PageGroup cheers pick-up in London recruitment sector as it returns to profit

Recruitment firm Page Group has returned to profit and said it would hand £100 million to shareholders, as employers rebound from Covid-19 disruption and launch hiring plans.

The FTSE 250 company joins a list of recruitment experts to benefit from companies returning to expansion mode as lockdowns ease and vaccines roll out.

PageGroup’s chief executive Steve Ingham told the Evening Standard: “There has definitely been a pick-up in London since the beginning of the year, notably in high-end jobs and predominantly for permanent roles.”

He added: “We anticipate white collar temporary jobs to come back strongly when City offices open up fully. Demand for banking jobs globally has been strong, and London is no exception.”

In the six months to June 30 the UK represented 14% of the firm’s first half gross profit.

Total group revenue in the first half was £766.4 million, up 17% from a year earlier, and a pre-tax profit of £63.7 million was recorded, improved from a £800,000 loss.

A interim dividend of 4.7p per share was declared, and a special dividend of 26.71p was announced. That collectively amounts to a cash return to shareholders of £100 million, payable on October 13.

PageGroup’s Ingham cautioned: “Looking ahead, there continues to be a high degree of global macro-economic uncertainty as Covid-19 remains a significant issue and restrictions continue in a number of the group’s markets. Additionally, at this stage of the recovery, it is not clear whether the improved performance is still the result of pent-up supply and demand, or a sustainable trend.”

But the firm still expects full year operating profit to be within the range of £125 million - £135 million.