This is a very long shot, but I wondered if anyone knows anything about an organisation called Arc Agencies. A friend of mine is thinking of working for them; they appear to be offering commission-only work with no written contract, and say that they don't have a presence on the Internet because they prefer to have more direct contact with their customers.
It sounds very odd, and googling reveals nothing.
Thanks.

Haven't heard of them. What sort of work are they offering your friend?

Did a bit of Googling and there's a company of that name in north London listed as a dress agency:

http://www.yell.com/s/dress+agencies-hen...ondon.html

which seem to be the distributor for a Danish clothing brand called Numph:

http://www.purelondon.com/page.cfm/T=m/LINK=27/ID=27

whose website shows an e-mail address for Arc Agencies:

http://www.numph.dk/Default.aspx?ID=16

but http://www.arcagencies.co.uk doesn't seem to have a website. However a search on Nominet shows the url is registered to the same address as the Arc Agencies dress agency in north London:

http://webwhois.nic.uk/cgi-bin/whois.cgi...Submit.y=0

Couldn't find an entry at Companies House though (http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/)

Is the work on offer anything to do with clothing?

Thank you very much, Blushingsnail. The work is to do with selling fashion clothing on commission, so it probably is the agency you found, which has decided not to have a website for some very strange reason.

Have looked them up on Google Streetview (4c Prowse Place, NW1 9PH). Very strange building, in a railway arch.

It also seems strange that they're listed as a dress agency (ie upmarket second hand clothes) but don't have a shop. And they aren't listed at Companies House, so they aren't a limited company. Might just be a very small operation?

Maybe it is just very small and new. Thanks so much again Blushingsnail for taking the trouble. Streetview was a good though.
Jane

I would advise your friend to tread very carefully. The rag trade is notorious for sharp practice and the lack of a formal written contract would concern me.

Thanks AMFM. I am feeling concerned. I just can't imagine why a company who has a product to sell should make a point of not being represented on the internet, when this is how most companies advertise.