XCE settles hiring expenses in Bitcoin and locks the funds into a vault, becoming the first UK-listed company to recruit in this way

Connecting Excellence Group Plc (XCE), a UK-listed international executive search recruitment group, announced that its flagship business, Spencer Riley Limited, has received an executive search service fee settled in bitcoin. The XCE board stated that this is the first time an UK-listed recruitment company has issued an invoice in bitcoin and completed settlement of the service fee; the received bitcoin has been deposited into the group treasury and will not be converted into fiat currency.

Double Integration Strategy: Recruiting Services Generate BTC Directly, Without Any Additional Capital Operations

This bitcoin payment and receipt reflects the core logic of XCE’s “Double Integration Strategy.” Spencer Riley, the flagship executive search business, generates revenue through its ordinary services, which directly results in bitcoin holdings on the group balance sheet. Without using additional capital or issuing new shares, it enables the continued growth of bitcoin holdings per share.

XCE CEO Scott Ellam said: “This is a milestone moment for XCE, and we believe it is also a first among UK-listed recruitment companies. Bitcoin flows directly from service fees into the treasury, with no need for additional capital operations—perfectly putting our long-term bitcoin accumulation strategy into practice.”

XCE plans to continue actively promoting bitcoin settlement options to Spencer Riley and to the customer networks of future acquired businesses. As institutional acceptance of bitcoin continues to rise, this type of payment method is expected to become more common.

Bitcoin Treasury Snapshot: 52.941 BTC and Ongoing Revenue Performance Showing Sustained Growth

Key Data on XCE’s Bitcoin Holdings (as of this announcement)

Total BTC holdings: 52.941 BTC

New BTC holdings added this time: 0.516 BTC (from Spencer Riley’s recruitment services receipts)

Bitcoin yield for Q2 2026 (as of now): +0.98%

Bitcoin yield since IPO: +442.2% (including the 10 BTC portion of XCE’s bitcoin bonds)

XCE’s routes for accumulating bitcoin include market purchases, bitcoin bonds, and the direct service-fee receipts demonstrated here. By accumulating bitcoin through continuously generating BTC via service operations, it differs from models such as MicroStrategy’s approach of relying on capital-markets financing to simply hold coins. It forms a more business-integrated pathway for bitcoin accumulation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What company is XCE, and why does it adopt a bitcoin strategy?

Connecting Excellence Group Plc (code: XCE) is an international executive search recruitment group with a dual listing on the UK AQSE market and the US OTCQB market. Its main business is Spencer Riley Limited. XCE uses a long-term bitcoin accumulation strategy, aiming to continuously increase the BTC holdings on the balance sheet through multiple routes, with “bitcoin holdings per share” serving as one of the core indicators for measuring shareholder value.

Will the received bitcoin be converted to pounds sterling?

No. XCE clearly states that all bitcoin received in the form of service fees will be deposited directly into the group treasury and will not undergo any fiat conversion. This is a core principle of XCE’s bitcoin strategy, ensuring that bitcoin earnings from its service business directly reflect the growth in BTC holdings on the balance sheet, rather than being converted into cash and then purchased again separately.

How does XCE’s bitcoin accumulation approach differ from MicroStrategy?

MicroStrategy’s bitcoin accumulation mainly relies on direct purchases after capital-markets financing (including bond issuance and share issuance). XCE’s innovation lies in the fact that its core business (executive search services) itself can directly generate bitcoin income, creating synergy between bitcoin accumulation and business growth. This avoids problems associated with reliance on capital operations or diluting existing shareholders.