Recruitment firm’s office boost

A FINANCIAL recruitment company in Warrington is defying the downturn by opening two new offices in the North West.

Howarth Morris has expanded with two new offices in one go – in Stockport and Bolton. It has also taken on extra staff, taking its total number of full-time employees to six.

Directors Paul Howarth and Sean Morris set up the self-funded business just two and a half years ago, having previously set up several offices for Michael Page.

The company specialises in working with SMEs, although it also counts United Utilities and RSA among its clients.

Although it will help to hire for finance roles across the board, its core market is for jobs in the £30,000 to £50,000 bracket, such as management accountants or financial controllers, according to Mr Howarth.

Howarth Morris had a turnover of £200,000 in its first year of business, and although both directors were reluctant to put a figure on current performance, they said turnover increased by 75% in 2008 and they expect a further 55% increase in 2009, despite the economic downturn.

And Mr Morris insists the North West market is still buoyant.

He said: “We are seeing a slowdown in certain sectors but that’s down to apprehension, with people preparing for the worst rather than seeing it. Areas such as housing and car dealerships have been dramatic but we are seeing growth in other areas.

Mr Howarth added: “People are still moving around. A lot of businesses initially laid off temporary staff but they still had a workload to meet and businesses are bringing temporary people back.”

The directors plan to grow the business to four or five offices, and are considering future expansion in Liverpool, Wigan, Preston and Chester.

Mr Howarth added: “We are committed to the two new offices, we plan to see this year out and then see.

“In the longer term we’d like to expand into clerical and HR recruitment, it’s part of the five year plan we had in 2007.”