Edinburgh property recruitment firm bought by capital peer

Construction and residential property recruitment specialist BBR Services has acquired Edinburgh-based Star Placement for an undisclosed sum.

Nicholas McVeigh-Crabbe: excited at latest acquisition. Picture: Alan Robertson

It is thought that the deal will make BBR the biggest residential property recruitment firm north of the Border with major clients including Cala, Balfour Beatty and Stewart Milne.

Star Placement was founded ten years ago by Eleanor Leith and has built a strong portfolio of mainly residential property clients in the Central Belt and north-east of Scotland.

The business generated some £500,000 in revenue last year. While Leith will step down from her role, Star’s remaining employees will join the BBR team at its own headquarters in the Scottish capital.

BBR Services director and founder Nicholas McVeigh-Crabbe said: “We’re delighted and excited to announce this acquisition and welcome our new colleagues.

“Star Placement is a great recruitment business which, like ourselves, is one of the few to have established a strong client base within the residential property sector. We believe there are significant synergies between the two companies which will create real value for our expanding client base.

“As we grow our business across the UK, we are continuing to monitor other future opportunities to build our client base.”

BBR was founded in Edinburgh in 2014 and has since opened satellite offices in Glasgow and London while growing its team to 12.

The firm specialises in recruitment within the construction and residential property sectors throughout the UK. Its latest acquisition follows the 2015 purchase of another Scottish property recruitment business, West Central Staff. BBR made revenues of £1.7 million last year.