Terry Benson has stepped down as chief executive of finance specialist recruiter Michael Page a month ahead of schedule.

The company had previously announced that Steve Ingham (pictured) would take over in May, at the time of annual general meeting. But it said today that the handover process had gone well and Ingham is taking the helm with immediate

effect.

Benson has stepped down from the Board and will retire from the firm at the end of this month.

Page has also announced gross profits of £79.1m for the first three months of the year, up 31.9% on the same period in 2005.

UK profit was up 22.9% at £36.6m. In Continental Europe, profit rose 45.3% to £28m. The company said it was recovering from problems in Australia after disruption caused by a new IT system.

Ingham said: “Our first quarter performance this year has been outstanding. The internal issues in Australia are now largely behind us and our investment plans are progressing well.”

The shares rose and are now at an all-time high.