House of HR acquires Dutch consultancy ITDS Business Consultants

21 December 2018 Consultancy.eu

ITDS Business Consultants, a Dutch management consulting firm with around 175 employees in the Netherlands and Poland, has joined forces with Belgian HR services provider House of HR.

A specialist consultancy for the financial services industry, ITDS will operate as a standalone business unit within Redmore Group – House of HR’s operation in the Netherlands.

“By becoming part of Redmore Group, we can expand our services and therefore serve our customers even better,” explained Arjen de Boer, Managing Partner of ITDS.

House of HR acquires Dutch consultancy ITDS Business Consultants

Redmore Group is a Netherlands-based professional services firm that, similar to ITDS, has a complete focus on the financial sector. Prior to the acquisition, the company had approximately 1,400 employees among its ranks, working for four business units: Talent & Pro, one of the largest staffing agencies in the Dutch financial services landscape; Triple A - Risk Finance, a provider of actuary and risk management services, Redmore Solutions, a provider of IT services; and Profource, a specialist in the field of ERP and finance & control.

The group was acquired by Belgium-origin House of HR (the firm’s headquarters are based in Roeselare) at the end of last year. 

Being able to provide a total and integrated proposition to its clients was the main rationale for Redmore Group to acquire ITDS, said Edwin van den Elst, the firm's CEO. “We are witnessing a growing demand for integrated propositions – consultancy, projects, staffing and digitisation – by our clients, and with the bolt-on of ITDS, a consultancy firm specialised in strategic advice and execution, we can better respond to the trend.” 

What also plays a role in such joining of forces between staffing agencies and consultants is the value added moving into the consultancy realm can bring to client networks and impact of work. While services such as staffing and project execution are typically sourced for operational matters, consultants tend to work with clients at CxO and management level on their most pressing strategic issues. “ITDS works on strategic projects for many of the top Dutch and international insurers, banks and pension funds,” said De Boer.

Over the past years, ITDS among others helped a bank with risk & compliance, a pension insurer with the design of customer journeys for a new product, a general insurer with embedding robotisation in its operations, and a funeral insurer with the development of a social media strategy. The consulting firm also supports its clients with topics such as digital transformation, performance improvement, post-merger integration, risk management and culture change.

Integrated offering

With the addition, Redmore Group can now according to CEO Van den Elst call itself the “most complete” professional services firm in the Netherlands dedicated to the financial services industry, in a move that builds on the firm’s vision when it was founded back in 2014.

The name Redmore Group was inspired by Redmore Road, a street in Hammersmith, West-London, which is known for its large and diverse number of shops and products, attracting people of all ages and nationalities. In the neighbourhood, there goes a well-known saying that whatever one may need, it can be found on Redmore Road. “Exactly the positioning Redmore Group stands for,” stated the firm previously. 

Alongside the benefits for its service portfolio and customers, the bundling of organisations will also pave the way for enhanced career opportunities, said Van den Elst. In agreement with the words of his counterpart, De Boer stated, “For our consultants, this offers a unique opportunity to develop their skills more broadly and to use their expertise more broadly, considering the total package of solutions that we can offer together.” 

For ITDS, the transaction sees the consultancy lose it independence after two decades of operations. The company was founded in 1998 by Arjen de Boer together with Esther Lens – both previously served IG&H Consulting & Interim. Since then, they have developed ITDS into one of the leading parties in the Dutch management consulting market, and grown the team to more than 175 employees across offices in the Netherlands and Poland.

All employees will transfer to Redmore Group, taking its headcount to over 1,600; however, while the integration will enable the management consultancy to benefit from Redmore Group's network and expertise, ITDS will continue to operate as an independent entity and with a separate management team.

Accelerating growth

The backing of a larger player such as House of HR, which has roughly 500 offices in nine countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Romania), will allow ITDS to set its sights on accelerating its growth, both in the Netherlands as well as beyond.

The firm’s ambition comes at a time when financial services institutions are facing major change across their entire operation, from strategies and business models to business processes, regulation and technology. “With House of HR as a parent company, we can accelerate our growth in the Netherlands and, besides our successful branch in Poland, pursue further international expansion,” De Boer remarked. 

Van den Elst concluded by stating that he looks forward to welcoming the team of ITDS into its organisation: “ITDS perfectly matches the culture of our group, both in terms of energy and entrepreneurship.”