Irishjobs.ie buys Scottish website in latest expansion


26 Feb 2004

Denis O’Brien’s recruitment website IrishJobs.ie has taken a 75pc stake in a Scottish recruitment website valued at around £1m sterling.

Scottishappointments.com is ranked at number two in the online recruitment sector in Scotland and the move builds on IrishJobs.ie’s move into the Northern Ireland market in 2000 with the acquisition of NIjobs.com.

It is understood that IrishJobs.ie aims to adapt its business model for the vibrant Scottish jobs market.

Maria Mahon, group CEO of Irishjobs.ie and NIjobs.com said: “The addition of ScottishAppointments.com to our portfolio is a natural progression for us. We have firmly established both IrishJobs.ie and NIjobs.com as the clear No.1 independently audited sites in their respective markets and look forward to achieving similar success in Scotland.

“Pat Kelly, who will continue in his role as Managing Director of ScottishAppointments.com, has done a tremendous job to date in establishing the website. I have no doubt that working with Pat and his team will prove to be a very fruitful partnership,” Mahon said.

It is estimated that over 250,000 people are actively searching for a job at any one time in Scotland. “This, combined with a very active and vibrant online community in Scotland, represents a strong and favourable growth opportunity for us. Our research estimates that the online recruitment market in Scotland is worth over stg £15m sterling.”

The managing director and founder of ScottishAppointments.com said that the website will continue to be run locally from the company’s Edinburgh and Dundee offices. “The key difference going forward will be that we’re now part of a successful team, and can learn from IrishJobs.ie and NIjobs.com in further building the business,” he said.

By John Kennedy