A RECRUITMENT company is planning to expand in the North-East after making a key appointment of its own.

Stephen Belton has joined Darlington-based Tribe Recruitment as Business Manager, bringing a wealth of experience and network of contacts in the industrial, transport and logistics sectors.

Stephen, who is originally from Yarm and now living in Middlesbrough, has spent 13 years specialising in those sectors, working with clients ranging from multi-million-pound businesses to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Father-of-two Stephen said: “I was looking for a new challenge and Tribe Recruitmment was a business that was aligned with my values of treating people in the right way. It’s a company that cares and I want us to be the agency of choice for our specialist sectors.

“The aim is to grow the business and expand into new geographical areas while maintaining the specialist approach to what we do. We won’t be trying to spread ourselves too thinly – it’s about being the best in the sectors we know.”

Stephen will be working alongside recruitment consultant, Ben Sowerby, in the business that is part of the Newlands Group, along with Tribe Search, Care Matters, Turn Left Ventures, and The Robin Centre.

Newlands Group founder and director, Phil Crowther, said: “Stephen is a vital appointment because he knows these sectors inside out, and he’s part of the group’s commitment to invest in exceptional talent.

“We are delighted to have him on board and the plan is to establish new offices in other parts of the North-East over the next 12 months.”

Group Managing Director Lisa Spark added: “Stephen is a very high calibre recruitment professional, and we see his appointment as a major coup because he has such a strong reputation in the market, with vast experience, and unrivalled contacts.”