The Aquis stock exchange listed group for an initial cash consideration of £575,000, of which £425,000 has been settled by settling the amount to their shareholders, resulting in a net cash outflow from the group on completion of around £150,000.

The consideration also includes £531,223 reflecting the market value of the Glasgow company’s held Bitcoin reserves at 8.216 BTC held by the two businesses, valued at £64,657 per Bitcoin. That was funded from a £600,000 share subscription announced on 22 September. The coins are now on the listed company’s balance sheet, taking its total holding to 81.157 BTC, worth about £5.25m.

A further payment of £60,000 is due in 2028 dependent on performance in each of the calendar year 2027, 2028 and 2029.

Connecting Excellence Group is expected to retain around 75% to 85% of the total operational cash flow. The deal is understood to be the first of its kind by a listed company in relation to the Bitcoin treasury by a listed company.

The balance of the initial payment was funded from Connecting Excellence Group’s cash and a new revolving credit facility from its Bitcoin custodian, BitGo, which allows drawings of up to $1.5m.

Any borrowing is secured against part of the group’s Bitcoin, which BitGo says it will not rehypothecate. Interest is charged at the secured overnight financing rate plus 2.5%, subject to a 7.5% minimum. It accrues only while the facility is drawn and is rolled up rather than paid in cash.

On an unaudited basis, the two James Gray businesses generated combined revenue of £1.79m in the year to 30 June 2026, up 21.5%. Gross profit was £1.27m, a 70.9% margin, and EBITDA was £431,000. The brand and management stay in place.

Scott Ellam, chief executive at Connecting Excellence Group (XCE),  said: “The completion of our first acquisition is a significant milestone for XCE. It shows our model moving from strategy to execution, and James Gray Recruitment is exactly the type of business we are built for: profitable, specialist and founder-led, with a strong brand, established client relationships and significant room to grow.

“There are up to 1,000 owner-managed executive and specialist recruitment businesses in the UK, and around 10,000 worldwide. Many are profitable, with strong brands and committed owners, but no natural exit. Most are not suited to private equity, and trade buyers are rare. XCE is built for them. Owners and their teams keep their brand, their people and their independence, and gain a permanent home on a listed platform. We are not consolidating brands. The only thing we intend to consolidate is the value of these businesses, into one listed vehicle.

“This is the first of a series of potential acquisitions we have in our identified pipeline. Alongside continued organic growth across the Group, we see a significant opportunity to build a larger and more profitable recruitment group, while continuing to grow our Bitcoin treasury over the long term. We look forward to supporting the James Gray team in their next phase of growth.”

Richard Samuels, managing director at James Gray Recruitment, added: “We’ve built James Gray into a strong specialist business, and the focus now is on how much further we can take it. Joining XCE gives us greater firepower to invest in our team, expand into new markets and build on the opportunities we’re already seeing across the UK and US. We have ambitious plans for the business, and this gives us a bigger platform to deliver them.”