South Coast business acquired by recruitment investor partner in second deal of the year

Meraki Capital has completed its second transaction of 2026 with the acquisition of

SERT - a recruitment and training provider serving the utilities, renewables and

facilities management sectors.

The deal brings South Coast-based SERT (Fareham for local media) into Meraki’s

growing portfolio of specialist recruitment businesses, creating new opportunities for

collaboration, knowledge-sharing and cross-sector support. Importantly, SERT now

has access to a £1.4million investment facility for the business.

Nick Gordon, founder of Meraki Capital, said:“This is our second deal of the year and

a clear step in building a focused group of recruitment brands that can support

critical industries. SERT now benefits from our established resource proposition and

sector expertise, and they’ll be able to amplify that through our wider group.”

Mark Edwards, CEO at SERT said: “Joining Meraki gives us a platform to move

quicker and do more. The ability to tap into other specialist recruitment firms in the

group, compare best practice and build joint capabilities will make us stronger.

Access to Meraki’s outsourcing team in South Africa is a genuine advantage for

scaling our service without compromising on quality. Meraki immediately had our

attention due to its overwhelming recruitment knowledge - something other

non-specialist investors can’t boast about.”

SERT will gain access to Meraki’s group infrastructure, including operational

playbooks, shared talent pipelines, tech-focused solutions and the firm’s outsourcing

capability in South Africa—designed to drive scale, margin efficiency and faster

delivery.

SERT COO, Ben Knight, added:“The sectors we serve are growing fast and the skills

challenge is real - we have an established training solution that deploys stronger

candidates into the field.

Being part of Meraki’s recruitment group means we can stay specialist, while gaining

the operational depth and collaborative ecosystem needed to deliver at pace. It’s

really exciting and our team has renewed enthusiasm for the future.”

Meraki Capital’s acquisition strategy focuses on founder-led recruitment and human

capital businesses with strong operational fundamentals, where shared infrastructure

and group synergies can create compound growth.