Is It Time to Exit? What Recruitment Founders Are Really Thinking Right Now

M&A activity in the UK recruitment sector hit 74 completed transactions in 2025 — up from 63 in 2024 and 58 in 2023 (Moore Kingston Smith). The market for recruitment businesses is active, buyer appetite is holding up better than most founders expect, and yet the conversations that actually drive founders towards the exit door are rarely about multiples or deal structures. They’re about something more personal. Matt Fox, founder of Exitus Advisory and one of the most experienced M&A advisers in the recruitment sector, joined Nitin Sharma on RecTalk to talk honestly about what he’s seeing — and the picture is more nuanced than the market headlines suggest.

Why More Founders Are Having the Conversation

The last decade in recruitment has been brutal in patches. A pandemic, a labour market that swung from crisis to softness to volatility, rising costs, AI disruption, a squeeze on margins, and the relentless operational grind of running a growing business. Many founders who built agencies through that decade have hit a wall — not because the business is failing, but because they’re exhausted in a way that a good quarter can’t fix.

Matt describes a clear pattern in the conversations he’s having: founders who aren’t necessarily desperate to exit, but who are questioning whether they want to keep doing this for another five years in its current form. The number on the exit offer matters, but it’s not always the primary driver. Lifestyle, financial security, reducing personal exposure, and the honest acknowledgement that scaling further requires energy they’re not sure they have — these are the real forces pushing people towards the conversation.

This matters for how founders should think about timing. The best exit decisions aren’t made from a position of exhaustion or desperation. They’re made from a position of clarity — knowing what you want the next chapter to look like, and engineering the exit to support that. Founders who start thinking about this only when they’ve already burned out are at a disadvantage: they tend to rush, they accept lower offers, and they underestimate how long the process takes.

Redefining What Success Looks Like

One of the most interesting shifts Matt observes in the current market is a move away from the valuation maximisation mindset. A few years ago, the goal was always “get the highest possible number.” Today, a growing cohort of founders are prioritising a different set of outcomes: certainty of completion, speed of process, preservation of the team and culture they’ve built, and a post-deal structure that gives them some role without full operational responsibility.

For some, this means accepting a lower headline multiple in exchange for a cleaner, faster deal with a trade buyer who shares their values. For others, it means structuring an earn-out that keeps them involved during a transition period while progressively stepping back. There’s no single right answer — but the trend is clear: founders are getting more sophisticated about what they actually want from an exit, and it isn’t always the biggest number.

The “zombie business” problem applies here too. Some founders are running agencies that are profitable and stable, but which have plateaued — not growing, not declining, but not going anywhere either. These businesses carry risk. The founder’s energy is the engine, and if that energy is dwindling, the business becomes fragile. Selling from stability is a very different proposition than selling from decline.

What the Market Looks Like Right Now

Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, buyer appetite in the recruitment M&A market remains stronger than most sellers expect. Private equity-backed buy-and-build groups remain highly active — PE-backed buyers completed 19 add-on deals in 2025, representing 70% of total PE transactions (Moore Kingston Smith). Strategic trade buyers are also active, particularly for agencies with specialist market positioning in technology, healthcare, or other high-growth sectors.

EBITDA multiples for specialist recruiters are ranging from 6.5x to 7.5x, while generalist agencies tend to trade at 5.0x to 6.0x (GS Verde). The gap between those two figures is significant — and it’s largely explained by the perceived defensibility and pricing power of the niche. An agency that owns a specific sector and is difficult to replicate commands a premium. A generalist agency competing on price and speed does not.

The window isn’t infinite. Market conditions shift, buyer appetite evolves, and the window of strong multiples in recruitment won’t stay open indefinitely. Founders who are seriously considering an exit in the next two to three years are better served by starting the preparation process now than by waiting until the timing feels perfect.

Signs It Might Be Time to Have the Conversation

• You’re running the business on willpower, not enthusiasm. If the thought of doing this for another five years genuinely deflates you rather than energises you, that’s important information.
• The business is dependent on you personally. If clients would leave, deals would slow, or the team would struggle without your direct involvement, the business will be harder to sell and will command a lower multiple. This is fixable — but it takes time.
• You’ve stopped investing in growth. Maintaining rather than building is a rational choice for someone approaching an exit. But if you’re not sure why you’re maintaining rather than building, it might be worth examining that honestly.
• You don’t have a financial plan beyond the business. An exit is not a financial plan. It’s a transaction. What you do with the proceeds, how you structure it for tax efficiency, and how it fits your broader financial picture are separate questions that need answers before you sign anything.
• You’ve received unsolicited interest. Inbound interest from buyers is a signal that the market sees value in your business. It doesn’t mean you should sell — but it means the conversation is worth having with an adviser who can give you an honest picture of what you’re sitting on.

Real Talk

The best exits happen when founders have thought clearly about what they want — not just what the business is worth. If you’re tired, that’s valid. If you want something different, that’s valid too. But make the decision from a position of clarity, not exhaustion. Start the conversation before you’re ready to sprint.

This post is inspired by the RecTalk episode with Matt Fox: Matt Fox on Selling Recruitment Businesses, Buy-and-Build & Why More Founders Are Looking to Exit. Watch the full conversation on YouTube.

Want to find the advisers and tools that help recruitment business owners plan for growth and exit? Browse 1,000+ vetted recruitment suppliers and 49,000 real reviews — free — at rectools.io.