L-R: Arnaud Brun, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Groupe Adéquat; Gavin Speirs, CEO, Solutions Driven
Following its move into Italy in 2024, Groupe Adéquat is stepping up its international expansion with the acquisition of Solutions Driven in the United Kingdom. This strengthens its presence in UK and brings added executive search expertise in science and engineering to support its international clients.
Groupe Adéquat announces the acquisition of Solutions Driven, a UK-based specialist operating globally in senior and executive recruitment and embedded talent solutions within engineering and STEM. The acquisition follows the recent opening of Groupe Adéquat’s London office, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the UK market.
It brings together two family-owned companies that share a long-term vision built on expertise, close client relationships, and strong local leadership.
Already established across France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, UK and Canada, Groupe Adéquat continues to build its international presence through targeted acquisitions of expert-led staffing businesses. This strategy is guided by evolving client needs and the importance of geographic diversification, supporting the Group’s ambition to continue expanding internationally, with the objective of entering one new country per year.
A family business joining a family business – L-R: Walter Speirs, COO, Solutions Driven; Arnaud Brun, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Groupe Adéquat; Gavin Speirs, CEO, Solutions Driven
Two complementary growth pillars
With Solutions Driven, Groupe Adéquat strengthens its position around two complementary activity pillars.
- First, executive and senior-level recruitment in Engineering and STEM. Through Solutions Driven’s expertise, networks and retained search approach, Groupe Adéquat expands its ability to deliver specialist executive search assignments internationally and further develops its executive recruitment offering.
- Second, the expansion of Groupe Adéquat’s wider recruitment capabilities in the UK and internationally. By building on synergies across permanent recruitment and specialist hiring, this pillar supports the Group’s ambition to grow in areas such as STEM, Executive Search and new geographic markets worldwide, while continuing to support clients operating across borders.
This dual approach will enable Groupe Adéquat to accelerate growth in highly specialised executive recruitment while expanding its wider recruitment offering internationally.
L-R: Olivier Hemar, Chief International Operations Officer, Groupe Adéquat; Walter Speirs, COO, Solutions Driven; Gaëlle Blake, UK Country Head, Groupe Adéquat; Arnaud Brun, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Groupe Adéquat; Gavin Speirs, CEO, Solutions Driven
Creating long-term value through expertise and synergies
Founded in 1998, Solutions Driven is a permanent recruitment business with strong expertise in search services for critical and executive roles, embedded recruitment for longer-term projects, on-demand RPO, and bespoke talent solutions within the engineering sector worldwide.
Solutions Driven will continue to operate under its own brand, with its management team remaining in place. Its retained recruitment approach, senior-level networks and specialist expertise will strengthen Groupe Adéquat’s overall professional staffing and executive recruitment offering and create opportunities for collaboration across the Group’s international footprint.
Arnaud Brun, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Groupe Adéquat, said:
“This acquisition reflects our long-term vision of building an international staffing group driven by expertise, specialization and strong local leadership. Solutions Driven brings outstanding executive recruitment know-how in engineering and STEM, while offering new opportunities to develop our core staffing activities in the UK and beyond.”
Gavin Speirs, CEO of Solutions Driven, said:
“This is a really special moment for Solutions Driven. After 25 years of building the business around integrity, partnership and right-first-time outcomes, joining Groupe Adéquat marks an exciting new chapter. Their values, ethics and approach to partnership made this a natural fit, and I’m excited about what we can achieve together globally.”
UK leadership and future ambitions
“The UK is a key market for our Group. Solutions Driven shares our values, our international outlook and our focus on specialist recruitment,” said Olivier Hémar, Chief International Operations Officer at Groupe Adéquat.
Gaëlle Blake, Country Head of the UK for Groupe Adéquat, added: “This acquisition provides a strong foundation for our continued UK growth, and we intend to continue to welcome and pursue further acquisition opportunities.”
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About Solutions Driven
Solutions Driven is a UK-based specialist recruitment company, operating globally in scalable embedded hiring, senior C-suite and executive recruitment across engineering and STEM. Founded in 1998, the business guarantees hiring outcomes through a proven, human-led, data-driven hiring operating system.
From its origins as a seven-person team in Glasgow, Scotland, Solutions Driven has grown into a global organisation supporting leading STEM companies in over 60 countries, achieving a 97% right-hire, first-time success rate.
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