The Management Recruitment Group Acquires PPA Global Search

November 27, 2019 – Acquisitions continue to make news in the recruiting industry, with a number of notable purchases in recent months. Recently, U.K.-based real estate and construction recruitment firm, The Management Recruitment Group (MRG), made its first international acquisition with expansion into the Asian market by purchasing PPA Global Search. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed

The new business MRG People Asia will be based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It will be led by the current managing director of PPA Global Search, Olly Piltz, who becomes regional managing director of MRG People Asia and joins the wider MRG leadership team.

The move by MRG is an effort to demonstrate its continued ambition to develop a brand unlike any other in the estates, real estate and development recruitment industries. Offering clients bespoke recruitment management solutions for senior level recruitment.

“I am delighted to be part of the team at MRG and have the opportunity to launch and scale MRG People Asia,” said Mr. Piltz. “MRG have great contacts, a fantastic track record and excellent (and unique) talent attraction and selection processes and systems. We have a unique opportunity to work with clients who have both local and global talent requirements.”

Mr. Piltz has worked in specialist recruitment since 1999 and held senior roles in London, Dubai, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur. His specialty is in the delivery of executive search and recruitment solutions to the real estate industry

“This is a significant milestone in the development of MRG and just the first step in the growth of the business globally,” said Matthew Evans, director of The Management Recruitment Group. “We plan to leverage Olly’s experience and regional knowledge to grow across the region whilst considering other strategic geographies in due course.”

Recent M&A activity

Acquisitions have kept the executive search industry in a state of flux. Here’s a sampling of recent acquisitions taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

ZRG Partners acquired Toft Group, a smaller rival focused on the life sciences and biotech sectors. Toft Group will operate as a ZRG company, focused on supporting client needs for senior life science professionals. The transaction will add about $10 million in annual revenues to ZRG and bolster the firm’s direct presence in the global life science sector in which it maintains a strong market presence in the top tier pharma space. With this acquisition, ZRG will report revenues anticipated to exceed $65 million in 2019 and will have over 200 global team members. Robin Toft, founder and chair of the Toft Group, will continue in her role with the firm where she will build out the platform and help with growth at ZRG as a senior leader.

Heidrick & Struggles acquired Brazil-headquartered search firm 2GET. With offices in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, 2GET has 50 employees, including 13 consultants. The firm was founded in 2009. Paulo Mendes, a founder and executive board member of 2GET, will lead the newly combined Heidrick & Struggles operation in Brazil.

Diversified Search, backed by investment dollars from private equity firm ShoreView Industries, has acquired Koya Leadership Partners, one of the nation’s top search firms in non-profit and higher education. Katie Bouton, Koya’s founder and CEO, will assume the role of president of Diversified Search.

Spencer Stuart has acquired MERC Partners, a leading executive search and leadership consulting firm based in Ireland. The addition of MERC Partners marks Spencer Stuart’s first client-facing team in Ireland and represents an important addition for its EMEA and global business.

ZRG Partners acquired London-headquartered search firm Holker Watkin. The firm will operate as a ZRG company, focused on supporting client needs for senior-level strategy professionals on a retained and interim project basis. The transaction is expected to add $11 million in annual revenues to ZRG and bolster ZRG’s direct presence in Europe.