A RECRUITMENT firm founded less than two years ago is already preparing to open its first office overseas to cope with demand from the fast-growing oil and gas sector in the Middle East.
Leith-based Advance Global Recruitment (AGR), which was set up in March 2011 by Stuart Hunter and Cameron Taylor, is launching a base in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
AGR – which lists Shell, Total and Wood Group among its clients – also has plans to launch offices in Australia and Canada over the next five to ten years.
The company has already placed recruits in nearly 2,000 posts across 40 countries, including China, India and Malaysia.
Hunter, the firm’s operations director, told Scotland on Sunday: “Having a base in the Emirates will allow us to do business with a lot of companies that require you to have a presence out there. It also cuts out the four-hour time difference.
“Dubai will hopefully also be a stepping stone to help open doors in Australia. Ten of the world’s 15 biggest drilling companies are based in the Middle East, so it’s an important market.”
Hunter and Taylor founded their company, which has ten staff, after working together for four years at Now Recruitment.
They chose the oil and gas sector as their specialism so they would not be competing with Now’s presence in the construction industry.
Hunter said: “We’re very much focused on international expansion. We want to have a big office in Edinburgh rather than being spread across smaller offices in places like Aberdeen, Leeds and London.
“We expect turnover to hit £3.5 million this year and we’re aiming for £10m in revenues within the next two years.”
