Samuel Knight International, the Newcastle-based recruitment company, has raised an undisclosed amount in equity from investor Gresham House Ventures.

The recruiter, which was launched in 2014 and also has offices in London and Bristol, provides staff for energy and rail on a permanent, contract and temporary basis.

Last year, Samuel Knight achieved £13 million in turnover and won Team of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneur awards.

The Gresham House Ventures investment, which used funds from the Baronsmead Venture Capital Trusts, will partly be used to add around 40 members of staff to Samuel Knight’s three offices, from entry-level graduates to experienced consultants.

The company, which has clients in 30 countries, is also planning to buy two sites overseas.

Money will also be spent on upgrading company technology.

Gresham House Ventures invests equity of up to £5 million in growth businesses. Sectors it invests in include forestry, renewable energy, housing and infrastructure.

Accountants UNW advised Samuel Knight on the deal, while Dow Schofield Watts provided financial due diligence to Gresham House.

Steven Rawlingson, CEO at Samuel Knight, said: “We have a clear vision of what we want to achieve with the investment, and how this will help us to support commercial goals. We are delighted to have secured the funding from Gresham House Ventures, who share in our ambition and vision to grow the business. The investment will enable us to strengthen our global offer, expansion plans and team growth.”

Steve Cordiner, director at Gresham House, said: “Steven and the Samuel Knight team have done a fantastic job in growing the business so rapidly in such a short time period and we are proud to be partnering with such an ambitious team. There is huge scope for Samuel Knight to expand globally and we look forward to supporting the business on this phase of its journey.”