About Optio
Built on Over a Decade of Retail Construction Experience
One sector. One focus. Built on relationships and a network that took over a decade to develop.
Why Optio Exists
Optio was founded in 2024 with one clear mission: to become the number one retail construction recruitment company in the UK. The business is built on deep relationships within the sector, years of hands-on experience in retail construction, and a serious investment in technology that sets us apart from the typical recruiter. From how we source candidates to how we manage compliance and communicate with clients, everything is designed to be faster, more transparent, and more reliable. This isn’t recruitment as usual. It’s recruitment built for the way retail construction actually works.
Retail construction is a specialist sector that demands specialist knowledge. The people who deliver a live-environment supermarket refit are not the same as those who build houses. The management approach is different. The trades are different. The programmes are different. Optio was built around that understanding.
We know the difference between a shopfitter and a bench joiner. We understand why a site manager for a night-works refurb needs a completely different skill set to someone running a new build. That depth of knowledge is what over a decade in one sector gives you, and it’s the foundation everything at Optio is built on.
How We Operate
Everything we do is focused on retail construction
Everything we do is focused on retail construction. That’s our specialism, and it’s where all of our knowledge, network, and experience sits. We don’t try to be everything to everyone. We focus on what we know, and we deliver it to a high standard.
Relationships matter more than transactions
We’re not interested in placing someone once and moving on. We build long-term working relationships with our clients and our candidates. The site manager we place on your refit this month. We want them to still be working with you next year. That only happens if you trust us and they trust us.
We stay across it after placement
We don’t send people to site and disappear. We check in. We make sure the work is going well. If there’s a problem, we deal with it the same day. If you need more people next week, we’re already planning for it.
Technology should solve real problems
We built MAP, our talent platform, to back up everything we say with real data. We’re not interested in being salesy recruiters who claim to be specialists. We want to show you. MAP gives clients instant access to live data, coverage, and market insights, so you can see our capability for yourself and have support when you need it.
Work With Us
If you’re in retail construction, whether you need people or you are the people, we’d like to hear from you.