Recruiters Imprint sets sights on ECHM

The offer includes an initial payment of £6m with up to a further £8m payable in 2006, depending on the profitability of ECHM when it publishes its accounts for the year ending 31 December 2004 and 2005.

ECHM is one of the UK's leading private financial recruitment groups, providing candidates for permanent, temporary and contract assignments. It has offices in London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Dublin and Amsterdam. Its key clients include KPMG, Ernst & Young, BT, Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank and Centrica.

CharterQuest, the ICAEW's recruitment business, is operated by ECHM under an exclusive licence.

Imprint plc began trading in April 2001, joining the London Stock Exchange on AIM in May 2001. The company's main institutional shareholders are Artemis, Deutsche Bank, Foreign & Colonial, Gartmore, ISIS, Old Mutual, Merrill Lynch, Unicorn Asset Management and Universities Superannuation Scheme.