2002 - Origins
When it all began
Founder Nick Plummer & Richard Rutledge sought to take away the burden from the client both personally in-house or by managing a network of vetted and accredited providers to deliver enhanced levels of service and results. Instilling an ethos that every client is important, regardless of transfer volume, the K2 approach focused on guaranteeing a consistent and personalised service quality across the board.
2002
The first UK office opens
2004
Global expansion
As K2’s reputation grew, existing and new clients looked to us to apply the same approach across all of their relocation services such as home and school finding and temporary accommodation, which we did.
And to meet the expanding service and global reach requirements of our clients, we also expanded our global footprint, developing further K2 service facilities in Sweden, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, the US and UAE. We also began to offer expert, tailored immigration services – both via our fully vetted, accredited and licensed partner network and our well-established specialist, in-house, international immigration teams in Sweden and Singapore.
2006
The first Sweden office opens
2007
The first Singapore office opens
2008
The first Americas office opens
2010
Introduction of professional services
It represents our expert professional services team are global mobility subject matter experts.
Our experience spans all aspects of global mobility, gained managing in-house corporate global assignment programs and through independent consulting projects. Our in-house professional services team (including Helen Squibb, Bronwyn Bruno & Julie Harrington pictured) can further develop your Global Mobility program, shaping and embellishing the framework and future proofing your policies to support all potential assignment related moves.
2013
South Africa office opens
2015
The Australia office opens
2015
ISO 9001 & 14001 Accreditation
ISO 9001 demonstrates our ability to consistently deliver quality service standards that meet both our clients and regulatory needs.
It proves we do what we say we do and have the appropriate measures and procedures in place to ensure consistency and improvement – all leading to higher levels of performance and customer satisfaction. It certifies that we are committed to continuous improvement: streamlining activities, enhancing consistency, reducing costs and improving management practices (something that is very important to Ken McCully, Group Commercial Manager, pictured).
ISO14001 demonstrates our commitment to effective environment management and compliance. As a caring and responsible employer who wants to contribute to building a better future this certification is vital.
2016
ISO 27001 Accredited
This standard demonstrates our commitment to keeping our client and relocating employee data secure, through assessments and prevention of information security risks and certifies our implementation and maintenance of key technical, organisational and security measures.
Unprotected systems are vulnerable to information attacks, putting confidential data at risk. The ISO27001 accreditation ensures that the necessary controls and procedures are in place to protect the information of our clients, trading partners and employees. This accreditation also instigates a process of improvement: constant monitoring, updates and reviews reduce the chance of risk. Our Chief Technology Officer, Mike Kennedy (pictured) is our ultimate guardian of these controls and procedures.
2016
UAE office opens
2018
Harbour HR joins K2
The introduction of this well-established HR consultancy, in the City of London, provided us with an experienced and specialist UK immigration team. The Harbour HR offer also includes modified payroll solutions (UK & Ireland) and UK specific HR advisory services.
The experienced team (including Sandra Toppin pictured) work closely with the Home Office and have developed a specialist service to help guide organisations and individuals through the concerns and questions they have about Brexit. We assess your unique situation and provide further clarity on the potential impact and what steps you may need to take.
2019
Introduction of K2 Bespoke premium service
K2 Bespoke was developed as a natural response to client requests and referrals. Our positive reputation for outstanding relocation services led organisations to specifically choose to work with us.
Having recognised that standard offerings and processes were not meeting their business needs, they approached us to ensure the personalised level of service and flexibility they required, separating out their business-critical and executive employee assignments from their existing global mobility programme.
2021
Brazil office opens
2021
France office opens
2022
Miami office opens
2022
KINETIC business strategy is formed
Kinetic is K2’s new five year business strategy which runs from 2022 to 2026. It builds on the huge success of Aspire 2017–21.
The Kinetic business plan implementation will be an agile and iterative process, driven to achieve annual operational goals set by global matrix teams across K2 and overseen by the K2 board.
2022
Celebrating 20 years
K2 organised their first all-company conference, coming together in Barcelona for a three-day event, centred on celebrating the K2 community, encouraging collaboration and further enhancing our culture.
Over the course of the conference, attendees got to spend time with colleagues from around the world and took part in team building activities together, attended celebratory dinners, and heard key company updates from a series of stakeholders.
2022
We strengthen our sustainability position partnering with EcoVadis
After outlining a number of ambitious goals in this area, including achieving Net Zero Scope 1 & 2 emissions by the end of 2023 and working towards a 40% carbon footprint reduction through our supply chain by the end of 2026, K2 committed to delivering transparent and credible reporting, to help monitor progress.
Our EcoVadis reporting is crucial not only for enabling the organisation to identify strengths and improvement areas, but also to be able to communicate sustainability and ESG developments to stakeholders.
2022
K2 is now officially a Great Place To Work®
We are expanding and accelerating our commitments and action on ESG and sustainability, making it one of the six strategic priorities of Kinetic.
It is our culture, one that we believe to be unique and truly special, which made this success possible, and we wanted to find a way to prove and to celebrate this. Enter the Great Place To Work® survey, which was completed by employees across nine countries and twelve cities, and which returned an employee satisfaction rate of an industry-enviable 96%.
2023
AlphaTech® is formed
AlphaTech® is a K2 majority owned joint venture which only develops and provides useful, flexible and innovative technology-based solutions for K2. And they have to simplify, clarify and generate insight to help better manage the complexity, pace and outcomes of global mobility projects.
Our global cloud-based proprietary software case management platform, Ascent, is our live and bespoke application designed in-house to our high specifications. It enables us to track assignment services worldwide in real-time, giving clear visibility, accountability and accessibility to all of our services. Ascent enables clients, relocating employees and service partners access to updates on all aspects of each relocation.
2023
The K2 Foundation is formed
Created to support the futures of children and youngsters in the regions that we operate in.
Our first K2 Foundation project commences in early 2023; a school in São Paulo, Brazil is being built from the ground up to support children that are in need of education, companionship and safety.
2024
ISO 45001
This standard certifies our assessment to improve workplace safety and reduce employee injuries. It details how we build an effective OH&S management system for assessing risk and monitoring workplace activities.
It helps us proactively prevent ill-health and harm and integrates with employee wellbeing and wellness initiatives.It fosters active employee involvement, leading to a safer workplace and less disruption to operations due to staff illness or health-related absence.
We have held this certification since 2024 and undergo monthly internal audits and annual assessments to maintain procedures.