International staffing industry giant Allegis Group’s acquisition of Aston Carter has been hailed as a good deal for the recruitment industry.

Graham Palfery-Smith, who has built up a number of staffing businesses in his career, including Badenoch & Clark and FiveTen Group, told Recruiter: “There been many deals in the last few years where ultimately not much money has changed hands, and have almost been for PR purposes, but this is a real deal and good for the industry generally.”

The Financial Times reported that Allegis, the world’s sixth largest staffing company, paid £55m for Aston Carter, which specialises in consultancy, finance and IT, and serves 16 countries including the UK, Continental Europe and Asia. However, Recruiter understands from industry sources that the actual price, which remains undisclosed, was higher.

Palfery-Smith said that the deal was a sign that “the Americans are back”. However, he didn’t expect to see a rash of similar deals. “There are not many business out there like Aston Carter,” he said.

Miles Hunt, chief executive of Empresaria Group, told Recruiter that Allegis was “a formidable staffing business that had grown from nothing to £3.47bn ($5.5bn) in 25 years”.