Bristol recruitment firm's £4m expansion

BRISTOL recruitment communications firm ThirtyThree has struck a £4 million deal to expand.

ThirtyThree, which employs 140 staff in London and Bristol and provides services to clients such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nationwide Building Society and BT Group, recently completed its first acquisition of Bristol- based competitor RAA Sprague Gibbons.

Clockwise from rear left – Mike Williams of RBS Invoice Finance, Mark Forbes, of RBS, Martin Fackrell, RBS, Richard Clark and Andy Bamford of Thirty Three

The £4m funding package from the Royal Bank of Scotland is designed to enable further investment in the Bristol operation which now accounts for one third of group sales.

It has enjoyed a bumper year in terms of both financial performance and success in several creative awards ceremonies, winning the CIPD Grand Prix for retailer Claire's Accessories and Best Website for the Audit Commission. In line with plans to fully integrate RAA with ThirtyThree's existing Bristol office, a move to new premises with capacity for all 42 staff is scheduled for the first part of 2009.