Recruitment agency to expand Purple patch

RECRUITMENT agency Bright Purple has unveiled plans to move into new markets in Asia and the US following the acquisition of a London rival.

The Edinburgh-based firm, headed by founder Nick Price, has merged with Taranata, a technology recruitment specialist based in London's City district.

Taranata's London and Indian offices are to be rebranded under the Bright Purple name, while Price said he planned to open further satellite branches in New York and in the Asia Pacific region in the next year.

"This is a major move for us," said Price, the majority shareholder in the firm, which he founded in 1995. "We have been looking to develop our international strategy and this merger allows us to do that."

Taranata, owned by Justin Willis, focuses on the appointment of chief information officers and other technology-orientated roles in financial companies.

Price added that Bright Purple, which has led a major recruitment drive at Tesco Bank for the past two years, was working on a global development programme with Scottish Development International.

"Taranata is already trading at a high level internationally, and the merger allows us to use their experience of working across the globe," he said.

Bright Purple, which generated 18.7 million of revenues in the 12 months to April and is on track to hit 30m turnover in the current year, has increased staff from around a dozen two years ago to 33 - and plans to grow its headcount further. It has taken on four workers from Taranata's London office and two more at its Indian branch.

Willis will join Bright Purple's senior management team and become an equity holder in the business. Further details of the deal have not been disclosed.

The company last year appointed City-based industry veteran Peter Flaherty, owner of recruitment firm Rig Group, as chairman.