Report Q1 2018
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A word from Craig The Headford Group is the leading management consultancy for the freight industry and has a range of services to assist freight companies with their growth strategy. Our aim is simple:-
4. Present any suitable acquisition targets to ensure a higher level of guaranteed growth. 5. Offer a tax efficient, effective exit strategy for owners aiming to sell their freight business.
1. Partner with our clients and agree a clear growth strategy. 2. Provide the marketing platform to produce the right type of enquiries at the right pace. 3. Source Market Leading Talent to ensure maximum conversion on all enquiries generated.
Mission statement To be the globe’s leading strategic growth consultancy for the freight forwarding industry. Forming valuable partnerships with our clients and offering them an effective growth strategy at any stage of their journey.
Headford... Your Strategic Growth Partner
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
Q1 Director’s summary Quarter 1 has been a fantastic start to the year.
The M&A team is building a strong pipeline and has a massive Q2 lined up.
We have solidly laid the foundations for growth by strengthening our accounts department and our sales team.
We have also acquired Peter Farmer Associates to strengthen our position as market leaders in freight and logistics mergers and acquisitions.
We have set a clear five-year growth strategy to expand at a steady pace of one sales person per month. We will immediately replace anyone who leaves and maintain the trend. This is a healthy rate of growth and allows us to implement our mentoring strategy.
The media team is also performing well, ahead of last year with the introduction of two principal media sales professionals: Richard Booth from Bristol Post and Dom Roberts from Thompson Directories.
The Executive Search team has put in a very strong performance in Q1 and this has greatly assisted cash flow and growth.
All in all, a very exciting year is shaping up as we start to launch market-leading products for the sector, for example Freightabase: the ultimate freight-buying tool. Craig Headford – Managing Director, Headford Group
Key achievements 4
Head count growth on target WCA Vendor Members Launched ValueMyForwarder.com Launched ValueMyAgency.com
Work hard ...play hard WCA’s 20th Annual Conference 2018 in Singapore offered up a wealth of new networking and investment opportunities for the freight forwarding community. This was Headford Group’s 1 st year at the conference and it was hailed by the three facets as perhaps their most successful event yet. The occasion was the perfect opportunity for Headford Group to showcase the all-encompassing role that it can play throughout the freight forwarding industry. From helping you set out at the start of your business with marketing and media, to hiring quality candidates into your business, right through to your exit and getting the most out of the company you have built up.
The Executive Search section of the group could enjoy talks on the recurring issues of younger talent within freight forwarding and the recruitment shortages that are plaguing the industry, offering up advice and hints for business owners. Freight Mergers could guide people through the sea of legislative work behind buying and selling processes. Whilst FORWARDER Magazine and Freight Media could advise on the optimum ways to market to a freight audience. The enjoyment didn’t stop at the show. The awards dinner and spectacular display put on by WCA meant Headford Group could let their hair down, let the drinks flow and mingle with the rest of the talented industry. Great food, better company and likeminded atmosphere led to WCA 20th Annual Conference being a highlight of Q1 for the group, and we all can’t wait for next year.
This encompassing feel for the industry attracted some of the biggest players throughout the trade to communicate to the representatives we had in Singapore. For most practitioners, they had specific needs that if Freight Mergers couldn’t solve, then perhaps Freight Media could. A genuine feeling of relaxed communication and insightful advice led to a sense that continued growth of the group was on the horizon for the rest of 2018.
Craig Headford – Managing Director, Headford Group
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Recruitment Headford Growth UK Headford Growth USA Headford Growth UAE Headford Growth East Asia
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
UK
Q1 department summary Q1 was a huge success for the recruitment side of our business, globally. Not only did we place more candidates into target roles and help more clients fill spots they’ve otherwise struggled with, but we’ve also had a record number of quality contacts reaching out to us for assistance on both sides of the fence. Essentially, we’re more than just a recruitment business. We are a freight-focused growth partner and business consultancy that can help clients grow
their teams, advertise their services and then buy/sell when the time is right. We can advise on the whole lifespan of a business. Thanks to this, we’re now recognised as a truly global player in the staffing industry in freight & logistics, and we’re looking forward to another quarter of continued growth and success alongside our clients! Lewis Bunn – Head of Recruitment, Headford Growth
A global presence
Growth East Asia
UAE
After an extremely successful 2017, Headford USA has continued in the same fashion into the new year. Due to continued growth, we have already added three experienced consultants to the team in Q1 to cover the Midwest & Southeast. Our team of consultants continues to assist operations, sales and management candidates to find better career opportunities with freight forwarders from small and midsized to top 25. We are looking forward to an equally successful Q2.
