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Warrington's Fircroft acquires Australian workforce solutions firm

Global workforce solutions provider Fircroft has announced the acquisition of One Key Resources, the Australian firm who provide staffing solutions to the mining industry.

Established in 2011, the Brisbane-headquartered workforce specialists, who also have offices in Perth, Cairns and Singapore, provide services across Asia-Pacific, as well as Russia and Africa.

The acquisition, the amount of which is currently undisclosed, sees the Warrington-based business capitalising on One Key’s positioning as a market leader in Asia-Pacific, strengthening both its presence in the region and the mining, minerals and natural resources sector.

It comes at a time of major expansion for Fircroft, who acquired telecommunications firm Rygon in 2015 and also entered into a number of joint ventures in far flung destinations such as Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.

Fircroft Chief Executive Officer, Johnathan Johnson, believes One Key is ‘perfectly aligned’ with Fircroft’s values thanks to its ’best-in-class service to clients and contractors.

Speaking about the firm’s continued expansion plans, he added: “At Fircroft we have ambitious expansion plans, and we are pleased that One Key, with its suite of innovative, market-leading training products and workforce solutions will be joining us on this journey as we seek to further strengthen our expertise in providing workforce solutions to the global mining industry.”

The Warrington firm received £140m investment from London-based Equistone Partners Europe in 2012, and Steve O’Hare, a partner at the investment firm, was complimentary about the firm’s continued success in light of the wider difficulties in the oil and gas sector.

He said: “This acquisition demonstrates that we see this period as an opportunity to invest in growth and increase market share, whilst also expanding our sector capabilities which will enable us to use the Fircroft global footprint to grow One Key more rapidly.”

As part of the deal, current One Key Managing Director Grant Wechsel and director and former Australian Rugby League captain Darren Lockyer will both remain in situ.

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