Situated in Southwark, South London, Hinterview has secured a £500,000 growth loan from the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) which is managed by The FSE Group.
In the UK, the recruitment industry is currently bigger than ever, estimated to be worth over £35billion to the UK economy. Before the advancement of technology, recruitment followed a more traditional path; face to face interviews at the recruiters’ offices with paper CVs faxed off to hiring employers. The “time to hire” was a long process at circa 45 days. As technology came to the forefront and recruitment evolved, the industry modernised rapidly, however there were due to be even more advancements in the sector.
In 2013, experienced recruiters Andy Simpson and Rich McLaren set about to change the UK’s talent landscape even further. They did this by establishing Hinterview: A world leading video platform optimised for interviewing and recruitment. Built by recruiters for recruiters, Hinterview is both hyper secure and fully GDPR compliant, enabling the sharing of candidate videos. The innovative online recruitment platform enhances the recruitment process for candidates and clients, reducing time to hire and increasing placement rates.
In light of current COVID-19 restrictions, recruitment agencies have come to rely on Hinterview as a way to continue “business as usual” which is particularly useful for reaching out to candidates without breaching social distancing measures. It has also enabled business owners to stand out from the crowd by offering a premium service at a time where competition is at its highest.
Andy Simpson, Co-Founder of Hinterview commented: “Video is the future of agency recruitment. Recruiters are able to engage with their audience in an effective and personal way that previously wasn’t possible. The support of the GLIF expansion loan will enable us to scale-up the team to service current demand and expand sales in the recruitment sector to enter the corporate and education sectors in the UK. Many thanks to Paul from The FSE Group who guided us through the process of securing this expansion loan, we couldn’t have done it without him.”
Paul Shadbolt, Senior Fund Manager for The FSE Group, who managed the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, commented: “It was a pleasure to work with Andy and Rich. It is rewarding to be able to support successful, innovative local businesses. GLIF helps to support London businesses and has the potential to impact on the economy. This will help SMEs accelerate the growth of their business, through job creation and product development. We look forward to the next stage of their journey.”
Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “Hinterview, has been redefining recruitment for years and during the pandemic their product has been the 'go to platform' for the industry. Andy and Rich have continued to show big ambition to grow their business and required capital to facilitate this. By working closely with the Co-founders, Paul and the FSE team were able to make a growth loan from the GLIF possible. I am excited about the positive outlook for 2021 and delighted the loan will support the team to scale-up and facilitate sales expansion.
GLIF is a £100m initiative to help address the SME finance gap in Greater London, promoting economic growth through enterprise and an inclusive and sustainable economy. £55m of debt funding is available, via loans between £100,000 and £1m, to early-stage and established SMEs looking to scale-up and realise their growth ambitions. GLIF is financed through the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), London Waste & recycling Board (LWARB) and Funding London’s Legacies.