BRADFORD-based recruitment group Specialist People Services has created a new senior role as is seeks expansion through further acquisitions.

Neil McManus has joined the group, backed by private equity investor LDC, as mergers and acquisitions director from online bathroom retailer Victoria Plum. He has ten years’ experience in corporate finance, including seven years at KPMG and previously at Barclays Capital in the City.

His new role will see him work closely with SPS chief executive Chris Chidley as the group seeks to identify and acquire complementary businesses in niche recruitment and business support services both in the UK and overseas.

Chris Chidley said: “Thanks to our financial strength, along with the continued backing of LDC and our lenders, we are well-placed to make further strategic acquisitions as and when we identify them.

“With his experience of leading acquisitions, from origination to completion and integration, as both an adviser and in industry, Neil is the perfect person to work with me as we seek to acquire businesses which will add value to the SPS group.

“Our focus on providing outstanding recruitment services in regulated, hard-to-serve sectors has helped us carve out an enviable position in the market. Neil’s appointment further strengthens our senior team and will help us continue to deliver both organic and acquisitive growth in the future.”

SPS acquired rail services group ISS Labour in 2013. It has since grown to become one of the UK’s leading providers of specialist labour for the overhead electrification of Britain’s rail network.

SPS also includes recruitment and training business Driver Hire Nationwide, which provides temporary labour to the transport and logistics sectors; Driver Hire Training; eServices, which offers online people management services; Driver Hire Australia and ISS Labour.

Neil McManus said: “SPS is a unique company with a clear proposition and the ambition to drive future growth through a combination of organic revenue streams and strategic acquisitions. I’m excited by the prospect of using my experience in M&A to play a part in building SPS into a truly formidable business.”

In the year to the end of March 2015, SPS increased group turnover by 32 per cent to £116.5million from £88 million the previous year.

Mr Chidley has hinted at future expansion of the Australian business as well as pursuing opportunities in the United States, Canada and Ireland where employment regulations is lighter than in Europe.

McManus's appointment follows that of Paul McNulty, who joined the SPS senior management team as group finance director last month.