About Us

Leading the way in recruitment

We provide the highest quality values led recruitment service delivered by the best consultants, utilising a search methodology derived from a passion for innovation, thought leadership and outstanding corporate social responsibility.

Our Values

Togetherness

Annapurna’s teams work together as one unit with clients and candidates. We provide a multi-faceted service, leading to long-lasting, trusting relationships.

Courage

We believe in our abilities and do what it takes to get things done. We do the things that we find challenging and strive to keep going no matter what.

Excellence

Consistently delivering a high quality, best practice service with attention to detail. All of our employees are pro-active in keeping up to date with trends and news in their market and sector.

Responsibility

We are all about sustainable business in our relationships with each other, candidates, clients, the environment and how we feel a modern business should be run.

Integrity

Core to our business is a high standard of professionalism and the ability to build long-lasting relationships. This is central to everything that we do.

Awards and Recognition

When myself, Charlie Appleyard and Nigel Fox started Annapurna, the concept was to create a company which our people were proud of. Getting listed within the Top 100 highlights the competitive yet enjoyable workplace that has been created for people to excel.Ensuring our consultants are happy is always at the heart of our business, as happy employees result in happy customers. A key pillar to Annapurna’s success is our people and awards like being listed in the Top 100 are testament to that; we encourage internal progression and actively nurture talent.

James Ballard
Co-Founder at Annapurna

2022

46th “Best Company to Work For”

We are proud to announce that Annapurna Recruitment placed 46th in the category of Top 100 Mid-Sized Companies in the UK at the Best Companies Awards.

We placed 14th in the Top 100 Mid-Sized Companies to work for in London. This result means a lot to us as the survey was completed by all Annapurna employees, based on their experiences of working within the company.

We also ranked 29th as Best Companies to work for in the UK in the Recruitment sector only.

2020

39th “Best Company to Work For”

Annapurna is proud to announce that we have placed 39th on The Sunday Times ‘Best Small Companies to Work for’ 2020 list, and also the 9th ‘Best Small Company to Work for in London’.

This list is based on criteria such as leadership, employee engagement and wellbeing, staff benefits and positive impact on society. Our employees agreed that Annapurna encourages charitable activities, with a 96% positive score, ranking 10th out of all companies featured on the list for this section.

Featuring on this list is a massive achievement for Annapurna, and highlights how the company are dedicated to putting employees first, providing a successful company environment and culture.

2019

2nd “Perkbox Workplace Culture Awards”

We are pleased to announce that having placed 2nd in the Perkbox Workplace Culture Awards, is testament to our ethos.

Our offices have a genuine family feel and all employees recognise from day one the attitude to be successful.

Our in-house training team offers an industry-leading training program for all stages of development, from Trainee Consultant to Director. Annapurna’s bespoke training room and areas for continuous learning are underpinned by existing experienced consultants who help and share knowledge.

All staff are hired because of their grit, resilience and determination to succeed, which produces a competitive working environment. We build our reputation on the quality of our consultants and what we deliver to clients. Every year, we organise summer-holiday and a super-trip targets. Over the years, we have taken employees to places such as Cape Town, Las Vegas, Lisbon, the Algarve and Barcelona.

2019

“Best Professional Services Recruitment Agency”
“Agency Leader of the Year”

Not only did we regain the crown of ‘Best Professional Services Recruitment Agency’ (that we had previously won in 2015 & 2013), but Charlie Appleyard on ‘Agency Leader of the Year’ for all that he has accomplished at Annapurna. He is at the forefront of our innovative and relationship focused ethos, as well as his dedication to training and development.

This is testament to the work of our consultants and their commitment to providing the best service they can and their knowledge of the markets they work in.

Being shortlisted was an achievement in itself, and we don’t do what we do for accolades, but to be recognised with 2 prestigious awards is a phenomenal achievement and they are pride of place in our London office!

2018

“Best Recruitment Company to Work for”

Annapurna Recruitment has been awarded “Best Recruitment Company to Work for (£10m -£20m)” at the Recruitment International Awards.

James Ballard, one of the founders of Annapurna, gave an interview on the triumph of the company and what he keeps at the top level of importance, the staff.

During the interview, James discusses our employee engagement, how our unique CSR offering, Annapurna Giving, has enabled us to hire the best internally and how technology has empowered our consultants to deliver excellent search abilities.

We were delighted to win the award and continue to strive to deliver the best offering for our clients & candidates.

To read the full interview with James being on the cover of the Recruiter International magazine, please visit here.

2017

11th “Best Company to Work For”

Annapurna are delighted to announce that we have been placed 11th on The Sunday Times Best Small Companies to Work for 2017 list!

Published on a yearly basis, the list uses criteria such as office culture, staff benefits, and employee wellbeing to gauge the quality of workplace engagement.

