Recruitment group Marlborough International has made its first acquisition outside Dublin and is paying £800,000 (€1 million) for Kingston Technical Skills in Galway. Kingston is a specialist information technology recruitment company and in the year to the end of August had pre-tax profits of £170,843.

Marlborough is paying £120,000 in cash up front for Kingston with four deferred payments totalling £680,000 in cash or Marlborough shares. Kingston's founder, Mr Donal Barrett, will remain as managing director on a three-year contract.