Pure Resourcing Solutions - building resilience in a changing recruitment landscape

Established in Cambridge in 2002, Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) began with the ambition to challenge the traditional recruitment model. The founders wanted to take a values-based approach to recruitment, building strong relationships with both candidates and employers.

Pure has since expanded to three additional locations (Norwich, Ipswich, and Chelmsford) and has over 30 specialist recruiters, handling more than 88,000 applicants a year, and working with over 4,600 employers across the eastern region.

We spoke to Annette Wyld, co-owner and Finance Director, on the evolution of Pure and how ABG help protect their risks as they grow.

“We've grown gradually over the years; it's all been organic growth. We've run the business very prudently with an eye on a long-term, sustainable future, and that’s helped us weather storms, whether that's recessions, COVID, or whatever else might come along. That sure footing has given us resilience and a competitive advantage in the recruitment industry.”

Specialist recruitment services

Resilience and doing things a little differently have been key to maintaining strong relationships with employers and keeping them engaged when a recruitment need arises. In a people-based industry, building trust between recruiters, candidates, and employers is key to growth.

Our people are our USP. It's all about our recruiters, their relationships, and having that long-term, solutions-focused approach, supported by our outstanding head office team.

Annette explains, “Our people are our USP. It's all about our recruiters, their relationships, and having that long-term, solutions-focused approach, supported by our outstanding head office team. We embed ourselves into our community; candidates often become our clients, and vice versa. Employers may not have a recruitment need every year, but when they do, they come back to us because we’ve built a strong relationship, and they trust us. We've worked with a lot of clients over the past 20+ years.”

Pure are the professional recruitment consultancy for the East of England. They have dedicated consultants who are specialists in their respective sectors of accountancy, HR, marketing, technology, professional office, supply chain, and engineering, as well as board-level appointments through Pure Executive.

The management buyout

In March 2025, a management buyout (MBO) was completed, transferring ownership of the business to Annette and fellow Directors, David Culley, Jodie Woodrow, Ben Farrow, and Scott Woodrow.

While marking a change in the ownership of the business, Annette explains that it’s very much business as usual, “The next two to three years will be a transition period; we want to make it as comfortable, as reassuring, and as consistent as we possibly can. We didn't want it to seem like a big change, because, actually, it isn’t; the business is continuing as usual.

“We've recently appointed a Non-Exec Director to help us with the next stage of growth and transition of Pure”.

Risk mitigation and insurance

Annette joined Pure in 2006. Having originally registered with the consultancy, they had grown over the previous four years and hired Annette to establish their internal finance department. As the department grew, so did Annette’s role, which took on responsibility for compliance, legal, risk management, and insurance for the business.

One of the biggest risks in recruitment is business confidence. It's how much certainty businesses have in the economy and the government.

For Pure, a significant risk to their growth is the economy.

“Not that we can insure against it, but one of the biggest risks in recruitment is business confidence. It's how much certainty businesses have in the economy and the government.” Annette says, “Over the last 18 months to two years, businesses have been squeezed left, right, and centre. That can lead to a pause in their hiring decisions. The recruitment cycle generally follows the economy, so you may experience a challenging few months, but it tends to recover quickly. This is unlike anything we've seen before; it has been prolonged and unlike any cycle we’ve experienced in the past. So, we must adapt and change to meet the market's needs.

Turning to insurable risks, Pure became a client of Alan Boswell Group in 2016, looked after by Carly Buckenham and Alex Mhandu. Recruitment agencies face a range of risks, both standard and industry-specific. Like most businesses, they require core protections such as public liability, employers’ liability, property damage, cyber liability, and business interruption insurance. However, the nature of Pure introduces unique exposures, particularly in relation to professional indemnity, which is essential for agencies placing temporary or contract workers, as they may be liable for candidate performance or misrepresentation. Management liability is also important, protecting Pure’s leadership team against claims related to governance and decision-making.

Beyond the policies themselves, Pure benefits from tailored advice which helps them navigate complex liability clauses, assess new risks, and ensure adequate cover across all areas of the business. The relationship is collaborative and built on timely response and expert advice, as Annette explains, “For us, the key benefit of working with Carly and ABG is having that relationship where Carly is a trusted partner. I know I can rely on her and the rest of the Boswell’s team. If there’s ever a question, I drop an email across and get a direct response straight away. I’m not kept waiting for an answer.

For us, the key benefit of working with Carly and ABG is having that relationship where Carly is a trusted partner. I know I can rely on her and the rest of the Boswell’s team.

“It's really reassuring to know that if something happens, I can get through to a person that I know, not a call centre. If it's not Carly or Alex, it's one of the team. Thankfully, we haven’t had many issues where we've needed to use our insurance. But to give an example, we might receive some client terms that include a liability clause we haven’t seen before, and we'll pass that on to the [ABG] team. They'll look at it straight away to advise if it’s fine or highlight something we might want to consider. Just having that expertise to call upon is so beneficial.”

It's really reassuring to know that if something happens, I can get through to a person that I know, not a call centre.

The rising threat of cyber risks

Over the past couple of years, high-profile cyber attacks have forced businesses to reassess their cyber resilience. For recruitment agencies, the risks are existential as their business model relies on the data they store on applicants and recruiting businesses. From payroll to identity information, recruitment agencies store and process a vast amount of personal data; protecting that data is key. While implementing cyber security measures and strict processes, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), antivirus protection, and firewalls, as well as regular vulnerability scanning, are essential components of a cyber defence strategy, people remain the biggest cyber risk.

“We've got a great IT and tech team at Pure. Over the last year, we’ve focused on providing more training and increasing awareness. We've been working with a company to provide security awareness testing and training, covering both cyber and GDPR compliance. This includes mandatory training for all and an ongoing monthly phishing campaign with re-testing as required to help maintain awareness. We’ve seen a great improvement in employee vigilance as we’ve become more skilled at identifying potential risks.

Alongside the general insurance, we also provide a package of employee benefits, including private medical insurance, death-in-service cover, and a cashplan.

“The employee benefits we provide at Pure are really important to us in terms of staff attraction and retention, and providing our team with the best health and wellbeing support we possibly can for our size of business.

The employee benefits we provide at Pure are really important to us in terms of staff attraction and retention, and providing our team with the best health and wellbeing support we possibly can for our size of business.

“The cashplan is one of my favourite benefits, you can get so much out of it on a day-to-day basis. The private medical insurance [PMI] has become increasingly important post-COVID. With the pressures on the NHS, the PMI means we can provide a better facility for our team to recover, without adding any further burden to the NHS. The employee assistance programme we get with our life assurance also has health and wellbeing benefits that we use.”

Looking ahead

Pure has shown steady, values-driven growth since its founding in 2002. With an emphasis on people, relationships, and the long-term, the company has weathered economic challenges and industry shifts. Annette speaks of what’s next for the consultancy business, “We’re working on a long-term growth plan, while looking at how we can adapt to the current challenges we're facing in the recruitment industry over the shorter term. Whether that's by investing in technology, our people or understanding how AI can help us in the right way and save us time. If we can give our consultants more time back to spend with our customers, there’s a real benefit for us all.

“Fundamentally, it's all about our people and how we can continue to grow.”

To find out more about Pure, click here.

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