PLEASURE was tinged with poignancy when the three siblings behind the success of Four Recruitment dedicated their coveted “Family Business award” to their late mother.

Behind the business, based at Hamill House, Bolton, is the brother and sisters team of Phil, Claire and Gemma Sofield. Sadly, their mother died in January and was unable to share in the award celebrations.

Four Recruitment was launched in 2008 just before the onset of a global recession. Phil and Claire had a long held ambition to establish a family business following the death of their father.

Four Financial, as it was then, began life with just four people recruiting in to finance departments of companies, ranging from SMEs to larger firms. In 2010, after sister Gemma joined the business, Four Practice was launched to provide expert recruitment solutions to accountancy practices and advisory forms. The same year, a Blackburn office opened.

Three years ago, the Manchester office was up and running.

In 2013 Four HR was set up, initially in Bolton and Blackburn and later in Manchester.

Four Recruitment is owned by Claire Sofield as sales director, Phil Sofield as operations director and, in addition, finance director Paul Hebden is a shareholder. Since its launch, Four Recruitment has enjoyed significant expansion into new regions and sectors but has always stayed true to its Bolton roots.

Accepting the award, Phil Sofield said: “Having a family business means an awful lot, probably more so this year. We lost our mother, Susan, in January and the business meant a lot to her and it means a lot to us. So, we are dedicating this award to her.

“We’re going to continue to grow and expand the HR brand while looking at other revenue streams as they years go by and solidify what we’ve done in the North West”.