From Little Acorns.....

From little acorns….

By Mike Fuller


One of the most instantly recognised logos in the industry - the oak tree of the recruitment consultancy; Horticruitment is fifteen years old this year.

The acorn was first sown in 1988 when Ray Hulme, who had developed a successful garden centre, was looking for new staff. "The success of the centre was due to our policy of only employing qualified, trained and experienced staff," said Ray. "That meant that whenever a customer asked for advice, they could be sure of an informed reply."

As a major centre, staffing was always a problem and interviewing potential candidates fraught with dangers. What was needed was the sort of specialist recruitment agency already available in other industries.

Ray Hulme's idea was to establish a recruitment agency that held a database of qualified horticulturists and garden centre staff. A recruitment service run by horticulturists who understood the complexities and requirements of the industry. A recruitment service that was staffed by experienced recruiters able to sift through hundreds of cv's and produce a short list of highly suitable candidates.

So the acorn that was to be Horticruitment was sown. It took a year of researching horticultural colleges and universities, garden centres and nurseries, recruitment agencies and personnel departments to accumulate the necessary information and resources the new company required. So in 1989 Ray sold his garden centre in order to fully launch Horticruitment U.K. The company was an immediate success and the rapid expansion led to moves to larger premises in Hamstreet and then to Ashford in Kent with its easy motorway links to London, the rest of the country and by Eurostar to the whole of Europe.

Over the last fifteen years Horticruitment has continued to grow and has amassed the world's largest database of fully qualified horticultural staff. Indeed, the specialist resources of Horticruitment are now utilised by countless horticultural companies and other recruitment agencies in the UK, throughout Europe, Australasia, North America, India and even Russia.

Operating under the guidance of senior partner Mike Fuller the company now has a specialist team for every sector of the industry- Garden Centres, Nursery, Sales, Landscape and Amenity, Gardeners and Estate Managers - each is fronted by a highly experienced recruitment consultant - all of whom have been with Horticruitment for a number of years and have a specialist understanding of the industry, the clients and the candidates.

Horticruitment continues to be the leading industry recruiter and, with over 200 'live' vacancies available every single day, continues to grow apace. Mike Fuller puts down the success of the company to the quality and enthusiasm of his own staff who always provide a personal and friendly service to clients and candidates alike. "As an expanding company, we also have to regularly recruit" he said "and if WE can't get the right staff, then we can't be very good at our job! The fact that all of our recruitment consultants are recognised as THE industry expert in their sector speaks volumes for the way we recruit for ourselves, and this obviously reflects on the way we recruit for our clients - only the best is good enough"

The company continues to invest heavily in technology in order to improve their speed and efficiency. "We also have a highly successful website getting thousands of contacts each week" said Fuller "and we have some exciting plans for building on our success, the further development of the company and improving our service. One thing we will never become is complacent!"


With 2004 being a special year for Horticruitment, Mike Fuller has nominated the PERENNIAL -Gardeners Royal Benevolent Society as their charity of the year and will make a donation to the society for each placement made during 2004. Perennial is the only charity dedicated to helping people in need, of all ages and trades in the horticultural industry.

The photograph shows Mike Fuller (centre back) and his team (clockwise from back right): Jon Woodcock, Dianne Saunders, Pauline Thomas, Marian Davies and Nell Fuller.

Further information from:

Mike Fuller
Horticruitment UK
Tel: 01233 633922
Fax: 01233633711
Email: Mike@horticruitment.com