Metric Search acquired by Southfield Capital in $100m deal

Metric Search, a specialist recruitment firm founded in New York in 2019 and now headquartered in Nottingham, has been acquired by US private equity firm Southfield Capital in a deal valuing the business at $100 million.

Before its sale to Southfield Capital, Metric Search had already attracted growth backing from BGF, which announced a multi-million-pound investment in July 2024. At the time, BGF said the funding would support Metric’s US expansion and help it broaden its offering into executive search, contract recruitment and additional specialist verticals. The announcement also highlighted the company’s international footprint, with headquarters in Nottingham and offices in New York, London and Florida, underlining how quickly the business had scaled since its 2019 launch.

The transaction gives BGF an exit and is intended to support Metric’s next phase of international expansion. The company employs more than 130 consultants across seven offices worldwide and operates through four specialist brands covering engineering and infrastructure, data centres, life sciences and medtech, and executive search. In the year to 31 August 2025, Metric Search reported turnover of $13.1 million, up from $10.5 million, while operating profit increased to nearly $3.2 million.

Recent UK recruitment M&A has included both direct private equity deals and investor-backed acquisitions. Alongside Metric Search’s sale to Southfield Capital, Axon Moore was acquired by CorpAcq in 2025 as part of the investor’s growing recruitment portfolio.

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