Gi Group has reached €2 billion in turnover in 20 years

13 February 18 

The Group, founded and led by Stefano Colli-Lanzi, closes 2017 with the best results in its history and confirms its standing as the sixth largest HR provider in Europe and twentieth in the world. After the acquisition of Tack and TMI, global training networks, 2018 will mean greater global coverage and an ever wider range of solutions offered.

Milan, 12th February 2018 – just turned 20 years old: on 11th February 1998, Gi Group received provisional authorisation to provide contract recruitment services from the Italian Ministry of Employment and Social Security. Today, the Group, Italy’s largest recruitment multinational, releases the principal figures from its recent history and looks at the key points in its future.

First of all, 2017 closed with a financial statement that recorded €2 billion in turnover worldwide, an increase of 20% compared with 2016, and an EBITDA of €60 million. These results were achieved thanks to more than 3,300 employees and 500 branches, that have enabled us to support 20,000 businesses and over 100,000 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) workers; at the end of 2017 the Group entered into Borsa Italiana’s Elite Programme, a London Stock Exchange Group initiative in collaboration with Confindustria to support businesses to implement their growth plans.

Separating turnover by country, 57% of Gi Group’s turnover comes from the Italian market, 43% from other countries.

“Over the years, we have evolved from being a local business specialising in contract recruitment to be a global provider with a diversified range of solutions HR. Today, we are able to offer a higher level of specialisation and diversification which is not an end in itself; is aimed at responding to the ever more complex needs of businesses and people, thus generating value.  – Stefano Colli-Lanzi, CEO of Gi Group said. Over the coming years, the Group intends to continue this trajectory of growth. From a services perspective, we will focus more and more on the verticalisation and diversification of solutions. We won’t rule out, having already started this year, assessing acquisitions in strategic countries, aimed at complementing our global presence, just as we won’t rule out a progressive expansion of capital with different instruments, including a quotation on Borsa [Italiana]; from this point of view, our entry into the Borsa Italiana Elite programme is a precise indicator of these interests”.

Founded in 1998 as Générale Industrielle, the company grew quickly when, in 2004, it acquired WorkNet, an employment agency belonging to the then FIAT Group thus becoming Italy’s largest market operator; in 2005, it entered the outplacement market by acquiring DBM Italy, today INTOO, in 2007 it entered the consultancy market with OD&M Consulting and also began its international expansion with acquisitions in Germany and Poland. In 2008 Générale Industrielle and WorkNet merged to form Gi Group which, after opening offices in China, India and Brazil, since 2009 it consolidated overseas with offices in the United Kingdom, Argentina and Eastern Europe and joined the WEC (the international confederation of employment agencies, then CIETT). After entering the Asset Management sector, in 2013, it began an international HR Consulting practice with OD&M and Search & Selection with the Wyser brand; in the years to follow there was further growth into Turkey, Portugal, Holland, Slovakia and in 2016, in particular, it strengthened its services by acquiring Tack and TMI, training and consultancy companies, with registered offices in UK and Denmark respectively and a global presence thanks to an international network of partners.

In Italy, in line with the strategy of widening and diversifying its solutions, Gi Group started to develop specialist divisions and QiBit, dedicated to the IT sector in 2015, while in 2016, Enginium was formed, a division dedicated to the engineering and technical sectors.

In the same year the company relaunched its specialist executive search company, EXS.