The new chairman of headhunter Longbridge insists the company is back on track after a turbulent 2005.

The year began with the company reeling from the defection of four key consultants in its banking division.

Jonathan Hill (pictured) took over as chairman following managing director Frank Varela’s resignation in July, after the company lost more than £1.2m in 2004.

Now Longbridge is poised to make a new acquisition within the next two weeks.

Shares in the company are suspended on AIM because of the acquisition, which will involve a share swap.

Longbridge has hired four new banking consultants and two researchers and said revenues in the division were recovering.

“The past problems have been caused by a diversified acquisition strategy,” Hill told Recruiter.

“Now that the business has returned to its core markets, in which it has been historically very strong, there is no reason to look at the future with anything but optimism.”

Hill is chief executive of General Capital Group, which has a stake in Longbridge.

General Capital agreed to refinance Longbridge to the tune of £45,322 in July so that key staff could be paid, on the condition that Varela stepped down.

General Capital’s venture finance arm provided a further £750,000 later that month.

Hill has also shut the company’s under-performing publishing subsidiary, PS Publications, following a disappointing first half of 2005.

In the period to 30 June, PS Publications accounted for £240,943 of the company’s loss.

Half-year results revealed the company lost a further £1m – but Hill insisted Longbridge will bounce back following the recruitment of the new banking team.

The company’s board is now optimistic about the business’s organic growth potential in an improving market.