RZ recruitment eyes acquisition as profits surge
A RECRUITMENT firm is eyeing an acquisition in London after reporting a major surge in profits.
RZ Group, based at Ratho near Edinburgh, saw income rise 27% from £32.4 million to £41.5m in 2011 with pre-tax profits going up 162% from £396,615 to £1.04m.
The company said it had been boosted by holding on to and developing its large corporate accounts which had increased its market share.
It has clients in areas such as financial services, oil and gas, engineering and the public sector.
Although there was less activity in permanent job placements, contract work increased more than 15%.
Director Andy Barton said: “We’ve grown market share and there is reduced competition.
“A lot of clients have been using temporary and contract labour as it suits them to take on workers on that basis.
“There are a lot of large change projects on the go. So organisations are looking for short-term contract staff to come in, make the changes and then leave.
“A lot of companies are waiting to see what happens in the economy as all the uncertainty in Europe has made people cagey about expansion.
“But there are pockets of activity in Scotland, and many companies which are doing well.”
RZ Group employs 35 of its 65 staff in Edinburgh.
The company, founded in 1998 with an initial £2000 investment, also has offices in Bolton and London and it is looking to the English capital to accelerate its sales.
Mr Barton said: “From our perspective we expect to continue growing organically by about 10% in 2012.
“Our business is in excellent shape and we are well placed to increase our growth, next year and in subsequent years.
“We have been doing more business in Scotland and the north-west of England.
“London has been steady but we hope that will be an area of growth for us this year.
“We are actively looking for acquisition targets in London.
“We are looking for an organisation which has a specialism in change management and IT to complement our strengths.”
Another recruitment firm on the expansion path is Contract Scotland, which is launching an international division.
The Stirling company is initially targeting the civil
engineering and project management sector in western Australia.
Alan Shave has been appointed to run the new arm and said: “The Australian resource sector is growing apace and the pipeline of future work for the construction sector is very strong particularly across highways, marine rail and geotechnics with numerous projects starting throughout 2012.
“We recognise the potential for candidates from Scotland in t he Australian market, and are actively seeking to place candidates in a range of positions, including project managers, civil and structural design engineers and geotechnical/environmental engineers.”