Mark Ground has joined the board of troubled headhunter Whitehead Mann as group finance director.

Ground joined the firm in July 2001 and will seek to turn around its recent ill fortune. He moves up from the roles of head of finance and company secretary.

The firm reported a £20m pre-tax loss for the year to 31 March as a result of several one-off payments.

The loss included charges of almost £10m for the closure of the group’s US business and £3m for moving staff out of two of its three London offices.

Whitehead Mann recorded a £4m profit last year.

The firm is set to offer a new package of equity-based incentives to some employees, and undertake a far-reaching overhaul of all operations.

Chairman Sir Colin Southgate, said: “Mark has a sound knowledge of our business and is highly respected by our people. He will be an excellent addition to the team.”