Empresaria (EMR) has seen further validation for its strategy of focusing on niche specialists, with the recruiter announcing a record performance in a trading update ahead of half-year figures in August. Net fee income surged 26 per cent on the £27.2m it banked in the first half of 2016. The group said the strongest performance was in the UK, Continental Europe and Asia Pacific regions. This leaves only the Americas lagging behind, which is of limited significance given the region accounted for just 10 per cent of net fee income at the last full year results. Management’s forecasts for the business remain unchanged.
Empresaria’s strategy is to acquire specialist recruiters across all sectors and geographies to diversify, encompassing everything from contract pilots to pharmaceuticals. It also seeks to keep existing management in place, using stock options to align incentives. Other staffing companies have increased their focus on diversifying across geographies in recent years, but few can claim to match Empresaria for range.
