We’re delighted to have recorded our most profitable Q1 to date, after successfully overcoming the many marketplace challenges which emerged as a result of Covid-19.
Financial figures achieved throughout Q1 of this year saw a16 percent increase, compared to the same period in 2020, which had previously been our record quarter before Covid-19 increased its global grip and stringent Government guidelines came into force.
To surpass where we were positioned prior to Covid-19 is a huge achievement, given the global circumstances and the impact they had on the jobs market.
We firmly believe that this latest milestone, as we enter a period of recovery, is all down to the hard work, resilience and determination of our expert team during the pandemic and the challenges which came with it.
Alongside this, we had the good fortune of growing exponentially over the course of 2020 and into 2021 to accommodate three new specialist areas. They include our thriving Legal, Actuarialand Insurance and Claimsdivisions, as well as an expansion into Scotlandwith the appointment of a dedicated Business Manager.
In addition, we made an impressive 222 placements, took on 24 new clients and increased our LinkedIn presence with around 1,500 new followers, all while pledging our commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion with the launch of MERJE Together.
We were fortunate to celebrate the birth of a new MERJE baby and enjoyed the arrival of a new office puppy. We also rewarded our fantastic team with nine spins of our Wheel of Fortune, with our consultants winning some fabulous prizes.
In terms of next steps, the strong start to the year has paved the way for the business to implement strategic commercial growth plans. This includes expanding our staff headcount by 39%, taking the overall number of MERJE employees from 36 to 50 by the end of 2021.
These key hires would be instrumental in working across our Compliance, Customer Contact & Front-Line talent, Finance & Audit, Financial Crime & Fraud and Risk Management & Analytics disciplines.
This is with a view to assisting us in making the whole of 2021 our most successful financial year-to-date, following an outstanding year in 2019, during which we hit a record revenue in excess of £10m.
It goes without saying, we’re delighted to have made such great strides so early into 2021 and we recognise that this is significant given the many obstacles which the majority of businesses found themselves facing both this year and last.
We now look forward to keeping up the momentum, by capitalising on our great start to the year with a view to achieving even greater success. This comes as we prepare to celebrate our landmark 10th anniversary in October after being established in 2011.
