Skip to content
For UK Recruitment Founders

Turn your recruitment agency into a recruitment SaaS.

In 12 months, FMS Fairmead went from recruitment agency to recruitment software company — same clients, same team, new valuation multiple. We'll map the same transformation for your agency in a free 60-minute Product Audit.

Free For Recruitment Founders

60-Minute Product Audit

We analyse your agency's operations, tooling spend, and workflows. You leave with a map of which workflow could become a saleable SaaS product — or an honest "there isn't one here".

See HireStack

Run by the XGX.AI product team

Built for recruitment founders with live agency workflows.

Live in Production

HireStack

Recruitment SaaS, co-built with FMS Fairmead

Speed Gain

1.8×

Faster hiring vs legacy stack

Valuation Multiple

3–5× → 8–12×

EBITDA reclassification

The Recruitment Ceiling

You've hit the ceiling every recruitment founder hits.

You built the desk. You built the process. You hired the team. You systemised the chaos. And when you sit down with a broker, the valuation math still caps out at 3–5× EBITDA. That's the recruitment industry ceiling — and it has nothing to do with how well you run your business.

Meanwhile, the CRM you pay for every month, the compliance tool, the sourcing platform? They trade at 8–12× EBITDA. Because they're software companies.

You're already running the operation. You're already paying for the tools. You already understand what the software should do better than the people who built it. The only thing missing is the ownership.

Recruitment Agency

3–5× EBITDA

Service business multiple

Recruitment SaaS

8–12× EBITDA

Technology sector multiple

FMS Fairmead
×
HireStack
Case Study — FMS Fairmead × HireStack

How FMS Fairmead became a recruitment software company in 12 months.

Darren Green's agency had the same problem every UK recruitment founder has: the best tool for the job didn't exist, and every month they paid someone else for the second-best one. So we built HireStack together.

Before
Business typeRecruitment agency
Revenue modelPlacement fees only
ToolingRented monthly from 3rd parties
MoatClient relationships
Valuation multiple3-5x EBITDA
After
Business typeAgency + software company
Revenue modelPlacement fees + SaaS ARR
ToolingProprietary - HireStack
MoatRelationships + owned IP
Valuation multiple8-12x on software side

“We're no longer just a recruitment agency — we're a recruitment software company. What started as solving our own challenges ended up creating an entirely new revenue stream. The transformation in our business valuation has been remarkable.”

DG

Darren Green

Managing Director, FMS Fairmead

The Process

Four phases. Twelve months.

One software company at the end of it.

01

Audit

Week 0 - free, 60 min

We analyse your agency's operations, tooling spend, and team workflows. You leave with a map of which workflow could become a product - or we tell you there isn't one.

02

Design

Weeks 1-4

We architect the platform with your team. You define the features that would actually change your day-to-day. We spec the engineering, AI models, and infrastructure.

03

Build

Weeks 5-20

Our engineers build. Your recruiters use it inside real workflows. We iterate weekly on what works and what doesn't - inside your real operations, not a sandbox.

04

Own

Month 6 onwards

The software is live inside your agency. You start selling it to other agencies. You co-own a software company with 50% of your name on the cap table.

No technology fee. Equity split via a joint SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) — typically 50/50. We walk through the full economics in the audit.

Your Product

What a recruitment SaaS looks like — for your agency.

Every SPV is different because every agency is different. But based on the recruitment operators we've mapped, the highest-value products usually combine some of these:

AI-powered candidate matching trained on your placement history
Automated compliance workflows (right-to-work, DBS, referencing)
Client portal with real-time job progress tracking
Integrated timesheet, contract, and payroll automation
Multi-channel candidate sourcing (LinkedIn, job boards, direct)
Predictive placement scoring and candidate ranking
Automated CV parsing and data enrichment
Commission calculation and recruiter payouts
Candidate relationship management with auto-nurture sequences
Vacancy generation and distribution across platforms
Margin analysis and profitability dashboards
White-label version for resale to other agencies

Your version will look different. The audit is where we figure out which combination fits your specific operation — and which would make the best standalone product once launched externally.

Qualification

Is this a fit for your agency?

This is for you if
  • You run a UK recruitment agency
  • You're turning over £1M+ annually
  • You spend £2k+/month on recruitment software and tooling
  • You have strong opinions about how those tools could be better
  • Your team can commit time to weekly domain-input sessions
  • You want to own a software business, not just run an agency
This isn't for you if
  • You're pre-revenue or early-stage
  • You want to hire a dev shop and pay hourly
  • You want to buy off-the-shelf software
  • You're looking for passive investment, not active partnership
  • You can't commit to a 12-month build cycle
FAQ

Common questions from recruitment founders.

Do I need a technical co-founder?

No. We're the technical partner. You bring the recruitment domain expertise, customer relationships, and operational knowledge. We bring the AI/ML engineering, product development, and platform infrastructure. The SPV structure formalises the partnership.

How much capital do I need to put in?

Zero. The model redirects your agency's existing operational tooling spend into the SPV. There's no technology fee - XGX.AI invests its development capacity in exchange for equity. We'll model the full economics for your specific agency in the audit.

How much of my time will this take?

Weekly 60-90 minute working sessions during the build phase (months 1-6), dropping to monthly governance reviews once the product is live. Your recruiters will also use the platform inside real workflows - which is what makes the product actually good.

Do I own the software?

The software and IP sit inside a Special Purpose Vehicle - a jointly owned limited company, typically structured 50/50 between your agency and XGX.AI. You co-own the software company with full governance rights.

What if we don't find a strong opportunity in the audit?

Then we tell you. The audit is free and has no commitment attached. If your operations don't have a SaaS-shaped workflow hiding in them, we'd rather say so than drag both of us into a 12-month build that doesn't produce a real product.
Free For UK Recruitment Founders

Book your free Product Audit.

60 minutes with the XGX.AI team. No pitch, no commitment. You'll leave with a map of which workflow in your agency could become a software product — and an honest answer on whether we think it's worth building.

60 min · Free · No pitch

Confidential product audit

XGX.AI team · Built around your live agency workflows