Pears welcomes Timing as new shareholder to support growth plans

June 2024 — The shareholders of Pears, a Netherlands-based provider of staffing services in the education and care sectors, welcome Timing, a Netherlands-based employment agency, as a new shareholder to support the company’s growth plans.

The partnership is expected to bring substantial benefits to both companies. With this strategic cooperation, Timing expands its activities into the care and education sectors. Pears aims to accelerate its growth trajectory and establish itself as a leading provider in the Dutch care and education staffing market by leveraging Timing’s operational framework and market knowledge.

Established in 2018, Pears provides recruitment services for the care and education sectors in northern Netherlands, specifically in the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. As part of its recruitment services, Pears offers temporary recruitment solutions, secondment services, temporary to permanent solutions, and recruitment and selection. The company is headquartered in Groningen.

Timing is an employment agency for operational work, founded in 1994. The company provides flexible and payroll workers, from production staff to cleaners. Timing is headquartered in Apeldoorn and has grown to over 900 employees in the Netherlands. In 2022, it was acquired by Groupe Proman SAS, a France-based employment agency.

Our role in the transaction

Oaklins’ team in the Netherlands acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to the shareholders of Pears, with support from Oaklins’ Belgian team. Leveraging our strong track record and expertise in the HR services sector, we optimally positioned Pears and conducted a competitive process across the Benelux region to identify the right partner. This transaction underlines our extensive experience in business services-related transactions.