Our history

Making a difference for over 50 years

For over 50 years, we've helped organisations find and develop the talent that makes a difference. While our business continues to evolve, our commitment remains the same: helping clients, candidates and colleagues succeed. Our values - earn trust, grow connections and make a difference - continue to guide everything we do.

1976 – Michael Page founded in London by Bill McGregor and Michael Page, providing selection and recruitment services for accounting and finance professionals.
1979 – Operations in the UK continue to expand with offices opening in: Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and Bristol
We are quickly established as the largest advertiser in the FT

Michael Page is floated on the Unlisted Securities Market (USM) (1983) and admitted to the London Stock Exchange (1988)
Michael Page City established to provide a specialist service to the Banking and Financial Markets (1985). This is mirrored by our expansion into Legal recruitment in the UK (1986)
First European office opened in France (1986). Netherlands (1987) and Australia (1985) to follow

Terry Benson is appointed as Chief Executive of Michael Page International (1990) and Michael Page retires (1995)
Acquired by the Spherion Group (then Interim Services, Inc.) (1997). Delete this bit: we establish Accountancy Additions in the UK (1992), the Public Sector Division (1992), SRS (Sales Recruitment Specialists) (1994) and RRS (Retail Recruitment Specialists) (1997)
The first website is launched (1997) and we implement our national recruitment database (1993)
Offices opened in: Germany (1991), Hong Kong (1995), Singapore (1996), Spain, the USA (1997) and Italy (1998)

Listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2001, marking a significant milestone in the company’s growth.
Expanded internationally with operations launched in Brazil, Portugal and Switzerland (2000); Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Republic of Ireland, South Africa and Russia (2006); Luxembourg and Argentina (2007); and Turkey, Austria and New Zealand (2008).
Broadened our specialist recruitment offering with the launch of new disciplines and the expansion of Page Personnel into new markets.
Steve Ingham was appointed Chief Executive in 2006, succeeding Terry Benson.
Recognised as a Business Superbrand and regularly featured in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For rankings.
Remained profitable throughout the global financial crisis and operated across 28 countries by 2009.

Rebranded from Michael Page International to PageGroup in 2012, bringing together Page Executive, Michael Page and Page Personnel. Page Outsourcing launched in 2017.
Expanded into Chile (2010), Malaysia, Qatar and India (2011), Colombia and Morocco (2012), and Thailand (2016).
Enhanced our digital offering with the launch of mobile apps and mobile-optimised candidate experiences across multiple markets.
Introduced a number of initiatives to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion through OpenPage, Women@Page, Pride@Page, Parents@Page and Ability@Page.
Defined our global purpose in 2017: "PageGroup changes lives for people through creating opportunity to reach potential."
Recognised as an employer of choice through awards including Top Employer Europe, Stonewall recognition and LinkedIn's Most Socially Engaged Recruitment Company.
Strengthened our commitment to inclusion and social impact by joining initiatives such as The Valuable 500, the Social Mobility Pledge and the Race at Work Charter.

Awarded ISO27001 global accreditation, an assurance of the highest recognised standards of data and information security in the world
Received accreditations on our commitment to inclusion in the workplace including The Times Top 50 Employers for Women (UK), Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality (North America), Charte de la Diversité en Enterprise (Europe), Best Workplaces in Greater China (Asia Pacific)
PageGroup awarded Top Employer 2020 certification in eight countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Switzerland)
Despite global pandemic achieved group gross profit £610.2m
Continued to protect and invest in our business platform to take advantage of the recovery
Enabled every employee worldwide (c. 7,000) to work from home within 48 hours due to COVID-19 pandemic
Increased focus on health and wellbeing and working flexibly, to support our employees and customers
Our former CEO, Steve Ingham, spearheaded campaign to increase equality in the workplace for people with disabilities

Group gross profit: £877.7m
Received accreditations on our commitment to inclusion in the workplace including Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ equality in North America, recognised for disability equality with Clear Assured GOLD and as a Disability Confident Leader
Awarded Top Employers Europe 2021 in eight countries
Continued focus on a global workplace flexibility programme to give our people more choice, agility and balance
Reduced our carbon emissions by 17%
Launched our Shadow Board globally with 12 members from across the world

The group announces our new Chief Executive Officer, Nick Kirk
Group gross profit: £1,076.3m (+22.6% YoY)
Awarded Great Places to Work - Certified Status in various countries like India, Singapore, Greater China and more
Launched our ReciteMe accessibility toolbar on our websites
58% of our offices globally are powered by renewable energy (+5% YoY)

Our CEO, Nick Kirk and the Board unveil our new strategy.

Moved our global Head Office to 80 Strand, bringing our teams together and creating a new base in central London

We accelerated the use of AI across our business, with new tools including an AI powered job ad generator, designed to improve efficiency and experience

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