Alternatives, the marketing recruitment specialist has been acquired by the Brightwater Group for an undisclosed sum.
The business, which was co-founded by Sandra Lawler 22 years ago, will continue to operate as a standalone brand within the Brightwater Group. Eimear Walsh, who has been with Brightwater for 16 years, has been appointed as managing partner while Leonie Gleeson has been appointed as associate director. Lawler, however, will remain on with the business for the foreseeable future.
Brightwater is one of the largest recruitment companies in the country and had a pre-pandemic turnover in the region of €15m.
The company is headed up by Barbara McGrath who led an MBO of the business in 2018 along with fellow directors and shareholders of the business including John Lacy, David Bloch and John Hannon. The MBO was also backed by the Canadian private equity company Duke Royalty.
“The Alternatives team are extremely well respected in the market and have an incredible knowledge of the industry,” says Barbara McGrath.
“For us, it was important that any new addition to the Group would share the same values and ethos as a business and it was apparent from the start that Alternatives would be a perfect match for us. By bringing Alternatives into the Group, we will be able to significantly increase access to a wider pool of marketing talent for our clients as well as a broader range of roles for jobseekers in the marketing space. Alternatives has built an enviable reputation for providing marketing talent on an interim and permanent basis and we believe that it will be a great addition to the Brightwater Group’s platform,” she adds.
