What do you think will happen in recruitment merger and acquisition activity over the next quarter (Q1 2011)?

Mergers and acquisitions in the recruitment sector have remained relatively buoyant over the last couple of years. However, that buoyancy is often overlooked as many deals remain private, and no barometer of future sentiment currently exists.

That’s why Recruiter, recruiter.co.uk and international law firm Osborne Clarke have teamed up to create a new M&A barometer for the recruitment sector. Let us know what you think — the survey only takes two minutes to complete, and can be found here.

The deadline for completing the survey is 23 November. The results will then be published in the 8 December issue of Recruiter.

Kevin Barrow, partner, Osborne Clarke, says: “Recruiters are always more resilient in a downturn than outsiders expect, and whatever state the world economy is in, many skills are still in short supply.

“Perhaps the deals we have seen over the summer are a reflection of this, with some private equity buyers and some trade buyers obviously thinking certain types of recruitment company are now worth buying.

“It would be interesting to hear how key people in the industry see the M&A market developing in the sector and what if anything will lead to future growth or decline in deal volumes. The results of the survey should help potential sellers work out if they will have something to celebrate next Christmas.”

Recruiter editor DeeDee Doke said: “We believe this barometer will give us greater insight into the M&A landscape than we have had previously, and are very pleased to be working with Osborne Clarke on this project. We encourage all of our readers to participate to ensure the most in-depth information possible becomes available.”