TWO veterans of the recruitment business in Scotland have started a new head-hunting business they expect will become a UK force.

Ian Macleod and Paul Atkinson have formed Atkinson Macleod Executive Search to target the market for board and senior executive level appointments in the private and public sectors.

The firm will operate as a division of the Head Resourcing business founded by Mr Atkinson.

Mr Macleod is confident the business has good prospects, although it is launching during a period of economic and political uncertainty.

“There’s work out there. I would not describe the market as buoyant but there’s people moving on all the time,” he said. “There’s always going to be appointments out there, you just have to make sure you are speaking to enough people.”

The prospect of Brexit may have an impact on the market but not enough to cause any concern. “The impression I get is that a lot of companies are reasonably confident they will still have good markets to go at,” said Mr Macleod

Atkinson Macleod will target work across the UK from Scotland initially. Mr Macleod expects it will establish a physical presence in England fairly quickly.

Mr Atkinson said today’s head hunters must find candidates who have the skills needed to deal with an increasingly digital world. He founded Head Resources in 2001 after developing two other recruitment firms.

Mr Macleod spent 16 years running the Scottish arm of international recruitment firm Odgers Berndtson after 10 years with the Norman Broadbent business.