Britain’s permanent recruitment market has endured its longest downturn in nearly 30 years of survey records, according to S&P Global, with placements falling for 45 consecutive months.
Connecting Excellence Group Plc (AQSE: XCE / OTCQB: XCELF) is pursuing growth through that backdrop by targeting profitable executive and specialist recruitment businesses.
XCE’s strategy focuses on recruitment businesses with expertise in senior appointments and specialist markets. Its existing business, Spencer Riley, has continued to grow through the downturn. The Group has now completed its first acquisition, James Gray Recruitment, a specialist construction and engineering recruiter that grew revenue by 21.5% to £1.79 million and generated £431,000 EBITDA in the year to 30 June 2026.
The deal marks the first acquisition under XCE’s strategy of giving founders a route to liquidity, succession and capital for growth while retaining their brands, management and operational independence.
Key figures:
- Pro-forma Group revenue nearly doubles to approximately £3.63m, on a combined, unaudited basis for the 12 months to 30 June 2026.*
- James Gray revenue of £1.79m, up 21.5% year-on-year.
- £431,000 EBITDA in the 12 months to 30 June 2026.
- Approximately £150,000 net cash outflow on completion, before transaction costs, with further consideration payable against performance.
- 8.216 BTC added through the acquisition, taking Group holdings to 81.157 BTC, valued at approximately £5.25m at the 4pm price on 2 October 2026.
James Gray becomes XCE’s second recruitment business alongside Spencer Riley, placing technical, management and leadership candidates across the UK, US and international markets. XCE plans to repeat the model by acquiring profitable, founder-led specialist recruiters, giving their owners a way to realise value while remaining involved in the businesses they have built.
XCE’s model brings together recruitment cashflows, access to public markets and a Bitcoin treasury to fund acquisitions and invest in people.
Its Bitcoin holdings provide an additional source of funding. Through a credit facility with BitGo, XCE can borrow up to $1.5 million against a portion of its Bitcoin without selling it. That gives the Group more flexibility to finance growth alongside cash generated by its businesses and money raised from investors.
For recruitment founders, XCE offers a way to realise value without giving up the brand, team or day-to-day independence they have built. For recruiters, the Group’s equity incentive model offers the opportunity to share in the value they help create, alongside salary and commission.
That matters in a business where retaining strong recruiters is central to growth. XCE aims to give founders a reason to join, their teams a reason to stay, and its businesses access to capital to expand.
Scott Ellam, Chief Executive Officer of Connecting Excellence Group, said:
“The wider recruitment market has been through a prolonged downturn, but we have continued to see opportunities in executive and specialist recruitment. Our focus is on businesses with deep expertise, established client relationships and a record of profitable growth”.
Ellam adds:
“James Gray grew revenue by more than 20% through that downturn. It is the kind of business we want to acquire, and the people who built it will continue to run it. For founders, we offer a way to realise some of the value they have created, keep their brand and independence, and remain invested in future growth. This is our first acquisition. The opportunity now is to repeat the model and build a larger, profitable recruitment group.”
Richard Samuels, Managing Director of James Gray Recruitment, said:
“We’ve built James Gray into a strong specialist business, and the focus now is on how much further we can take it. Joining XCE gives us greater firepower to invest in our team, expand into new markets and build on the opportunities we’re already seeing across the UK and US. We have ambitious plans for the business, and this gives us a bigger platform to deliver them.”
