RECRUITMENT
Duo – Professional and personal partners Lewis Clennell and Molly Teasdale launched Middlesbrough-based top-end recruitment agency Achieve Hospitality after inspiration from Gerard Butler .
hadn ’ t recovered so we ventured into yachting and private households and estates .
“ We saw a potential gap in the market for experienced luxury hoteliers to provide consultative recruitment services to private households and estates who want their properties to run like luxury hotels .
“ We built up trust and a network and now , probably 70 per cent of our market for Achieve Hospitality is private households , estates and yachts , and we ’ re placing candidates in the US , UK , Middle East and Europe .”
It seems extraordinary that a firm on Teesside is recruiting staff for successful global CEOs , international sports stars , supermodels , musicians and actors – and Lewis admits he ’ s stopped trying to explain exactly what they do .
He smiled : “ When people ask what we do and we say we recruit for superyachts and private households , it just means a lot of questions – so now we just say we ’ re in recruitment ! People around here especially can ’ t fathom that someone hundreds of miles away is recruiting a team of butlers and nannies . “ But it works and we ’ ve never taken any external investment or capital , we ’ ve just reinvested the profits . With that , things rapidly grew to where it is now .”
‘ Where it is now ’ doesn ’ t just involve Achieve Hospitality – Achieve
Professionals is also up and running , with a focus on finance , technology and legal recruitment .
Molly explained : “ Because we had a lot of clients owning their own finance firms and tech companies , it made sense to be able to help their recruitment within their business as well as their homes .”
Lewis added : “ Achieve Hospitality is maybe too niche for Teesside but with Achieve Professionals , we ’ re recruiting in Hartlepool , Wynyard , lots of places around here , as well as further afield .”
With ambitions to continue growing , Lewis and Molly ’ s Achieve Group – Achieve Hospitality , Achieve Professionals and a new luxury Achieve Concierge service – is recruiting for six positions across both businesses .
They work with around 350 clients across the UK , USA , Europe and the Middle East . And their Teesside base is proving a clear advantage compared to others in their sector .
Lewis explained : “ I know someone who pays £ 150,000 a year for rent in London . We pay a fraction of that , but I can get on the train to London and be there in two hours – it ’ ll take her two hours by car to get from the office to a client ’ s home relatively nearby .”
And Lewis and Molly can ’ t stress enough the importance of having recruiters on their seven-strong team with experience of the roles they ’ re recruiting for .
Lewis said : “ Jana , for example , who is recruiting for nannies and housekeepers , was a nanny for 20 years , while Connor , who ’ s recruiting in finance , was a tax specialist for eight .
“ Not only do our clients get that experience , we value ourselves as a recruitment partner , not a recruitment agency , and all of our clients get a stable and valuable recruitment experience .
“ And we have adaptable hours , depending on which country the client is in .”
It ’ s a remarkable success story so far and last year bagged Achieve Hospitality the Most Original New Business title at the Best New Tees Business Awards . And they started 2024 by winning the Small Business Turnover category at the VelociTees celebration organised by Tees Business .
With expansion plans in place – and room in the office for up to 20 people – it seems there ’ s a lot more achievements to come for Achieve Group .
Visit achievehospitality . co . uk and achieveprofessionals . com
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