SPG Resourcing is expanding into the UK’s £146.9bn life sciences sector with the launch of a new specialist recruitment division.

The Leeds-based technology talent business has appointed experienced life sciences recruiter Nathan Sharpe as head of practice, Life Sciences, to establish and grow the new operation.

The expansion gives SPG Resourcing a foothold in one of the UK’s largest and most strategically important industries, which generates annual turnover of £146.9bn and employs almost 360,000 people across more than 7,300 companies.

The sector spans biopharmaceuticals and medical technology, with biopharma responsible for £98.9bn, or 67 per cent, of industry turnover. Medical technology is the largest employer, accounting for around 196,000 jobs, or 55 per cent of the sector’s workforce.

SPG Resourcing has built its business around providing specialist technology talent in areas including software engineering, cybersecurity and data science. The launch of its life sciences practice represents a significant diversification as the group continues to expand its capabilities in high-growth, technology-led markets.

Sharpe joins SPG following more than seven years working in specialist recruitment, with a particular focus on life sciences, deep technology and AI for science.

Most recently, he was business lead at Skills Alliance, where he led its Life Sciences practice in Leeds and focused on building computational, machine learning and research teams for Deep-Tech and AI4Science companies. He previously held roles with Factor Search and spent five years at Charlton Morris, where he was part of the Life Sciences leadership team and built a recruitment team from scratch.

Sharpe said: “Life sciences is going through a significant period of change. Advances in AI, computational science and data are changing how companies approach everything from drug discovery to diagnostics, but those advances depend on having access to people with highly specialised skills.

“The scale of the UK sector makes the opportunity clear, but this is also an international talent market. The businesses developing new therapies, technologies and scientific platforms are competing for a relatively small pool of people capable of turning ambitious science into working models, software and ultimately new discoveries.

“SPG already has deep expertise in technology talent, and my job is to build a specialist practice that combines that capability with genuine knowledge of the scientific markets we serve.”

The new life sciences practice will complement SPG Resourcing’s existing technology recruitment capabilities, with a particular focus on areas where science and technology increasingly overlap, including computational science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data and research.

Sam Hameed, managing director of The Solution Performance Group, said: “The launch of our life sciences division is a strategic step for SPG Resourcing. We have built our reputation around helping organisations find specialist technology skills quickly and effectively, and we are increasingly seeing those skills converge with science.

“The UK has a life sciences industry approaching £150bn in annual turnover and employing around 360,000 people. At the same time, AI, data and computational technologies are becoming fundamental to how that industry develops. That creates a substantial opportunity for a recruitment business which understands both specialist talent and technology.

“Nathan has the sector knowledge, network and experience of building teams and markets that we need to turn that opportunity into a significant new practice for SPG. His appointment gives us an experienced leader who can build the division from Leeds while developing relationships with life sciences businesses across the UK and internationally.”