Company executives say the merged company, which will be named HB Ingram Mayet, will focus on international growth, namely in Asia and the Middle East, as the two companies find common-ground in their financial services recruitment operations.

HB International chairman James Caan, whose private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw is backing the deal, says, ‘There is great synergy between the two businesses and an excellent cultural fit. With the collective vision of the two partners, we now have every opportunity to achieve positive growth. The merger will enable us to broaden our offering with an extremely valuable customer base that both businesses have been able to develop in the last few years.’

HB International was founded in 2007, and has expanded its recruitment services from private banking to treasury and transaction banking, commodities and executive office. Ingram Mayet, launched in 2004, supplies the financial services sector with middle office employees, and more recently has developed a front office sales and trading recruitment team.

Both companies are based in London, although HB International has offices in Zurich, Switzerland, and Houston, United States.

Mo Mayet, founder and chairman of Ingram Mayet says, ‘It will complement our existing client base and candidate pool to add a truly global end-to-end recruitment offering.’

Mayet will become managing director of HB Ingram Mayet following the acquisition.

Stephen Heal, CEO of HB International, adds, ‘We are proactively purchasing new business lines, investing in start ups, and continuing to press ahead with aggressive global expansion plans.’