that are getting ahead are those investing early in the right infrastructure to support both performance and resilience.

These conversations closely reflect what we’re seeing across the market. Growth is no longer just about revenue, it’s about building a business that is structured, scalable and ultimately valuable.

The role of partnerships

These lunches were also a great example of what strong partnerships can look like in practice.

Working closely with the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and Greg Savage, we filled the room with industry leaders and operators, creating an environment that was both insightful and highly relevant.

It reinforced something we strongly believe at Apositive, building a valuable recruitment business doesn’t happen in isolation. Having the right partners around you can make a big difference, whether that’s in navigating challenges, unlocking growth, or just having better visibility across the business.

What’s next

The UK recruitment market is evolving quickly, but the themes from these conversations feel pretty consistent.

For anyone focused on building long-term value, the opportunity is there. But it starts with getting the fundamentals right, knowing your numbers, focusing your niche, and having the right structure in place to support growth.

Key insight: Growth isn’t just about revenue, it’s about building a structured, scalable, and ultimately valuable business.

If you’re thinking about how this applies to your own agency, we’re always happy to continue the conversation. Our funding, payroll, and payments solutions are designed to help recruitment businesses overcome operational challenges, improve cash flow, and scale with confidence.

A huge thank you

Lastly, a big thank you to Greg Savage for sharing his time, experience and playbook across all four sessions.

And to everyone who joined us, your openness, engagement and willingness to contribute is what made these lunches truly invaluable.