The Reed recruitment group, one of the world's largest, has long been active in the Irish market and is about to launch its new flagship branch in Dublin's IFSC. That branch began trading in June. Its head office in Ireland is at Dawson Street, Dublin and it has a branch in Cork.

How Reed began and expanded so dramatically is quite extraordinary. It dates to 1960, when Alex Reed opened the company's first offices, at Hounslow, west London, with all of £75 capital. Since then, the group, which says it was the first to offer specialised recruitment services, has grown organically rather than by acquisition, into a business with over 2,000 staff, some 280 branches and sales last year of £373 million sterling. Although Reed has been a presence in Ireland for many years, it has had a physical outlet here only since 1998.

Very recently, it has invested £3 million in its branch in the IFSC. In Ireland, the group currently employs over 40 consultants as well as hundreds of temporary and contract people. Anyone working for Reed is called a co-member, rather than merely a member of staff. It trades here as Reed Personnel Services (Ireland) Ltd, with a variety of subsidiary specialist businesses.

Simon Mackfall, general manager of the company here, says that they recruit across all business sectors, providing holistic, people-centred solutions for all types of business. As one example, it is the sole provider of staff for the Diageo group in Ireland, explains Mr Mackfall, and within Guinness Ireland, in that group, it has a full-time on-site co-ordinator. Mr Mackfall says that the Reed group intends to double its presence in Ireland over the next 12 months, which will mean setting up satellite offices, even though so much of their clients' activity is in the Dublin area. Mr Mackfall also says that contract working is another big growth area. One of its attractions is its free Internet-based recruitment service, which rival agencies, as well as clients and candidates can use free of charge.