Staffline buys Northern Ireland's Diamond Recruitment

Staffline said the acquisition, which is expected to be earnings neutral this year and is being funded from an existing bank facility, is in line with its strategy to expand geographically and will accelerate the growth of the existing Staffline Ireland division opened in 2013.

It said Diamond is one of the largest recruitment agencies in Northern Ireland, providing over 2,000 workers a day from a database of over 59,000 candidates.

Chief executive Andy Hogarth said: “This acquisition fits our strategy of selective bolt-on acquisitions and will expand our Staffline Ireland division, enhancing our reach and customer base considerably.”

Staffline is based in Nottingham but has offices in Dublin and Belfast.

At 1000 BST, Staffline shares were up 1% at 1,514.08p.