Top FTSE headhunter rescued by rival after plunging into administration

City-based boutique headhunter Savannah Group, which specialized in recruiting executive-level talent for FTSE 250 firms, has been bought by rival 6 Group in July. This occurred after the company's founder and director, James Beazley, saw the firm for sale on an insolvency marketplace. Savannah Group, which has a client list that includes Starbucks, Fullers, Burger King, Aston Martin, and Royal Caribbean, fell into administration due to financial pressures.

Revenue dropped by 20% from £15.6m in 2023 to £12.4m in 2024, while debt surged to £270,100 in 2024, almost five and a half times the previous year. Administrators called for a quick sale, but Beazley, who had known Savannah Group "for a long time," was surprised by the downfall as the company had a solid reputation and quality in London recruitment boutiques.

Beazley had been away on business when he learned of the insolvency and quickly expressed interest in the company. 6 Group's purchase of Savannah Group and its AI platform, MapX, included the company's intellectual property, client base, and employees, including the engineering team behind MapX, many of whom had poached talent from companies like Apple, Google, Nest, and OpenAI.

Beazley confirmed that all clients have been maintained, making the acquisition a logical fit. He stated that "MapX is an absolute gamechanger" for the business, comparing it to LinkedIn or other talent searching platforms.