We are the world's largest family-run recruitment brand

In the early 1960s, Reed pioneered specialist recruitment in the UK. Seven decades on, we have become the world’s largest family-run recruitment business, with offices spanning across the UK, Europe, USA, Middle East and Asia.

About Reed

Family-run

Reed was founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist, Sir Alec Reed, in 1960, and has since grown organically into an industry powerhouse.

Following his father, James Reed became Chairman of Reed in 2004, making Reed the world’s largest family-run recruitment business, with over 100 offices spanning across the UK, Europe and Asia.

Industry innovator

In 1995, Reed became the first UK recruitment company to have an online presence on the web, offering services to both jobseekers & employers.

Today, Reed.co.uk is the UK's number one job site, with over seven million jobseekers visiting each month to search for work. We continuously invest in technology to improve our services for clients and recruiters alike.

Powerhouse

Over the last six decades we have organically grown to become one of the world's largest recruitment powerhouses, and have built a strong team of over 3,400 co-members across the world.

Our unrivalled experience, global presence, and continuous expansion are testament to the strength of our brand and the capability of our global team.

In 2023, every five minutes someone starts a new job through Reed.

Open quote Our brand message is simple, Love Mondays. At the heart of this message is our firmly held belief that everyone should be able to find fulfilling work. We are here to help people do just that.

Our purpose is, improving lives through work. We believe in building businesses for the benefit of society and we’re proud to make a positive difference to people’s lives. We change people’s lives every time that we place someone new into a new role.

To me, this work is a privilege. Recruitment is not just a job, it’s a vocation.

James Reed

CEO and Chairman, Reed

Our values

Our business values are the same as our family values. They are always at the core of what we do and how we do it.

The values help us achieve our purpose which is to improve lives through work.

Fair, open & honest

We treat everyone with fairness and respect
We act with integrity
We are true to our commitments

We take ownership

We respond swiftly to execute our promises
We take responsibility for providing solutions
We hold ourselves accountable for our actions

We work together

We work together in partnership and build sustainable trusted relationships
We value a diverse workforce and respect the contributions of all

We support our customers and colleagues in achieving their goals

History of Reed

1960: Humble beginnings

Reed was founded on 7 May 1960, with the first office located on Kingsley Road, Hounslow, West London, UK. In the early 1960s Reed pioneered specialist recruitment services, a move which fundamentally changed the UK recruitment market forever.

1972: Educate to accumulate

Sir Alec Reed founded the Reed Business School in the Cotswolds, UK to provide a learning centre for Reed co-members as well as residential courses for accountancy students. The Reed Business School has even been listed as one of the most beautiful places to study in the world

2008: Reed goes global

The website reedglobal.com went live in October 2008, providing a platform for UK and international Reed offices. Since then it has grown to be a hub for human resources and recruitment news, industry insights and a place for candidates and clients to develop their teams and careers.

2020: 60 years and counting

0n 7 May 2020, Reed turned 60. With 60 years' experience under our belt, we continue to lead the way with the best recruitment solutions & comprehensive industry knowledge.

Over the last six decades we organically grown to become one of the world's largest recruitment powerhouses and have built a strong team of over 3,400 co-members across 350 offices globally.

2021: Reed Franchise Partnerships

This year we launched our latest venture – Reed Franchise Partnerships. Our aim is clear – we want to partner with experienced recruiters outside of the UK to help them grow best in class recruitment businesses. Having successfully launched in Singapore, we are now looking to partner with others across the world.