The Challenge
CambridgeHOK is one of the UK’s leading specialists in controlled environment agriculture, delivering cutting‑edge glasshouse design, turnkey
vertical farming projects, energy solutions and complete commercial growing facilities. With a long history working across soft fruit, salads and high‑tech horticultural production, CambridgeHOK has become a trusted partner to growers who want innovation, efficiency and long‑term sustainability.
As their project pipeline continues to grow, from major glasshouse builds to large‑scale energy system installations, the business needed to strengthen its operational, technical and project delivery teams. Finding people with the right blend of commercial experience, technical capability and industry understanding is always a challenge, particularly in a niche sector where the best talent is rarely actively looking. With multiple new hires needed across construction, engineering and horticulture‑specific project management, CambridgeHOK required a recruitment partner who could move quickly, understand the complexity of their work, and represent their brand well in the market.
Our Approach
MorePeople has worked with CambridgeHOK for several years, building a deep understanding of their culture, technical standards and the unique skills required across their teams. Because we specialise in horticulture and controlled‑environment growing, we already had strong connections with candidates who fit the profile for their roles. People who understand modern greenhouse technology, energy centres, hydroponic systems and the pace of commercial horticultural construction.
I worked closely with Patrick, CambridgeHOK’s Joint Managing Director, throughout the process. Patrick and I have developed a strong working relationship over time. That trust made it easy to collaborate openly about timelines, expectations and the type of personalities that thrive at CambridgeHOK.
By keeping communication frequent, setting clear steps in the process and managing both candidate and client expectations throughout, we were able to deliver high‑quality shortlists at speed. This resulted in successful placements that aligned with CambridgeHOK’s operational goals and long‑term business strategy.
“I have used MorePeople as my go‑to horticultural recruitment agency for over a decade, and they always deliver. On our last role, Kieran stood out in particular – he was attentive, understood the brief, found some great candidates and managed the whole process from start to finish. First‑class support.”
Patrick Harte, Joint MD, CambridgeHOK
“I had a very positive experience with Kieran from MorePeople. He found me a great role at a great company and was always helpful and gave useful advice. Kieran would respond promptly and kept me well informed throughout the recruitment process. I thoroughly recommend Kieran as a recruiter”.
Jonathan Kirkham, Candidate, Technical Sales Manager
