Recruitment consultant Brightwork’s pre-tax profits drop 11%

RECRUITMENT consultant Brightwork has reported an 11 per cent drop in pre-tax profits for the 2015 financial year despite income rising by seven per cent to £34.9 million.

The pre-tax profit figure for the year fell from £860,000 to £767,000 while the turnover figure increased from £32.6m.

The firm, which provides temporary and permanent staff to businesses in a range of sectors including drinks, manufacturing, property and catering, said profits took a hit after it invested nearly half a million pounds in its own personnel.

Chief executive Derek May said: “We’ve invested pretty significantly in our headcount and you don’t get instant gratification from that but you have to speculate to accumulate.

“We’ve gone into the market and recruited some top people but it takes a consultant a good bit of time to get up to speed and perform at the level we want them to.”

During the 2015 year the business took on a total of 17 new staff, 15 recruiters and two support staff, and so far in 2016 has added another six.

Other areas of investment saw it update its logo and website in 2015 in a bid to better appeal to potential clients and candidates in addition to fitting out a new office in Glasgow.

“Last year we moved from St Vincent Street to a purpose-built, first floor office in Bath Street,” Mr May said. “We spent a six-figure sum fitting that out and that was reflected in the results.”

In the current financial year it has made a six-figure investment in its IT systems.

The bulk of Brightwork’s income comes from the drinks industry, with manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, and property and support services also accounting for a significant amount of the total.

Mr May noted that the business experienced growth in all divisions except manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, which was impacted by “a major client deciding to do something in-house rather than use an agency”.

News of the results comes after Brightwork announced in July that it has secured a £7m invoice-finance facility from the Bank of Scotland.

The facility was negotiated after the business switched its accounts from Clydesdale Bank.