Takeovers flatter Whitehead results
LAST year's string of acquisitions has masked a flat underlying performance at Whitehead Mann, enabling the executive headhunter to report a 37% jump in interim pre-tax profit to £4.3m.
Chief executive Gerard Clery-Melin said the like-for-like results rose by a 'small percentage'.
Gains at some of its operations outside Britain, particularly in France, offset a slump in demand from investment banks but revenue was expected to be flat this half. Clery-Melin said investment banks now accounted for less than 10% of Whitehead's revenue as a result of last year's £34m acquisition spree.
Whitehead, which recruited Clara Furse for the chief executive's post at the London Stock Exchange, also revealed it was negotiating to buy headhunter Baines Gwinner Holdings for an undisclosed sum. It expects the deal, which will give it additional offices in London, New York and Hong Kong, to be completed this month.