German Equity Partners V (“GEP V” or the “Fund”), a fund managed by independent German investment company ECM Equity Capital Management GmbH (“ECM”), has entered into a partnership investment with the Duesseldorf-based tech-enabled talent acquisition specialist ONE HIRING Group (“1H”). 1H focuses on permanent placements in the verticals Tech and Finance and recently expanded into Legal. 1H follows a differentiated “hybrid” recruitment model combining the personal human touch of traditional recruiting firms with its self-developed tech platform. Together with its new partner, the 1H team headed by co-founder and CEO Julian Schubert plans to continue its success story and to further strengthen its position in a fragmented market. Jointly with a group of key employees, Julian Schubert will re-invest a significant stake and will continue to lead and develop the business. The parties have agreed not to disclose further details of the transaction.
Entrepreneurial and strategic know-how for further dynamic growth
1H sees great potential in the fragmented and growing market which is supported by structural tailwinds including increased job mobility and shortage of skilled labour. The company will continue to pursue its ambitious growth plans in existing and new verticals and internationally in new regions. Focus will be on strengthening the go-to-market approach and operational excellence, all supported by continuing investments into 1H’s digital platform. Beyond organic growth, 1H may explore strategic add-on acquisitions.
Julian Schubert (co-founder & CEO of 1H) and Paul Heslop (co-founder of 1H) said: “With ECM, we have found a trusted partner to further expand the positioning we have built in recent years, both technologically and operationally. ECM truly understands the entrepreneurial and human centricheritage of our company and has extensive experience in supporting growth and internationalisationstrategies. We will continue to invest in our recruiting services portfolio to meet our candidates” and clients” demands. All supported by continued focus on digitisation while maintaining the higheststandard when it comes to attention to people, both internal employees and also all our candidates.”
Jan-Luca Bell, Investment Director of ECM, stated: “1H is a unique platform with an impressive growth profile and an exceptional team. We look forward to partnering with Julian Schubert and the entire 1H team and to support the company”s growth by investing in continued organisational and technological product development. We are very pleased to embark on the new partnership underpinned by strong employee ownership.”
Axel Eichmeyer, Managing Partner of ECM, added: “We look forward to supporting 1H’s outstanding management and energetic employees as a trusted partner. Tech-enabled Business Services is one of our core sectors where we have built substantial expertise and look forward to working together with the team".
GEP V was advised on this transaction by CMS (legal M&A), Code & Co. (technology & product), FGS (structuring), Goodwin (legal finance), Houlihan Lokey (debt advisory), PwC (ESG), Roedl & Partner (finance & tax), Roland Berger (commercial) and Willis Towers Watson (insurance). Axel Eichmeyer, Alex Schönborn, Jan-Luca Bell and Fabian Hentges were responsible for the transaction at ECM.
About the ONE HIRING Group
ONE HIRING is a tech-enabled talent acquisition platform focused on permanent placements in the verticals Tech and Finance and recently expanded into Legal. Starting as a traditional recruitment firm over a decade ago, 1H has successfully digitized its business model. Today, the company follows a differentiated “hybrid” recruitment model combining elements of digital-only platforms with the personal human touch of traditional recruiting firms. Services are supported by a self-developed tech platform that partially automates processes thereby increasing scalability and operational efficiency. 1H counts many well-known IT and accounting firms to its customer base. It operates in a highly fragmented and growing market which is supported by structural tailwinds including increased job mobility and shortage of skilled labour. The group employs more than 160 people and operates across Germany, the UK and the US.
Further information at: www.onehiring.com
About ECM Equity Capital Management GmbH (“ECM”)
ECM is a trusted growth partner for mid-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs in German-speaking Europe. Since 1995, ECM has raised the private equity funds GEP I-V with aggregate equity commitments of more than €1 billion and currently invests out of the fifth fund GEP V (€325 million). The funds invest primarily in leading mid-market companies with attractive growth potential in the context of ownership successions, partnership transactions and corporate spin-offs.
Further information at: www.ecm-pe.de