Whitehead counts cost of Wall St

THE cost of failing to crack the Wall Street headhunting market was today put at £10m and a slashed dividend as Whitehead Mann, the City's premier executive search firm, plunged deep into the red.

Whitehead Mann, which has pulled out of the US, sacked its chief executive and come under takeover siege from rivals, all in the past month, said losses for the half-year to the end of September came in at £8.9m against a £3.6m profit last time.

Comparable revenues plunged 15%, underlying operating profits are down 55% and the interim dividend is halved to 1.5p.

While rivals such as Heidrick & Struggles and Korn/Ferry are said to be working out whether a takeover of Whitehead Mann makes financial sense, the outlook according to chairman Sir Colin Southgate is not bright.

The former EMI boss, who has had to take a more hands-on role, said: 'There remains areas of weakness and as a result we are cautious about our prospects for the second half.'

That is all proving a baptism of fire for new headhunting star Carol Leonard, brought in to shake up the firm earlier this year after the departure of founder and former driving force Anna Mann.