A SPECIALIST finance recruitment brand launched by Livingston James has brought in £318,000 of billings in its first six months.

The Rutherford Cross imprint focuses on senior finance appointments and has grown from one person to six since starting up last summer.

Half of the staff work on business development outside the UK and have secured contracts in Germany, Thailand, Switzerland, the Caribbean and the Channel Islands across sectors such as professional services, fast moving consumer goods, oil and gas and life sciences.

Jamie Livingston, co-founder of Livingston James, said: "We have three people in Rutherford Cross who have a sole remit to develop business outside of the UK.

"We have targeted markets that are buoyant and therefore highly likely to have a deficiency of talent. Then we have looked for [people with] globally transferrable skill sets."

Mr Livingston said the company, which has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, had made the decision to launch a new brand in response to changes in the market.

He said: "The way people are buying recruitment services is evolving largely as a consequence of social media.

"People want to buy from specialist providers when they have got hard to fill problem.

"Perhaps historically you had generalist businesses which were one-stop shops. A lot of companies are doing that themselves as they can access talent through LinkedIn or Facebook or other channels."

Mr Livingston is confident Rutherford Cross will not take away from the board room level appointments that Livingston James, which works with more than half the stock market listed businesses in Scotland, specialises in.

Mark Lewis has led the creation of the new Rutherford Cross brand and said: "We have assembled a strong team with a breadth of experience in the sectors on which we are focussed."

Mr Livingston said he expects Rutherford Cross to bring in at least £1 million across 2014.

He said: "If we didn't load any more heads into the business I think we would do that million pound number.

"I would be hoping we would be adding to the headcount in Rutherford Cross in the year which would impact on the [financial] number."