Hot group expands into the graduate market

Hot group, the AIM listed recruitment specialist, is buying The Graduate Group, a business which specialises in graduate recruitment in the UK and Europe.

hot is paying a total of 400,000, half in cash and half in shares, with a further amount depending on future profits. The acquisition complements hotís recruitment site for young people, hotrecruit.com, and further strengthens its position as a leading online recruitment service for young jobseekers.

The Graduate comprises of a publishing division, a recruitment division, an IT division and an on-campus marketing division. Established in 2000 and with revenues of over 200,000, its high profile client list includes Allen & Overy, Ove Arup, HSBC and Cadburys.

Principally targeting elite students, The Graduate is renowned for publishing graduate career handbooks, which are replicated online at www.thegraduate.co.uk. The handbooks, which detail career opportunities and contact points at hundreds of companies in the UK, are published annually in three different editions ñ City & Management, Engineering & IT and Law. With over 50 student representatives distributing the handbook at universities across the country, The Graduate is one of the most targeted means for companies to reach top students in UK and Europe.

hot group plc Chairman and Chief Executive Tony Reeves said: ìThe Graduateís strong client base and good reputation complements our own business and takes us into a new market area. Its synergies with hotrecruit.com will enable us to provide a more rounded offering as well as further strengthen our online divisionís employerís direct product. The Graduate uses a unique and highly effective network of student representatives on the campuses of top universities, which we will utilise to market hotrecruit.com. It is our ultimate aim to build hotrecruit.com into the UKís leading young personís jobsite, targeting school leavers, seasonal workers, students, graduates and first & second time jobseekers.î

The Graduate was set-up by Toby Staveley, who studied Philosophy and Politics at Manchester University, as he felt that bright young graduates were not well served by the existing network of graduate recruitment organisations.