Recruitment entrepreneur becomes first to secure investment through Wirral Wolves initiative

Entrepreneur Steve Rossiter has become the first to sign a deal with Wirral Wolves, a new Dragons’ Den-style initiative for North West startups.

The programme, announced earlier this month, was set up by Justine McLaughlin and Nik Ellis, directors of Heswall-based SME incubator Whitfield Business Support (WBS).

Steve’s business, Lacuna Recruitment, is the first to secure a slice of Wirral Wolves’ £50k investment pot.

In return for an equity stake, WBS will also provide office space, build Lacuna Recruitment’s website and help manage registration, marketing, social media and other elements of the business.

Nik said: “We’re thrilled to have made our first investment as Wirral Wolves. Steve has a wealth of experience to draw on, along with the drive and commitment that it takes to be successful in business.

“His exciting new approach will without doubt provide many small and medium-sized firms with the kind of bespoke recruitment service they’ve been unable to find elsewhere and we’re delighted to be joining Lacuna Recruitment on this journey.”

With his new venture, Steve is looking to buck more traditional recruitment industry trends by breaking the hiring process down into key areas, giving each client a bespoke package with specific services, which could include help interviewing candidates or guidance on advertising.

Lacuna Recruitment said its approach focuses on sourcing employees who fit into a company culture, rather than looking purely at skills or qualifications.

Steve, who has worked in recruitment for 17 years, said: “The concept for this business and the passion that Nik and I share is that there needs to better transparency for SMEs, and particularly growing businesses, as to what they receive from a recruitment consultant.

“With us the client pays for the service they receive. If they want an end-to-end traditional recruitment process we can do that. Alternatively, they might only require a CV sift.”

He continued: “It’s completely transparent and it also means that control remains with them – our role is to manage the parts of the process they don’t want to do, reducing the risk of a bad hire and the cost that can bring to a business.”

Justine commented: “Steve’s plans for Lacuna Recruitment immediately captured our imagination and we’re keen to hear from other startups and micro businesses, particularly those based around Wirral, Cheshire and North Wales.

“Wirral Wolves is made up of entrepreneurs who have the skills to help firms succeed – we’re eager to use that knowledge and experience to help like-minded individuals for mutual benefit.”