CEO Mike Brennan was commenting as the company reported a 14% rise in net fee income to £7.6m and a 22% increase in revenue to £11.49m for the year ended 31 December 2019.

In a statement to the City accompanying its 2019 results, the company described its swift response to Covid-19: “Staffing changes were made, and a small number of team members were furloughed or released from their contracts. Our remaining colleagues moved quickly to remote working.

“As the business embraced technology to assist in remote working and continued candidate and client interaction, trading continued uninterrupted as staff seamlessly adapted to the new working environment.”

He continued: “This not only highlights the agility of the Norman Broadbent team, but also evidences the strength of our 40-year-old brand and how the group's more diverse portfolio of services are particularly relevant in today’s markets. 

“With a slowdown in the market (particularly in search) there has been some reduction in revenues to date. These, however, have been offset by the sensible and prudent cost measures taken. Additional emphasis has been placed on cash collections and we have subsequently seen a reduction in debtor days during 2020. This, combined with modest positive EBITDA in March, April, and May, helped protect cashflow and the group’s cash position.”

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