UK recruitment company crashes into administration – 23 years in the business | UK | News

A UK recruitment firm with around three decades in the industry has fallen into administration, according to The Gazette. TBC Recruitment Limited is based in Chester and specialises in blue-collar recruitment across warehousing, food production, logistics, distribution and basic manufacturing. The business has 31 members of staff and over 650 temporary workers across its client base, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. The firm appointed administrators on March 19. Megan Singleton and Mark Colman, both of insolvency firm Leonard Curtis, have been named as joint administrators and will now oversee the process.

This comes as Meraki Capital, a London-based recruitment investment firm, announced it has acquired TBC Recruitment for an undisclosed fee, marking its fifth acquisition of the year.

Companies House records show TBC Recruitment had overdue accounts due in March 2026. While it started filing in 2002, its most recent financial filings only cover the period up to December 2023. The company’s website keeps promoting jobs. On social media, however, most of the firm’s accounts are no longer active. The last post on Facebook was in March 2025. Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn accounts can no longer be accessed.

Nick Gordon, founder of Meraki Capital, said: “As with so many recruitment companies right now, the company has struggled to keep up with wage inflation, increased National Insurance costs and the broader rise in employment costs.

“We see that TBC is fundamentally a strong business with a loyal client base and a highly experienced team. Bringing TBC under the Magnus brand allows us to provide the resources, technology and commercial support needed to help the business become profitable again and realise its full potential.”

The business is far from the first one in the sector to change its trajectory this year. In February, a UK staffing company collapsed into liquidation, owing HMRC almost £750,000. Hartley White Limited, a Norfolk-based firm that provided agency staff, appointed liquidators after a winding-up petition was filed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over unpaid tax debts.

Around the same time, a healthcare recruitment agency supplying temporary staff to care providers collapsed into administration. Standby Healthcare (North) Ltd, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, entered administration on February 20 after insolvency practitioners were appointed to take control of the business.