UK recruitment firm collapses amid £4.5 million debts

Tec Partners, which is based in Reading and Norwich, and specialises in recruitment in the technology, science, gaming and engineering sectors, has appointed administrators.

The group made the move in early May and it includes its holding company, the Tec Recruitment Group Limited, and its subsidiaries, Tec Partners Limited and Tec Partners (South East) limited.

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The three companies owed creditors a combined £4,549,449 – including £402,627 to HMRC.

Based in Greyfriars Road in Reading, and Norwich – and founded by Andrew Bailey – the firm advertised jobs across the Thames Valley including regularly in Oxfordshire and employed almost 30 people in total.

However, since the company’s collapse, it has been purchased by Tec Partners Recruitment Limited in a pre-pack sale for £175,000.

The Tec Partners website (Image: Tec Partners)

A pre-pack is when a company enters administration and is immediately sold by the administrator, with the deal typically being negotiated before the formal appointment of insolvency practitioners.

The new company has the same directors as the previous one, namely Christopher Beech, Leigh Howard and Paul Kitley.

According to our sister paper the Eastern Daily Press, the directors said the business had “faced extremely challenging market conditions” over the last few years.

“Those challenges came to a head following well-publicised restructures at several major clients, where tens of thousands of roles were made redundant,” the three directors said in a joint statement.

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“This led to the immediate termination of a significant number of contractors we supported, reducing revenues by a critical amount almost overnight and placing the business under severe financial pressure.

 “After seeking professional advice, the appointed insolvency practitioner advised and conducted a wide-ranging marketing exercise for the business, which attracted a number of offers, with the offer from the incumbent directors considered the strongest outcome available.

“Most importantly, this has enabled the business to preserve all jobs, continue trading and provide a more stable environment for the future.”