UK
Danny Barnes – Consultant, Headford USA
Closer to home... Quarter One was a very successful quarter for Headford RPO with multiple placements up and down the country. This quarter saw a wide range of placements from operations all the way up to senior appointments being filled by our dedicated and talented recruitment team. The team’s hard
work and commitment to help both clients and candidates seeking their next placement was next to none and provided one of the best first quarters Headford has recorded to date. Jamie Watts – Consultant, Headford Growth UK
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
UK
Global service for a global industry Samuel Wilding
Sales & Senior Management Midwest & West Coast USA +1 (312) 496 6624 samuel@headfordgroup.com
Danny Barnes
Sales, Operations & Senior Management Northeast USA +1 (646) 915 1495 danny@headfordgroup.com
Sean Borhani
Sales, Operations & Senior Management Middle East & Africa +971 (0) 4501 5675 sean@headford.ae
Simon Neale
Middle East Director Sales & Senior Management GCC Region +971 (0)4501 5987 simon@headford.ae
Charlie Godsell Ops, Sales & Management Midwest & West Coast USA +1 (312) 971 5669 charlie@headfordgroup.com
United Kingdom America Middle East / Africa Far East
Ben Redmond
Sales & Operations Southeast & West Coast USA +1 (470) 481 1844 ben@headfordgroup.com
Lewis Bunn
Head of Recruitment Sales & Senior Management Southeast USA & Europe +1 (404) 592 6315 lewis@headfordgroup.com
Stephen Conway Ryan Pruett
Sales, Operations & Senior Management UK +44 (0)1454 628 787 ryan@headfordgroup.com
Jamie Watts
Sales, Operations & Senior Management UK +44 (0)1454 275 951 jamiew@headfordgroup.com
Welcome to the team Hi, my name is Ben Redmond. I am a father to three beautiful children. My Son is two and I have twin girls who are three months old. I have been working in recruitment for a year and a half. I have lived in several places across the south of the UK and I love the Southwest. Ben Redmond – Recruitment Consultant, Headford Growth USA
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Sales & Senior Management Singapore & Hong Kong +971 (0) 0524 063822 stephen@headford.ae
Simon of Arabia Q1 in Dubai has been challenging with the new VAT that has come in from 1 Jan. Companies are being more measured in their spending, meaning that cash in the bank is paramount out here for these companies. We have, however, had a record number of sales roles proving that the market is still very buoyant when it comes to getting that all-important salesperson who is going to give you that increase in market share.
We are receiving more and more enquiries from clients that we have placed with last year, now establishing ourselves as the regional freight recruitment specialists and we are actively working with most of the top-20 MNCs as well as large, regional players. People and companies are still holding their breath hoping Expo 2020 is going to create a further boost to the local economy. However, there has been an increase in government projects and some of the larger MNCs are now also starting to make a significant investment in their infrastructure (warehousing, enlarging fleets, e-commerce development). Simon Neale – Middle East Director, Headford LLC
Headford launches East Asia division From developing a cold desk from scratch takes a certain mindset: having to build data, establish a new brand in a market and reach out continuously in building credibility and rapport with clients and candidates alike. Stephen has been working tirelessly in building up Headford East Asia from Dubai. The reception and feedback that we are getting from the market, from both clients and candidates, is that it is refreshing to have a freight industryspecific recruitment agency. The Singapore market is predominantly one of generalist recruiters, who do not understand the intricacies of the freight industry. We have had exceptional feedback from clients in their desire to meet our candidates and Stephen has already signed up 50 per cent of the Global MNCs, with interviews being achieved. The candidate market is very much driven by supply, in that many of the candidates are not actively looking and it does require more active search and getting commitment is more challenging. However, the clients are very much demanding the type of profiles that we focus on, namely that of exceptional freight sales professionals, and with all the interviews and meetings that are continuing to take place this will be a very profitable region to continue developing the Headford Brand. Stephen is now focusing on developing the HKG market as well, so in Q2 it will be interesting to see how the freight market responds to our development also. Stephen Conway – Consultant, Headford LLC
