Recruiter Blair West secures Northstar Ventures backing amid repositioning plan
Summary
A Newcastle recruitment firm has landed investment from Northstar Ventures amid plans to reposition the business and grow its team.Blair West specialises in recruiting for high-growth businesses backed by investment including private equity, and was founded by David Blair and Simon West in early 2019. The city centre-based firm, which has offices in The Old Post Office building on St Nicholas street and in London, has since grown to a team of 16.Now, it has secured an undisclosed amount from the North East Innovation Fund supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Northstar Ventures. The funding will be used to reposition the firm as an "executive search and finance recruitment business" and expand its team of recruiters who handle high-profile roles in companies that want to scale up.Read more: Healthcare entrepreneur donates \xa31.25m to set up Newcastle University academyRead more: Opencast secures \xa332m contract with Department for Work and Pensions over two yearsDavid Blair, CEO at Blair West, said: "Northstar were one of our first clients when we established the business five and a half years ago and have been a loyal customer ever since, so were very much looking forward to working with them in a different context. We know that they have exciting plans which we are sure they will execute very well, and we will be watching their progress with interest and supporting their endeavours all the way.The North Fund invests in companies based in Northumberland, North Tyneside, Newcastle, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham. Its suite of five venture capital and loan funds have invested \xa3128m in 433 companies between April 2018 and December 2023.