Independent firm Hoop Recruitment has transitioned to employee ownership with business support from Welsh co-op development agency Cwmpas.
Established in 2016, Hoop turns over around £20m, has offices in Cardiff and Swansea, and employs around 40 members of staff. It specialises in recruiting for the nursing, social care, social work, education, HR and professional services sectors.
CEO Paul Lewis and COO Hywel Roberts, who founded Hoop, feel the employee ownership trust model (EOT) is critical for the future success of the business and are excited about the change being created in the recruitment industry.
The pair worked together earlier in their careers, and developed Hoop as a customer/client focused recruitment company. They have no plans to leave the business, and both will remain on the board.
“At Hoop, we pride ourselves on doing things differently,” said Lewis. “Hywel and I started the business with a clear mission – to create a recruitment agency that genuinely puts people first, breaking away from the industry’s sometimes challenging reputation. Since then, we’ve grown steadily, and this year we reached a significant milestone by transitioning to an EOT. This change has given our team a real stake in the future of Hoop and aligns with our commitment to building a business based on trust, collaboration, and long-term thinking.
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“As a CEO, you want your business to grow and thrive in line with your values and beliefs, and we feel that Hoop can and will do this even more under the ownership of our employees.
“We have always had a great working culture here at Hoop. We have worked flexibly since the business started and find that, being flexible and family friendly, we attract the best recruitment professionals in the industry to work for us. Now, being employee owned, we can give even more back to our team, effectively creating a company full of business owners. Our workforce is more determined and focused than ever to deliver on our vision, mission and purpose.
“We are now massive advocates for EOTs. Using this business model, we hope to expand and make Hoop one of the largest independently owned business in Wales, and to create a business that we are even more proud of, a business that gives back as much as it can to clients and staff alike.”
Hoop Recruitment was given legal advice from Acuity and other support from Social Business Wales, delivered by Cwmpas and funded by the Welsh government, which has hit its pledge to double the number of EO firms in Wales two years ahead of schedule.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with Paul and Hywel,” said Branwen Ellis, specialist employee ownership consultant at Cwmpas, “and it was clear from the outset that the EO model would work well for them and the business, as it was clearly aligned with the organisational culture. I think they both considered the EOT model not only to be a good succession planning option, but also a way to further enhance their organisational culture, to empower their workforce, and to give something back.
“I look forward to seeing Hoop go from strength to strength under its new ownership, and wish them all the best for the future.”
