Our History

How It Started

VANRATH began in 2000, when a senior level accountant was on the lookout for new opportunities. Wayne Sullivan discovered that professional recruitment services for accountants was not quite the experience he had expected. His entrepreneurial nature and drive to help other accountants realise their career aspirations, was the ‘light-bulb’ moment that encouraged him to start a recruitment agency like no other. The goal was to recruit in the same way, and to the same standard, that an employer would recruit into their own business to ensure the client would get exactly what they required.

Initially setting up shop in Dublin the name was founded, VANRATH, an amalgamation of the 2 founding partners' names. In 2002, Wayne decided to return home to Belfast to take on the Northern Ireland market. He purchased VANRATH’s first official home on the 6thfloor of Lesley Suites which enabled the business to hit the ground running with the establishment of our Accountancy Team

IT recruitment was VANRATH’s next big venture and in 2004 the team has grown the IT business into the largest IT recruitment business in Northern Ireland.

How It's Going

As the business continued to grow, naturally the team also expanded and the need for additional office space was identified, which was when we bought Victoria House.

This growth has been, and continues to be, supported through significant investment in marketing, our team and our clients and candidates. We look forward to what the next 23 years will bring.

Some of our key Clients

Over the years, we have worked with the best clients and candidates in the Northern Ireland market and carried out recruitment campaigns for some of the best-known names in the world of business, amongst them Allen & Overy, AquaQ Analytics, iManage, Johnson Controls, TP ICAP, CME Group and Allstate.

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23 years of VANRATH

Some of our Proudest moments of the last 23 Years

01

'Time to Care' Initiative

'Time to Care’ is a unique partnership opportunity for up to 30 businesses in Northern Ireland, to part fund the annual salary of a qualified children’s nurse at the Children’s Hospice. We have since worked closely to support the hospice through many fundraising campaigns over the years, raising significant funding for their vital work.

02

Significant Growth in 2019

Later in the year, we secured a significant stake-holder investment from prominent Mercedes business owner and property investor Neil McKibbin FCA. With this investment came the purchase of Victoria House in Belfast City Centre by Wayne and Neil, in a £12.5 million deal, allowing the company to move into brand new state of the art offices and continue their ambitious growth plans.

03

Our Team

We have transitioned from a team of 3 accountancy focused consultants to a team of 40 sector-specific consultants covering a diverse range of sectors. Building successful careers and supporting our clients with the best talent in the market is at the heart of everything we do. We are driven by a passion to help people build careers that meet their goals, and help businesses achieve success through great and strategic talent.

VANRATH Recruitment

Interested in finding out more about a career with VANRATH?