Michael Page starts new chapter with a leap to £32.5m

The chief executive of recruitment agency Michael Page today declared that there is now "a war on for the most talented people in the City" as mega-takeovers and deals are back.

"Long may it continue," Steve Ingham said. "Banks always cut staff first and cut deep in any downturn so, invariably, they are the first to come out.

"Now they want the best people and they want them fast. We are also seeing a knock-on effect in our legal business as the City starts to hot up."

Page announced a massive improvement in first-half operating profits, up from £5.6 million to £32.5 million, much of which was driven by its overseas operations, which account for 71% of revenues.

Ingham said Page had come through the recession in good shape. He said: "We lost a lot of junior consultants but managed to hang on to almost all our senior ones, which is vital as things turn up again."

Two years ago Page had 5500 staff. Today it employs 3860, which is 311 higher than six months ago.

Almost all the new recruits are in the fastest-growing regions like Asia and Latin America.

Ingham sounded a note of caution over the deficit-cutting measures being taken in the UK and across Europe and the effects that could have on business confidence and economic growth.

But with public-sector recruitment accounting for only 10% of revenues he is not too concerned about any direct consequences of public-sector cuts.

He said: "The main area which could be affected is accountancy and we can simply switch our consultants across from public to private-sector clients."

Analysts scurried to upgrade their forecasts, pushing full-year profit targets from £60 million to around £70 million, up from £20 million last year.