As part of its global expansion strategy, professional and management recruiter Antal International has developed a new approach to joint venturing which allows other organisations and individual recruiters to work with it without seed capital.

“While many recruitment businesses are retrenching, the financial reserves we’ve managed to build up through careful management and initiatives, such as the sale of the majority holding in our Russian business, means that we’re still committed to growth,” says Antal’s CEO, Tony Goodwin.

“But to do this we need to attract and retain the best people in the business, something that so far we’ve done through conventional employment, franchises and what I’d term traditional joint venturing where both parties contribute capital to the arrangement.

“However it’s become increasingly clear that there are some very good companies, teams and individuals out there with plenty of talent and commitment but very little cash.

“That’s why we’ve developed our new ‘Talent Capital’ programme which will allow partners to work with us under their own name, but without having to make an upfront financial commitment.”

Goodwin points out that the programme’s initial key targets are businesses and individuals with a strong track record in the contracts and interims sector, the public arena, healthcare, FMCG, renewables and transport.

“What we’re keen to offer is the infrastructure support in areas such as finance, IT, marketing and training that able recruiters need to fulfil their potential without being swallowed up into a larger organisation.

“And of course, while we are ‘nice guys’ there is great commercial logic behind this. Working in this way will be good for us as well as our partners and mean we’ll be one of the fastest off the blocks to take advantage of the upturn when it comes.”