River Capital Provides Six-Figure Funding to Fast Growing Manchester Recruitment Specialist Sowena Group

Perran Cooke founded Sowena Group in June 2024 with a clear vision: place the right finance candidates with the right businesses, every time. In less than a year, they’d backed that up with a 100% placement success rate — in an industry where 25–30% attrition is considered normal.

River Capital supported that ambition with a six-figure investment from the North West Business Growth Loan Fund — from first conversation with River Capital investment manager Chris Carter to funding in four weeks.

That investment has gone toward adding quality people, and the rollout of Kelmi Intelligence — a data-led candidate matching platform that goes beyond skillset to assess behavioural and emotional fit.

Check out the video below and see what Perran really thought about his River Capital experience!