Private equity firms continue to hire despite coronavirus crisis

There has been an increase in enquiries for people with restructuring skills, recruiters say

Private equity firms are continuing with recruitment plans even as the coronavirus pandemic confines people to their homes, according to experts.

There has been an increase in enquiries for people with restructuring skills in the short term, according to Rupert Bell, director of DACH at industry recruitment agency PER. He admitted there has been a general slowdown in activity but said only a third of PER’s work has been put on hold, with more than half of its book moving along.

“The long term demand for private equity is still extremely high. It’s still the best-performing asset class and putting more money to work needs more people,” he said. “We’ve continued to see offers made over the last week and accepted.”

In addition to people with restructuring skills, to help portfolio companies through this difficult time, firms are also recruiting for investor relations roles, Bell said. This is particularly true in London, with firms aiming to bolster their capabilities to deal with enquiries from limited partners.

Guy Townsend, joint chief executive of recruitment firm Walker Hamill, said that since mid-March, his firm had approximately 30 live mandates, with less than 15% going on hold.

“Private equity funds have their capital locked up over a long period of time and therefore they can pay their staff, continue their investment strategies – albeit more slowly for the time being – and assist their portfolio companies. All of that requires highly-skilled workers and they’ll continue to hire those when required, even in present times,” he said.

Townsend added that for the time being, everything is being done through phone calls and video conferences, and although for the initial stages of recruiting this can be done, on-boarding a new starter becomes trickier.

“I was sceptical about whether you could actually complete a process – make someone an offer if you’d never actually met them in person – but having spent most of this week interviewing people by VC, I actually think you can. Time will tell, but for now, we remain very busy, searching for candidates for specific mandates. We even have pitches on three big new projects.”

Walker Hamill recruits for both private equity firms and companies, including those held by buyout funds. Townsend said that, compared with private equity funds, the corporate world is “undoubtedly quieter now”.

Finatal, a recruiter for private equity-backed companies, has seen businesses focusing on hiring finance directors in the interim, who can help support struggling businesses. “Clients are looking for talent who can come into a business swiftly with the skills for building cash flow, cash planning and scenario forecasting,” said Dominic Mellett, executive consultant, interim at Finatal.

These companies are looking for individuals with working capital and cash experience in distressed situations. “Several funds are ahead of the game, having already placed candidates in the last two weeks, and several mid-market funds I’m working with are currently looking to hire,” Mellett said.

According to Jack Lane, manager, interim at Finatal: “Many of these funds in the UK are hiring these interim specialists as preventative measures rather than crisis management. Few of our clients are actually finding themselves in desperate need of CROs or heavy-weight interim CFOs to charge in immediately.”

Source: Financial News

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