CPL, the publicly-quoted Irish recruitment firm, has bought a 90% stake in Clinical Professionals Ltd - a UK-based pharmaceutical and life sciences recruitment firm.

It paid an initial €5.1m for the business which is based in London and Reading, with further payments due if targets are achieved.

The company has also announced a near 7% increase in revenues to €394m for the year to June, its 25th year in business.

Gross profits rose by more than 7% to €59m, though pre-tax profits were slightly down at €14m due to higher operating costs arising from its own recruitment of more personnel to the business.

The firm has 36 offices across nine countries and says more than 26% of its permanent fees are now generated outside Ireland.

CPL's chief executive Anne Heraty commented on the outlook for the comapny: "Employment growth was strong in the past year although we are seeing skills shortages in certain sectors. We believe we have the opportunity to grow further in Ireland as demand for skilled talent intensifies."