Recruitment firm sets up new office in city
9:23am Monday 6th February 2012 in Business News
A SPECIALIST recruitment firm is expanding with the opening of a new office.
Four Financial, based at Chorley New Road, Bolton, hopes to take advantage of Manchester’s economy with its new presence close to the city centre.
The firm was founded in 2008 by Phil Sofield and his sister, Claire. It specialises in recruiting for the financial industry but is exploring other niche sectors.
Mr Sofield, the operations director, said the business has grown well over the past four years despite the gloomy economic backdrop.
The 37-year-old said: “We come from Bolton and wanted to be based here.
“We thought there was a gap in the recruitment market between Manchester and Preston. The year after we launched, 2009, was a tough one but we did okay and opened a small office at Blackburn’s Evolution Park. Now we’ve opened an office in Manchester, which is a huge market.”
Mr Sofield and his sister grew up in Ladybridge. He attended Deane school, which is now Ladybridge High School, while Claire, now aged 29, went to Bolton School. She is running the new Manchester office.
Mr Sofield said: “We wanted to have a Manchester city centre presence.
We have been covering it from Bolton for the past two years and now we have got an office at the refurbished Riverside complex, near the Spinningfields development.
“We’ve got some really good clients who use us as their first call for recruitment.
We’re ambitious to grow the financial business there and keen to look at other specialist areas, such as HR and the legal sector.
“Claire has been a real engine in delivering sales to the business and she will be instrumental in developing the sales strategy as we go forward.”
Four Financial has a sister arm, Four Practice, which deals with accountancy practices.
Alastair McLean, aged 41, runs that office while Paul Hebden, aged 45, works for both.
Mr Sofield said great customer service, professional attitude and hard work were vital for success.
“In the past, the recruitment industry perhaps got a reputation, like some estate agents, for being aggressive and for chasing money.
“However, we take our clients’ needs and our staff’s career development seriously.
“The big challenge for us is not getting business — it’s being able to get the right staff for the jobs that really suit them. We hope to take on new recruits in the future and hope the Manchester office will help us to develop further.”
