Human capital management company Penna Consulting has bought The Resourcing Centre (TRC), a managed service provider.

The Resourcing Centre will be incorporated into the company’s existing division, Penna Resourcing Solutions (PRS).

TRC was bought by Penna in February for an undisclosed sum. PRS managing director Gary Browning acknowledged that many recruitment companies have held off from making acquisitions while the market remains unstable.

‘It’s a pretty tough market at the moment,’ he told Professional Recruiter.

‘The strategy behind this acquisition is that this form of business – creating solutions for business which look at a wider approach to their resourcing needs – is particularly relevant at the moment because it’s driven by cost and efficiency. We think it’s going to be quite a good market for this type of business right now, and in the future.’

PRS only had four people working for it prior to the acquisition.

The division will now incorporate TRC’s 17 employees and take on TRC’s existing contracts, which include Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and UBS.

Browning said PRS is differentiated from its major competitors Hays, TMP and Robert Walters by not being attached to a traditional recruitment agency. Penna has an executive search and interim management division.

‘A cynic might say that really what the others are interested in is some nice agency work, whereas we don’t have an agency as such,’ said Browning.