River Capital Provides Six-Figure Funding to Fast Growing Manchester Recruitment Specialist Sowena Group

North West fund manager River Capital has welcomed specialist finance and accounting recruitment business Sowena Group to its portfolio following a significant six-figure investment.

Based in Manchester city centre, Sowena have received the funding from the North West Business Growth Loan fund with River Capital’s streamlined processes ensuring drawdown within a month following its initial enquiry.

Founded in June 2024 by award-winning recruiter Perran Cooke, Sowena specialises in placing finance candidates from newly qualified accountants to executive board level for high-growth businesses, pre and current PE-backed companies, and venture capital entities.

Despite being relatively new to the market, the business has quickly established a reputation for quality placements, achieving a 100% success rate across all roles filled to date – a remarkable achievement in an industry where 25-30% attrition is typical.

The funding will be deployed strategically to accelerate Sowena’s growth trajectory and has will assist with the recruitment of three additional fee-earning consultants across different experience levels that will strengthen the firms capabilities across three key pillars of their business: senior executive search for CFO and Finance Director roles, mid-tier finance management positions, and the growing interim and fractional finance director and CFO market.

The investment will also fund the final development and rollout of ‘Kelmi Intelligence, an innovative data-led candidate matching platform that uses behavioural and emotional data alongside traditional skillset analysis to deliver superior candidate-to-role fit.

The platform will initially be rolled out to Sowena’s existing private equity and corporate clients through the search process and will present a significant competitive advantage, enabling more precise candidate matching and faster placement cycles while maintaining Sowena’s commitment to quality, transparency and cultural fit.

Chris Carter, Investment Manager at River Capital commented on the funding:

“We’re delighted to support Sowena Group at this exciting stage of their growth journey. Perran and his team have built an exceptional business in a remarkably short time, demonstrating a clear focus on quality over quantity. Their commitment to innovation through the Kelmi Intelligence platform, combined with their strong relationships across the private equity and high-growth business sectors, positions them well for significant expansion and this funding will enable them to scale their team and meet the increasing demand from their client base.”

Perran Cooke, CEO and Founder of Sowena Group, commented said:

“The speed and efficiency of this transaction from River Capital and Chris has been exceptional. From our first conversation to completing the funding took four weeks, which is testament to their streamlined approach and understanding of growing businesses. This has allowed us to recruit in key positions and to capitalise on the significant opportunities we’re seeing in the market and to meet the demand of our current client base.