U.K. Staffing Companies Slide on Warnings of Brexit Uncertainty

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. recruitment stocks sank Tuesday as two firms warned that a lack of clarity around Britain’s departure from the European Union continues to hurt hiring trends.

PageGroup Plc reported a 4.1% drop in U.K. third-quarter gross profit, while smaller rival Robert Walters Plc reported an 11% slump. The companies’ shares fell as much as 15% and 12% respectively, while competitor Hays Plc lost 7.2%.

“Heightened Brexit-related uncertainty is expected to remain as we approach and go beyond 31 October,” PageGroup Chief Executive Officer Steve Ingham said in a statement. Goodbody analyst Gerry Hennigan wrote in a note that the lack of domestic growth was unsurprising, given the Brexit backdrop.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lead negotiator, David Frost, is in Brussels for talks with the European Commission. Reports on Monday suggested hopes of a breakthrough before the deadline were fading.

Robert Walters’ statement added that the combination of Brexit, the U.S.-China trade war, Hong Kong protests and France’s yellow vest movement has left the sector facing “a unique set of cumulative headwinds.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Easton in London at jeaston7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, John Viljoen, Jon Menon

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.