Fast-growing Newcastle recruitment firm Frank Recruitment is continuing its growth overseas with the opening of an office in Chicago.
The new office, which will see more than 80 new jobs created, will be Frank’s 11th site in the US and will take the company’s global headcount close to the 2,000-mark.
Frank - which specialises in tech recruitment - was formed in Newcastle in 2006 and was acquired by equity group TPG Growth, which had previously backed the likes of Spotify and Airbnb, in a 2016 deal that valued the company at around £200m.
The new office in Chicago will initially launch the company’s Jefferson Frank, Nigel Frank and Mason Frank brands, which recruit specifically for AWS and Microsoft cloud specialists, as well as Salesforce professionals.
Group president Zoë Morris said: “We have been ahead of the curve seeing the rise in demand for cloud specialists. Companies are seeing the benefits of adopting cloud platforms and we have the expertise to be able to help them make the most of that technology.”
She added: “The demand for tech workers in Chicago will have a knock-on effect to the city’s wider job market.
“That IT workforce needs to be serviced, and we’ll be offering over 80 people the opportunity to build a fantastic career in recruitment and help us find that talent. Whether that’s at a junior or senior level, we will have jobs on offer for the right people and we’re excited to get to work with them.”
Frank - which has its main base in Newcastle’s St Nicholas Building in St Nicholas Street - opened a number of overseas offices last year, including Munich, Barcelona, Denver and Warsaw.
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In its most recent accounts, it posted a 21% rise in turnover to £227.9m, while operating profit came in at £14.2m.
In recent years, the group has amassed a raft of industry awards as well as regular appearances in Fast Track 100, International Track 200, Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250, and The Financial Times Future 100.
Commenting on the Chicago opening, Ian Clark, head of Americas for Frank, said: “The city’s tech footprint has grown solidly over the last decade.
“There’s momentum here, and you can see why - it’s a wonderful and affordable place to live. That makes it a dream for employers, as retention rates are better here in what can be a high turnover industry.”