Imprint is in “advanced negotiations” to buy a Dubai recruitment company.  
It only needs regulatory approval  from Dubai authorities to complete the deal. Dubai is the second-biggest emirate in the United Arab Emirates after Abu Dhabi.

Imprint chairman Colin Webster said the price of the acquisition would be “heavily” contingent on future performance.
Chief executive Brian Hamill told Recruiter that he saw “limited growth” in the UK and was looking abroad for expansion. He said he had been working on the Dubai deal for 18 months.
“We looked at opening our own start-up operation there, but it’s quite complicated, with a different tax regime. We think the company we’re acquiring is the number one there.”

Hamill said he would probably maintain the existing brand of the company being acquired. Imprint has done this with other acquisitions, such as Morgan McKinley, which specialises in investment banking staff.
He said it would be a “springboard” to go into Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Imprint is likely to open in New York early next year, Hamill added. This will be its first US venture.

The announcement came as the group’s statement to accompany its annual general meeting said the environment for all of its sectors had “remained positive” in the early months of 2006.
Webster said: “While organic growth continues to be the focus for Imprint this year, the Group is also committed to a strategy of growth acquisitions.”
Imprint reported a pre-tax profit of £4.5m for 2005, compared with £1.3m in 2004 (Recruiter, 22 March).