Page Group has bumped up its profit forecasts following strong global growth, despite the UK falling behind as Brexit uncertainty continues to hammer the recruitment market.

The company said on Wednesday that buoyant trading in Europe, Asia and the Americas helped it notch up a 19.7% rise in third-quarter gross profit to £207.7 million on a constant currency basis.

Profit in Asia Pacific was up 27.7%, while in the Americas it jumped 30.1% and 20.9% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

As a result, Page Group expects operating profit to come in marginally ahead of consensus estimates.

It comes despite poor UK figures, with the company delivering a meagre 0.8% increase in profits for the period.

"Brexit and political uncertainty" were both cited by Page Group as continuing to affect confidence.

Boss Steve Ingham said: "We will continue to focus on driving profitable growth as we progress towards our vision of 10,000 headcount, £1 billion of gross profit and £200 million to £250 million of operating profit.

"We are pleased with the group's continued strong performance and now expect 2018 operating profit to be marginally ahead of the consensus of current market forecasts."

Page Group shares were up more than 2% in early trade at 556p.