Recruiter MCR builds with new jobs

MCR, which moved into business hub Ocean Village Innovation Centre (OVIC), has seen demand soar in the UK’s residential development sector.

Established just before the first lockdown in March 2020, the business has forged ahead.

Founded by Ben McCarthy, 24, MCR works exclusively for white-collar professionals at managerial level, such as quantity surveyors and site managers.

On their behalf, the firm identifies what new higher-paid roles they’d be an ideal match for, rather than approaching housebuilders to see what permanent vacancies need filling.

Ben, who started out in the recruitment industry straight from school in Southampton, is managing director.

He said: “Our managed candidate representation model - MCR in short – is disruptive and driving new business.

“Turnover was £300,000 last year, on average placing three to four of the best talent in the industry a month.

“I have never known the construction market so busy – it has moved from what companies could traditionally offer to people preferring to be with like-minded professionals they have worked with in the past or what they would like to work with moving forward.

“It is against this background that we are confident of placing customers in a variety of leading positions in the commercial, production and technical disciplines at residential developers of all sizes across the south and south-east of England.”

Central to the growth plan is the new administrative office – MCR moved into OVIC, which is by Ocean Village marina.

Ben, who lives and grew up in Southampton, said: “I previously worked at OVIC for another company and was impressed by the location and facilities – everyone looks out for one another and there is in-house business support on hand.

New jobs

“Furthermore, we can upsize the office to accommodate more staff, without the cost and inconvenience of relocation.

“We’ve gone for a six-person desk as we have a new person starting, Harvey Burn. As a recruitment consultant, it will be Harvey’s first job and he’ll be able to learn a lot from us in the office rather than working remotely.”

Along with Ben and Harvey, there is recruitment consultant Gen Currie and finance director Sean McCarthy, with plans to create two more jobs in the short term.

OVIC, which has 67 serviced offices and meeting rooms over 30,000 sq ft, is operated by Oxford Innovation on behalf of the building’s private owner.

Oxford Innovation, which manages a growing network of centres across the UK, also runs a similar business hub – Fareham Innovation Centre, overlooking Solent Airport at Lee-on-the-Solent.

Stephen Deller, OVIC’s centre manager, said: “We warmly welcome MCR – the company appears well positioned to help people take the next step in their careers.

“According to official figures, 243,000 homes were built in 2020 – the highest number in 30 years – and the government is targeting 300,000 new houses a year to add to the 24.7 million homes in England.

“These figures indicate that demand for construction professionals is likely to be high as residential developers vie for talent.”

Ben said: “We are different here at MCR because we choose to work only with the best in the industry and the rising stars of their field.

“We are very selective when deciding who to represent, usually those candidates will have outstanding reputations, construction awards, a proven track record or just have that special something that we know will fit perfectly with their future employers.”