The consultancy and recruitment company, Computer People Group Plc of London’s St Martin’s Lane has had a successful six months with pre-tax profits up 28% to just under $2m on turnover that rose 57% to over $32m. The UK business contributes two-thirds of total group revenues and has grown under the management of the separate Computer People Ltd board which was set up in January. Under its guidance revenues from UK consultancy have risen by 32%, while recruitment revenues grew by 20% over the past six months. The US domestic consulting business produces 26% of group revenues and is reported to have exceeded profit expectations following the acquisitions of the professional services part of Sterling Software Inc in August 1988, and of Starlex in April. The acquisition of Farlow in July is not included in the interims which are for the period to June 30. The declining area of the business at present is the original International division which now contributes a mere 8% of revenues compared with 21% a year ago and 34% two years ago. This division just about broke even over the six months helped along by its merger with Starlex in April. Computer People’s future plans concerning this business are on ice at the moment, however, as it awaits Enuary when its acquisition of the Sterling business on an earnout basis will be complete. It will then be free to change structurally its US domestic business by merging all its US acquisitions together to offer both domestic products and international resourcing at each of its 11 offices. Consequently the international business is scheduled for a renaissance in 1990. Its decline over the past two years is put down to the stock market crash of October 1987 since the bulk of its business was done with the financial service sector, and to a jittery US economy which, according to Computer People’s director Anthony Lambie, has led to short-termism among US businessmen. These problems are now being surmounted and Lambie believes the company has now seen off its most significant business threat thanks to its acquisitive investments in the US, and it looks forward to a period of consolidation.
