IT recruitment group, InterQuest, is still reeling under the effects of the ‘double whammy’ of tough trading conditions and a dodgy acquisition (see InterQuest weighed down by ‘Trojan Horse’ M&A), warning again on a profit shortfall. InterQuest gets over 25% of its net fee income (gross profit) from the banking and finance sectors and has been hit hard, particularly last quarter. Meanwhile its warranty claim against the vendors of CCL lumbers on. InterQuest’s shares are down another 25% as I write.
I must admit to having taken quite a shine to InterQuest when I first met management back in 2009 (see here). I could see a glimmer of opportunity that it might become the ‘next SThree’. But it seems they were not able to gain enough mass and diversity before the downturn – and were completely blindsided by the CCL ‘misadventure’ – to leave their ambition of grandeur an increasingly distant dream.