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M&A Freight Mergers Recruitment Mergers
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F R E I G H T www.freightmergers.com +44 (0)1454 275 950 enquiries@freightmergers.com
Q1 department summary Freight Mergers has had a successful Q1 and our specialist sales, mergers and acquisitions mentality has helped in forging even stronger relationships. From attending – and making lasting relationships at – the WCA 20th annual conference in Singapore, enjoying conversing at the London Freight Club luncheons, right through to our successful acquisition of the UK-based Mergers &
Acquisitions advisory firm Peter Farmer Associates Limited (PFA), 2018 has led to continued growth for Freight Mergers. Our specialist knowledge of logistics, strong associations and consolidation of business throughout forwarding can only mean that Q2 will be equally – if not more – successful. David Roberts – M&A Consultant, Freight Mergers
Getting involved... The first quarter of 2018 saw Freight Mergers become authorised vendor members of the WCA network. With over 6,000 members across multiple networks, it was decided that the next stage of our global development would be to join the largest collection of forwarders in the world to offer assistance on M&A activity. As sector specialists we hope our newly formed relationship will be welcomed by those who need guidance during the buy or sell-side transactions, we look forward to assisting companies’ growth over the coming months and advising on more global deals in 2018.
Who’s who?
David Roberts M&A Consultant +44 (0)1454 275 941 david@freightmergers.com
Craig Headford
Jack Lonnen
Managing Director +44 (0)1454 275 939 craig@freightmergers.com
M&A Consultant +44 (0)1454 275 941 jack@freightmergers.com
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www.recruitmentmergers.com +44 (0)20 3872 5838 enquiries@recruitmentmergers.com
Q1 department summary Recruitment Mergers had a positive Q1 with current deals moving close to completion and an excellent new seller signed. This seller specialises in medical recruitment and is based in London making significant margins and experiencing huge growth. With some hard work and a bit of luck I hope to close this transaction by Q4. We have also recruited a part-time new business advisor, Callum, who
is currently studying at Bristol University and has been brought in to expand our database and contact owners and buyers to explain our services. Q2 is set to be our best yet with two sell-side transactions due to complete. Charlie Watson – Principal M&A Consultant, Recruitment Mergers
Welcome to the team I have recently joined Recruitment Mergers from an investment management background and hold a degree in Business Management with Finance. I made the move to corporate finance due to a passion for the industry and the fast-paced environment. The team I work with has been very supportive over the past few months to ensure my transition into the company has been as smooth as possible. Alexander Jones – M&A Consultant, Recruitment Mergers
Who’s who?
Charlie Watson Principal M&A Consultant +44 (0)1454 275 941 charlie.watson@recruitmentmergers.com
Craig Headford
Alexander Jones
Managing Director +44 (0)1454 275 939 craig@headfordgroup.com
M&A New Business Consultant +44 (0)1454 275 933 alexander.jones@recruitmentmergers.com
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Market activity One of the most significant recent acquisitions is the purchase of Alexander Mann Solutions by OMERS Private Equity, the P.E. investment arm of OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in the Province of Ontario, Canada. The deal is valued at approximately £820m.
Harvey Nash, the global technology recruitment and outsourcing group, cemented their positon as the market leader by acquiring Crimson for £12m. Crimson was founded in 2000 and specialises in digital and technology transformation.
April 2018 also saw Adecco, the worlds leading HR solutions partner, announce the purchase of General Assembly, a New York-based pioneer in education and career transformation. The enterprise value of this transaction totalled $412.5m.
Japan-based Trust Tec has increased their presence in the UK by acquiring a majority stake of gap personnel. Taking a 75-per-cent stake in the business, Trust Tec provides gap with a significant springboard, internationally. Charlie Watson– Principal M&A Consultant, Recruitment Mergers
Other
Education
Software/online
Engineering
Non-recruitment
Executive search Financial services
Manufacturing
I.T.
