Partner Article

M&A activity fuels hiring boost by North West firms

Professionals in corporate finance have been highly sought after by firms in the North West (Manchester)in recent months, according to a report by Venn Group. The hiring of these types of professionals is generally recognised as an indicator of growth for businesses.

The contract recruitment specialist’s latest employment trends report found that many financial firms in the region (Manchester) had boosted their corporate finance teams over the past quarter.

Overall, recruitment activity has dropped by 7% quarter-on-quarter. However, much of this can be attributed to the seasonal lull that usually affects firms at this time of year. In fact, this figure is substantially higher than the same point last year where a reduction of 29% was recorded, suggesting the market has improved substantially since 2013. Within this there have also been significant pockets of activity, driven in part by the active housing market.

Stan Murray-Hession, director of operations in the region, commented on the findings. “We all expected the employment market to experience the traditional lull in activity at this time of year, but it’s very encouraging to see such a small drop being recorded. The market falling by just 7% suggests that we’ve experienced a significant recovery from this point last year and should be set for future growth as we move forward.

“This is further supported by the demand for corporate finance specialists which is usually a good indicator of growth in the economy. Companies won’t look to expand when the chips are down, so the hiring of these professionals is certainly a reason to be confident.”

Overall hiring levels for the UK have risen by 0.2%% since quarter two. Year-on-year, the market has grown by 3%.

Note to editors:

Venn Group - the UK’s only company dedicated to the provision of professional contract and interim staff to organisations in both the private and public sectors – compared hiring levels between quarter two and quarter three 2014 across all of its core regions:

• The North West

• London

• The South West

• The North East

• Thames Valley

• The Midlands

For further information, or to request a full copy of the report, please contact Bruce Callander on bruce@bluesky-pr.com or 01582 790090

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Venn Group .