Outsource and labour services provider Smart Solutions is celebrating 10 years in business.

The milestone anniversary comes as the Newport-headquartered company announces a record turnover of £95m for the last financial year, up nine per cent, from £87m in 2015-16 making it 10 consecutive years of growth.

Chief executive Nathan Bowles founded Smart Solutions in 2007 and in the last 10 years the business has expanded the services it offers to clients, the sectors it works in and its geographical locations - up to 50 throughout the UK.

Smart Solutions directly employs 230 staff, four of which have been in the business a decade, and it also has a flexible workforce of more than 5,500 people, up from 50 during the early weeks of the business.

Nathan Bowles said: “The success of the business is testament to the exceptional talent base of our staff and their determination to make Smart Solutions the go-to provider of outsourced and labour services.

“Traditionally, Smart Solutions is a recruitment firm but, during the last decade, we’ve adapted our business model to ensure we’re providing more solutions to our clients, including facilities management, software development, consultancy, security and cleaning, PPE and work wear. We’ve also developed Smart Onsite, a bespoke software system that records and tracks the recruitment process for clients, producing real-time KPIs and reports on compliance, licences and budgets.

“The focus for the next 10 years is to continue to grow and, while I’m confident this is achievable, we’re taking steps to ensure the business is in the best position possible to do so in light of changes that will inevitably affect the recruitment industry, such as Brexit.”

Following Britain’s decision to leave the EU, Smart Solutions has recently undergone a restructure, placing greater emphasis on delivering recruitment services from what it calls ‘hub’ locations, which are regional offices supporting the teams working on-site at its clients’ premises.

The regional hubs are responsible for attracting candidates and making sure they are compliant to work, whereas Smart Solutions’ on-site teams manage the training and day-to-day management of its flexible workforce. In addition, the business continues to deliver recruitment services from high street locations.

This restructure has been supported by a £100,000 investment in its high street branches, creating a bistro-style environment where recruitment candidates spend less time form filling and more time engaging with recruiters.

“We have to accept that the way in which people look for work has changed and, inevitably, the talent pool of people available to employers will be impacted by Brexit in the short-term,” Mr Bowles said.

“We anticipate that there will be fewer people coming to work in the UK until all of the uncertainty around Brexit is resolved, so we’re taking steps now to make the process as streamlined and robust as possible to ensure both employers and potential employees are benefitting from our services. We want to be at the forefront of attracting the talent that is here, we also want to be known as an easy company to work with and to achieve this we have been improving and innovating our systems, such as moving candidate registration to online.”

In recognition of the business’ anniversary, Mr Bowles invited all of its permanent staff, clients and suppliers together for a celebration and paid special recognition to the four members of the team - Helen Waite, senior onsite account manager, Davood Torangi, Bridgend branch manager, Iwona Grelak, systems improvement manager, and Karen Lewis, accounts administrator, who have been employed at Smart Solutions for 10 years.

He also thanked Tom David, sales manager, who retired after more than eight years of employment.

Smart Solutions works for clients in a variety of sectors, spanning waste and recycling, manufacturing, logistics, pharmaceutical and automotive. In May 2017, it was included in the London Stock Exchange Group’s ‘1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ listing.