Background
HPS Services is one of the UK's leading providers of specialist Facilities Management services to the Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and Build-to-Rent (BTR) sectors. Headquartered in South Kensington, London, the business has established an outstanding reputation for delivering high-quality soft Facilities Management services to some of the country's largest student accommodation providers, private residential operators and higher education institutions.
With ambitious growth plans and a strong track record of success, HPS sought to strengthen its executive leadership team to support the next stage of the company's evolution.
What began as an initial conversation around salary benchmarking quickly developed into a retained executive search partnership, with Maxwell Stephens appointed to recruit several critical leadership positions, including:
- Managing Director
- Business Unit Director – Seasonal Turnaround Services (STS)
- Operations Director
- Two Operations Managers
The Challenge
HPS was entering a period of significant expansion, targeting sustained annual growth while continuing to deliver exceptional service across an increasingly complex client portfolio.
Each appointment was strategically important, requiring leaders capable of supporting operational excellence while helping shape the future direction of the business.
Business Unit Director – Seasonal Turnaround Services
The Seasonal Turnaround Services (STS) division represented one of HPS's most commercially important business units.
Responsible for delivering large-scale cleaning, housekeeping and mobilisation programmes across student accommodation portfolios during the summer period, the division experiences an intense operational peak between June and September.
The successful candidate needed to provide:
- Strategic leadership of the STS business unit.
- Operational planning across multiple nationwide projects.
- Financial ownership and commercial accountability.
- Leadership of large operational teams.
- Client relationship management.
- Continuous improvement of operational processes.
- Growth of revenues while reducing seasonal dependency.
The role required an experienced leader capable of operating under significant commercial and operational pressure while maintaining exceptional service standards.
Managing Director
Alongside the STS appointment, HPS required a Managing Director to work closely with the Founder, Non-Executive Directors and Finance leadership to guide the long-term growth of the business.
The successful candidate would be responsible for:
- Developing and executing corporate strategy.
- Driving commercial growth.
- Strengthening operational performance.
- Leading organisational transformation.
- Building leadership capability across the business.
- Supporting acquisitions and future expansion opportunities.
Operations Director & Operations Managers
To support continued expansion, HPS also required operational leaders capable of strengthening service delivery, improving consistency across contracts and leading regional teams within a fast-paced Facilities Management environment.
Our Approach
Recruiting multiple senior leaders simultaneously required a consultative and highly structured executive search process.
Understanding the Business
We invested significant time with HPS's senior leadership team to understand:
- Long-term business objectives.
- Organisational culture.
- Leadership structure.
- Commercial priorities.
- Future growth strategy.
- The operational demands unique to the PBSA and BTR sectors.
This enabled us to create highly accurate candidate profiles for each appointment.
Executive Search
Leveraging our specialist Facilities Management network, we targeted senior professionals with proven experience in:
- Soft Facilities Management.
- National operational leadership.
- Cleaning and support services.
- Multi-site contract management.
- Commercial leadership.
- Business growth.
- Operational transformation.
- Profit and loss responsibility.
- Team development.
For the Managing Director search, particular emphasis was placed on identifying commercially driven leaders with experience scaling service-led businesses while maintaining strong operational control.
Rigorous Assessment
Candidates completed a structured assessment process evaluating:
- Leadership capability.
- Commercial acumen.
- Financial understanding.
- Strategic thinking.
- Operational delivery.
- Cultural alignment.
- Stakeholder management.
Particular attention was given to resilience, adaptability and the ability to thrive within an entrepreneurial, high-growth business.
The Outcome
Maxwell Stephens successfully delivered multiple executive appointments that strengthened HPS's senior leadership team and positioned the business for continued growth.
The successful Business Unit Director brought extensive leadership experience within soft Facilities Management and quickly established themselves as a driving force behind the STS division.
Key achievements included:
- Delivering highly successful seasonal mobilisation programmes.
- Maintaining exceptional client satisfaction levels.
- Driving year-on-year revenue growth.
- Improving operational planning and financial control.
- Introducing more efficient working practices across the division.
Alongside this appointment, we successfully recruited:
- A commercially focused Managing Director to lead the next phase of business growth.
- An experienced Operations Director responsible for improving operational consistency and performance.
- Two highly capable Operations Managers who strengthened regional leadership and contract delivery.
Together, these appointments have helped support HPS's ambitious growth strategy while reinforcing its reputation as one of the UK's leading specialist Facilities Management providers within the PBSA and Build-to-Rent sectors.
A Long-Term Executive Recruitment Partnership
What began as a simple salary benchmarking conversation evolved into a trusted executive recruitment partnership.
By taking the time to understand HPS's commercial ambitions, operational challenges and organisational culture, Maxwell Stephens delivered leadership appointments that extended far beyond simply filling vacancies.
Our relationship-led executive search process enabled HPS to build a stronger leadership team capable of supporting sustainable growth, operational excellence and long-term commercial success.