Parc and Grafton could try float again

With high-tech recruitment group CPL apparently happy that the stock market is in strong enough shape to join fellow recruitment group Marlborough as a public company, there will no doubt be renewed speculation that two similar firms which shelved flotation plans last year will revive their efforts to go public.

Parc, the management buyout from Aer Lingus which planned a flotation in Dublin and London last year, pulled its flotation after the collapse in the Far East knocked equity markets and the value of aspiring public companies.

That flotation was aimed at cutting debt and providing working capital, but it was also aimed at offering an exit for Mercury Asset Management, which owns 49 per cent of Parc. There has since been some speculation that Parc was instead planning a trade sale that would put a higher value on the group, but so far nothing seems to have materialised.

Grafton Recruitment also had plans to float last year, but shelved going public when the market weakened. Grafton is substantially smaller than Marlborough, Parc and CPL in terms of profits (an estimated £1.2 million [€1.52 million] last year on turnover of £20 million) and seems to have lower operating margins than the likes of CPL which is operating in the highest growth sector of the lot - high technology.

No doubt Parc and Grafton will keep a close eye on the market reaction to the CPL flotation.