Alongside placing 11th on the list, Annapurna achieved a 3-star accreditation which recognises organisations that truly excel. This accreditation reflects ‘extraordinary’ levels of workplace engagement.

This is Annapurna’s first venture into the Sunday Times list and we are extremely proud of the achievement and the fact that our employees think Annapurna Recruitment is such a fantastic place to work.

2017

“Best Small Agency”

Annapurna was announced as the ‘Best Small Agency’ (under £20m turnover) at the Global Recruiter Awards 2017.

The Global Recruiter Awards have celebrated the best of the best in recruitment and Annapurna is delighted to have awarded such an accolade amongst such great competition on the night.

Annapurna was against 4 other agencies but won the award due to our dedication to giving our candidates/clients an additional recruitment experience through our Business Transformation Network and work with video interview platform, Hinterview.

A great award that we are so proud to have been awarded!

2017

“Best IT/Technology Recruitment Agency”

We are delighted to announce that we took away ‘Best IT/Technology Recruitment Agency’ at the 2017 Recruiter Awards, alongside being nominated for two others. The Recruiter Awards highlight the great work that our consultants are doing.

We are always grateful for the accolades and praise we receive for the work we do, and this is testament to the hard work and dedication of our consultants, particularly those within the IT recruitment market on this occasion!

2016

“CSR Initiative of the Year”

The APSCo Awards are one of the most renowned accolades in the recruitment industry and celebrate outstanding work and standards. Annapurna is delighted and honoured to have won the “CSR Initiative of the Year” Award. APSCo recognises that Annapurna “Had CSR hard wired into their DNA from inception and takes a long term view on their commitment.”

2015

“Best Professional Services Recruitment Agency”
“Best Candidate Care”
“Recruitment Agency of the Year” (Fewer than 100 Employees)

We proudly came home with a triple crown at the Recruiter Awards for Excellence! It was reward for doing the basic things well, according to our co-founder and partner James Ballard.

Speaking to Recruiter shortly after picking up the company’s third award of the evening, James said: “We would like to think we are doing something which is slightly different – building communities of relationship-focused talent pools, treating people in the right way, treating people with respect and building specialist capability in terms of being able to deliver great people to our clients.

“There is no rocket science about that but we do the basic things well and we have a strong value set which is really important.”

Annapurna Giving

The name Annapurna comes from a conservation area in Nepal and aims to demonstrate our commitment as a company to CSR and acting responsibly. Annapurna Giving is our unique charitable arm of the business, which won ‘Best CSR Initiative’ at the APSCo Awards.

In total, we donated over £300,000 since 2009, which included £50,000 raised by consultants through fundraising for the London Marathon.

We also have an Annapurna Environmental Committee, whose members are responsible for running initiatives to help us become a greener business by reducing our carbon footprint, reducing waste and paper usage.

Responsibility has always been central to everything we do at Annapurna. That’s why we launched Annapurna Giving, a platform designed to give to the charities we feel strongly about.

The charities we support

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 10 million people who take injustice personally. They are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.

Care4Calais is a volunteer-run charity delivering essential aid and support to refugees living in the worst conditions across Northern France and Belgium.

Cure Parkinson’s is working with urgency to find new treatments to slow, stop and reverse Parkinson’s. Their funding and innovation has redefined the field of Parkinson’s research, enabling the world’s leading researchers to prioritise the next generation of drugs for clinical trial.

The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of crisis overseas. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need help and their mission is to save, protect and rebuild lives through effective humanitarian response.

EIDA’s mission is to enable employers to take action on domestic abuse – raising awareness among all employees, supporting those affected, and providing support and education to help perpetrators to stop.

Friends of the Earth sees the wellbeing of people and planet as one and the same. This inspires their campaigns on climate, energy, wildlife and living within the planet’s limits.

Havens Hospices provides palliative nursing and supportive care to adults, young people and children living with complex or incurable conditions across Essex.

Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust is the UK's only charity dedicated to those affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities.

Mosaic Trust’s mission is to support, educates and inspires young lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans persons age thirteen to nineteen as well as those around them.

Parkinson’s UK is the largest charitable funder of Parkinson’s disease research in Europe, fast tracking the most promising scientific discoveries into life-changing new treatments.

The Runnymede Trust is the UK's leading independent race equality think tank, dismantling systemic racism since 1968.

Sport Parkinson’s CIC is an organisation that promotes exercise and participation in sporting activities for people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Established in 1986, The Soup Kitchen is a resource for the homeless, elderly, lonely and vulnerable in London. They provide free meals, clothing, toiletries and a sense of belonging to nearly 150 people each day.

The Trussell Trust’s aim is to create a hunger free future. They support a nationwide network of food banks, provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.