HW Global Talent Partner acquired a controlling interest in Zebra People, a London-based digital recruitment agency founded in 2001 by Nick Cochrane. The deal creates a company with £16 million in revenue.

The acquisition was announced Thursday by Optima Corporate Finance, which provided corporate finance advice to the buyer.

Zebra People specialises in hiring digital product teams. Typical roles include user experience and product design, full stack developers, and delivery/project managers. The firm recruits for roles up to director level for both temporary and permanent placements. Clients include The Guardian, Eurostar and Barclays among others

The acquisition aims to enable HW Global to offer a comprehensive digital talent service to clients, with HW Global handling recruitment of senior digital leaders and Zebra People providing talent that sits underneath, according to the companies.

“Joining forces with HW Global will open up a wide range of opportunities for us both in the UK and internationally, while offering our clients the executive search service we had previously been unable to provide,” Cochrane said.

HW Global operates on an exclusive and retained basis in the £120,000-and-up search market. It also places executives on a temporary basis on daily rates from £700 to £2,000.

Both HW Global and Zebra People will continue to trade under their existing brands. The company will have approximately 50 staff members in London, Leeds and Manchester. HW Global CEO Spencer Jinks and Chairman Paul Spetch will sit on Zebra People’s board.