Generalists
Healthcare
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Marketing Freight Media FORWARDER magazine FORWARDER Directory Freightabase
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www.freight-media.com +44 (0)1454 628 777 team@freight-media.com
Welcome to the team It has been great to join the Freight Media team. I joined back in January bringing with me over 20 years’ experience in media sales, most recent of which was in directory sales. The opportunity to work on the FORWARDER magazine and Directory was too good to pass up. The teams have been a great help in getting me up to speed with the freight forwarding industry and the terminology needed to develop relationships with my new customers. Working with different Headford Group facets means that I have had the support of influential forwarding businesses and individuals. I had only been on site a few weeks before the BIFA awards and shortly afterwards we struck a contra deal with WCA resulting in team members attending their Singapore conference, representing the publication. The rebuild of the website has also been a massive success due to our customers’ digitally driven focus, improving all aspects – including traffic. The London Freight Club luncheons have been a great opportunity to take time out and put faces to names and network. It’s been a pleasure working with an old friend Richard Booth who joined the team at the beginning of March and has really made his mark, setting high standards and values that we can all bounce off. The drive and ambition across all the teams of the Headford Group provides constant solutions for me and our clients. I cannot wait to see what Q2 brings. Dom Roberts – Campaign Manager, Freight Media
My name is Richard Booth and I have recently joined the Headford Group as a marketing campaign consultant for the Freight Media department. I am very excited to be part of the group and have appreciated the support I have been given, having since formed a partnership with a very influential freight forwarder. The expertise in the department has been invaluable and I look forward to a very successful future with the group. Richard Booth – Campaign Consultant, Freight Media
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www.forwardermagazine.com +44 (0)1454 628 794 team@forwardermagazine.com
Q1 department summary Q1 for FORWARDER magazine has been an incredible time for us. Not only have we been able to speak to some of the most influential figures in the industry, we have been able to showcase the premium service at industry shows/events throughout Q1. Not only have we seen success in terms of growth and financials, we have also seen our innovative team start to roll out videography, professional photography,
insightful interviews and innovative media techniques that will help make us, again, the most reliable source for news in the freight forwarding community. I can’t wait to see what Q2 holds for the magazine and how we can continue to impact the industry. Matt Dailly – Editor, FORWARDER magazine
Key achievements
Successful first two years Revamped the website Taken on two sales champions Added ‘FORWARDER Tech’
Happy birthday FORWARDER! FORWARDER magazine celebrated its second birthday in Q1, with 24 issues on the bookshelf by the end of 2017. The team and the magazine have both grown in scale, quality and focus, establishing themselves as the best in the business. Engagement and interest have steadliy risen, everyone’s heard of us and the feedback’s great. Tim Headford – Designer, FORWARDER magazine
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FORWARDER online evolves... FORWARDERmagazine.com started out as a very simple landing page to promote the magazine, which was then in its infancy. Over the last year or so the site has evolved and grown into a fully functioning, digital version of the printed publication. More than that, it’s now a viable resource for industry professionals to learn about the regions and topics of interest to them personally or as a business. Tim Headford – Designer, FORWARDERmagazine.com
Great reception at WCA Singapore In March we partnered up with the WCA and joined them at their network annual conference. This was an amazing event with FORWARDER magazine being handed out to all delegates in conference packs. We sourced a local printer in Singapore and printed an additional 3,500 copies to hand out at the event. This gave Forwarder an extra circulation list with over 6,000 members of the WCA. On the front cover of the magazine we had the WCA’s owner David and CEO Dan March. I can honestly say in my opinion this was one of the best events I have ever attended. I took representatives from both my Executive Search and Mergers & Acquisition teams. The Headford Group offered the WCA members a unique service tailored to assist members with their growth strategy. Overall a very successful event for us and we will be attending every year. Freight Mergers as a result of our partnership with the WCA are now vendor members, offering a service to any forwarders looking to buy another forwarder or plan their own exit strategy. Craig Headford – Managing Director, Freight Media
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In other news Back office Internal recruitment Group contacts
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
Back office It’s been an amazing start to 2018 for the Headford Group back office. We have fully restructured the department and have made sure that everyone is on the right desk for them and that they can fully utilise their skills. We liken this to players on a football field. They are all great players and work well as a team but only if they are on the right place on the pitch.
and also assisting me on the group’s HR processes. Nikki will be taking her AAT exams in Q3. Mohit and Tim will continue to do a fantastic job with the creation of both the group’s and our clients’ designs and web work. We have always been very proud of our marketing and always encourage Mohit and Tim to develop their skills, which they have always excelled at.
