The latest company in Ireland's burgeoning recruitment sector to review its flotation plans is Grafton Recruitment, which had hoped to take a listing around the middle of next year.
However, the recent downturn in global equity markets has led the company to put on hold its plans to float on the Developing Companies Market (DCM) in Dublin and on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Like Parc Group International, which announced that it was postponing its planned flotation last month because of weak market conditions, Grafton feels that it would be impossible to realise the full value of the company in the current environment, according to its chairman, Mr James Kilbane.
The company, which was founded in 1982 by Mr Kilbane and managing director, Mr Ken Belshaw, expects to record profits of around £1.2 million on turnover of around £20 million in the year ending March 31st, 1999.
It had hoped to capitalise on the high multiples enjoyed by other companies in the sector, including Marlborough, when it listed, but the recent collapse in share values has dragged the sector's rating down.
Mr Kilbane currently owns 51 per cent of the company while Mr Belshaw has a 49 per cent stake, although staff in the subsidiary overseas offices also hold minority stakes in the enterprises.
As well as 11 offices in Northern Ireland and eight in the Republic, Grafton also has offices in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. It has targeted emerging economies outside Europe as well and has offices in Johannesburg and Kuala Lumpur, where it is involved in recruiting for the exploration sector.
Grafton also has an office in Auckland in New Zealand and in Chile, where its largest client is the Irish fruit importer and distributor, Fyffes. It hopes to use its Santiago office as a base for expansion in Latin America and also plans a Sydney office.
In addition, Mr Kilbane says Grafton would like to establish a presence in North America, currently the only continent where it has no office, because it sees a US presence as necessary if it is to be taken seriously as a global player in the industry.
