A TEESSIDE recruitment firm has reported an increase in profitability in its latest annual results.

Techconsult UK, based at the Wilton Centre near Redcar, which specialises in finding candidates for highly specialised roles in the process and petrochemical, oil and gas, renewable and subsea sectors, has seen an upturn in profits as a result of an increase in clients investing in permanent staff.

In the twelve months to December 31 2015, Techconsult grew profits by over 40 per cent due to increases in resourcing within the permanent market compared with the same period in 2014, this marked the highest permanent placement figures that Techconsult UK has ever recorded since its incorporation in 2006. During the same period turnover dropped slightly due to a slowdown in the contractor market.

Techconsult’s strong financial performance was attributed to an increase in its clients, particularly those operating in the Science and Biotechnology sectors, taking on permanent staff in senior level roles. Among the clients who Techconsult sourced talent for in 2015 are the Materials Processing Institute (MPI), px Group, Able UK and CPI.

Techconsult UK, part of the Norwegian-owned Techconsult Group, operates within the Oil & Gas, Process, Petrochemical, Offshore, Renewable and Subsea Sectors, and has a large number of candidates on its database, including engineers, technicians, project managers, technicians and technical administration personnel. The company, which has a strong foothold within the North East and has ambitions to capitalise on growth opportunities in technology hubs across the UK, celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.

Steve Guest, managing director of Techconsult UK, said: “Last year was the best in our ten year history for permanent recruitment. There was an increased desire for clients to take on permanent, senior level staff as confidence grow in a number of sectors such as the biotechnology and speciality chemicals markets and the impact of this upturn is evident in our latest results.

“2016 is set to be another crucial year for us as we further strengthen our position in the North-East and take steps to apply our business model to maximise opportunities in other parts of the UK including in the North West, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire. We also expect to be in a position to add to our own headcount by an additional two staff in line with the strategic growth of the business.”