Twenty-one-years after co-founding MorePeople with Guy Moreton (above left), Peter Hunt (above right) has retired from the business. Guy and fellow shareholder Andy Fitzmaurice have purchased Peter’s shares and now begin the exciting next chapter for MorePeople.

Peter retires after a lifetime in the industry. Starting his career at Armitage Bros in the petfood sector, he moved to GW Padley in the late 80s in a finance and accountancy role and then spent a number of years with Geest (now Bakkavor) in the 90s before meeting Guy in 1999 when Peter was a Divisional Finance Director of Redbridge Holdings (now Total Produce). Together, Guy and Peter founded MorePeople in 2000 and went on to make a difference to the lives of thousands of clients and candidates in the recruitment sector and laid the groundwork for the company we have today.

Guy summed up the past 21 years with Peter; “I could not have wished for a better business partner, he has worked tirelessly to help build MorePeople into a market leading recruiter within our sectors and was a constant source of support, advice and friendship.”

We wish him and his wife Luci (another fresh produce lifer) a very happy retirement.

2021 was a fantastic year for the recruitment industry and this rang true at MorePeople. We smashed our targets and got back on track with our growth plans – we added 9 new faces to the team in a range of roles.

Working across the food/horti/agri supply chains, we worked with over 350 different clients, all over the UK, on a variety of roles with salaries ranging from £20,000 to £200,000.

The departure of Peter allowed us to make some very positive structural changes in the business; Guy’s role becomes Executive Chairman and Andy is now the CEO. 

Richard Hanwell – one of the 9 appointments from last year - picks up the role of Managing Director and, after 10 years with the business, Morten Andresen joins Luan Harrison in the role of Associate Director.

As newly appointed CEO, Andy Fitzmaurice states, “The new shareholding and company structure is future-proofed and fit to deliver for everyone who is involved in the business. Each quarter we get better; it’s an exciting journey to be on and there’s a real sense of pride and enthusiasm for what we do.”

Andy Fitzmaurice (above left) and Richard Hanwell (above right).

There are more hiring plans for 2022 – we have started the first week back with two new hires – and there are some very, very exciting plans to be confirmed soon, which will see us move to a new premises in Stamford. The new office will be a massive step towards realising our potential recruiting in sectors that we are knowledgeable and passionate about.

Another retirement this year came with our long-standing Chairman Michael Paske hanging up his boots. Michael became a Non-Exec Director of MorePeople in 2004 and has served not only as the company Chairman but also as a mentor to Guy, Peter and Andy in that time. Michael’s long career in the food and agriculture sectors has seen him as Vice-President at the NFU, founder of Exotic Farm Produce and a range of other directorships. We can’t thank Michael enough for his contribution to MorePeople.