A new firm - Bontra AI - is seeking to improve standards in the recruitment industry and enable clients to secure a more consistent quality of candidate. George Shirley and Harry McAlister have set up the business. Shirley was previously an account executive at Howden Insurance Brokers while McAlister comes from a technology background.

Bontra AI will target firms in the London Market and said it would improve the candidate matching capabilities, communication levels and overall value currently available from the recruitment sector.

Announcing the launch on social media, Shirley said: “The insurance talent market has a problem. Too many great candidates get ghosted, sent irrelevant roles and kept in the dark. Hiring teams pay a fortune for inconsistent quality candidates. We think there's a better way.”