James Caan to back £500,000 in UK’s next recruitment star

Investor and ex-Dragons’ Den panellist James Caan has re-launched his search for Britain’s ‘Next Recruitment Entrepreneur’, offering up to £500,000 investment in the “next-big-thing” in recruitment talent.

Now in its second year, the initiative forms part of Caan’s “vision” to create an exclusive group of recruitment entrepreneurs across the globe.

The business mogul is looking to support an individual, or a team, with the drive and ambition to build something similar to his first recruitment company Alexander Mann, which sold for £260m in 2013.

This year the competition is focusing its search within the London, Manchester and Midlands areas and applicants must have a minimum 3 years recruitment experience, a proven track record of billing, hiring and managing, and must either be looking to start a recruitment business or grow an existing company.

Alongside investment of up to £500,000, the winner will also receive mentoring, marketing and operational support, access to “exceptional” office facilities and will be able to tap into Caan’s portfolio of clients.

Last year saw over 13,000 entries from recruiters across a range of industries, with former oil and gas sales manager James Downie (pictured) crowned winner.

Downie won Caan’s backing for having successfully established and developed the Manchester branch of a well-known recruitment group where he took his sales team to a projected turnover of £6.5m and £1.3n gross profit, and has now gone on to set up London-based oil and gas company JDi Energy.

James Caan is now accepting applications for the ‘Next Recruitment Entrepreneur of 2014’ with the deadline for entries Feb 28, to find out more click here.