The biggest change we’ve had is bringing on Elaine to head up our accounts department. Elaine brings a wealth of experience having worked for Deloitte and also the Mitie Group. Her impact has already been phenomenal and has helped not only the department but the whole group in terms of financials for M&A and also the team personally.
Both Darren and I are currently working on a project that Craig and I are very passionate about: Freightabase. It was first launched 10 years ago by us and was a game changer in the freight industry. Now with the power of the group’s data, sales team, marketing capabilities and investment we are ready to continue the success and give our clients warm daily sales leads with tangible results that we can prove.
Joining Elaine in the accounts department is Nikki who has been with the group for a few years now. She has worked a few days a week supporting our Managing Director but has now joined us on a more full-time basis supporting Elaine
Chris Tissier – Operations Manager, Headford Group
Key achievements
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Revolutionised the accounts dept. Redesigned Freightabase Developed ValueMyForwarder Developed ValueMyAgency
www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
Internal recruitment I was given the opportunity to head up internal recruitment last year and we have kicked 2018 off with a bang. We sat down as a team and looked at the departments we wanted to grow, develop and strengthen and had huge success in our first quarter, bringing in some amazing talent.
The biggest change we have had this quarter was when we brought Elaine in to head up our accounts department; her experience has made a huge and positive impact on our back office and the whole company financially. Elaine’s strengths and experience have become invaluable.
We have had Dominic and Richard join Freight Media, the ‘dream team’, as we like to call them. They have strengthened the department with their vast experience in the media industry and have brought fresh and innovative ideas to the table, which are already proving successful. I am excited to see where they take their department over the next few months. Ben has started on Headford USA with great success, achieving his first deal in his first week and continuing to bill monthly whilst building his client portfolio and establishing a presence in the market.
We saw Alex join the Mergers & Acquisitions team from a background in investment management and he is already doing well. We also welcomed Callum to the team: he is currently studying for his degree in Economics at UWE has worked for us in between his studies. We are looking forward to having him back once his exams are finished. It has been great to have so much talent joins us this quarter and watch them settle into their new roles successfully. We are continuing to grow by a staff member a month, steadily strengthening the group. I am looking forward to our next quarter and continuing to watch the teams grow and succeed. Laura Park – Head of Internal Recruitment, Headford Group
We have the following positions available at head office...
Media sales consultants Recruitment Consultants: supply chain/procurement market Recruitment Consultants: USA market Recruitment Consultants: UK sales and operations M&A new business consultants
Get in touch... If you would like to talk to me about any of these roles, or would just like some more information about the group, please don’t hesitate to email me at laura@headfordgroup.com or call the office on +44 (0)1454 628 787.
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Group contacts Head office
Dubai office
8 Apex Court, Woodlands, Bristol BS32 4JT +44 (0)1454 275 957
4th Floor, D Wing, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, Headquarters Building Po Box 341041, Dubai, UAE +971 (0)4501 5987
Recruitment, UK
Recruitment, USA
Recruitment, UAE
Recruitment, E.Asia
www.headforduk.com +44 (0)1454 628 787
www.headfordusa.com +1 (404) 592 6315
www.headforduae.com +971 (0)4501 5987
www.headford.sg +971 (0) 0524 063822
M&A, freight
M&A, recruitment
www.freightmergers.com +44 (0)1454 275 950
www.recruitmentmergers.com +44 (0)20 3872 5838
Media & marketing
Freightabase
FORWARDER
www.freight-media.com +44 (0)1454 628 777
www.freightabase.com +44 (0)1454 628 776
www.forwardermagazine.com +44 (0)1454 628 788
Careers
Accounts
www.workforheadford.com +44 (0)7415 236 435
+44 (0)1454 628 793
Your strategic growth partner Short of actually moving things around, we as a group cover quite a few bases in the freight industry. We’re no onestop shop though, no jack of all trades and master of none. Each division is 100% specialist in what they do. We are experts in every stage of the ownership of a freight company, from initial purchase, to organic growth and team expansion, to marketing the business, to growth through mergers and acquisitions, to the final sale of your company. If you are passionate about growth and would like some assistance, please contacs one of the offices or divisions above.
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See you again in Q2...
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