The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

20 January 2026

Staffline Group plc

("Staffline" or the "Company")

Full year Trading Update

-  FY 2025 results expected to be significantly ahead of market expectations¹

-  Gross profit and operating profit have increased by 10.6% and 28.3%, respectively

-  11.1% YoY growth delivers 5-year high in Recruitment GB Q4 traditional peak temporary worker hours

-  Continued balance sheet strength and market reach supports a significant new business pipeline

Staffline (AIM: STAF), the recruitment group, provides the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2025 ("FY 2025" or the "Period").

Financial Highlights²

·    Revenue up 11.5% to £1,106.7m, largely driven by a significant new strategic partnership with a leading logistics provider and continued market share growth in the blue-collar sector

·    Gross profit up 10.6% to £78.3m, driven by strong performances in both divisions:

o  6.8% increase in temporary hours worked in Recruitment GB  

o  10.3% increase in permanent white-collar recruitment fees in Ireland

·    Operating profit up 28.3% to £12.7m, exceeding market expectations and supported by tight cost control

·    Profit before taxation up 42.0% to £7.1m, ahead of market expectations and with no material non-underlying items

·    Net cash (pre-IFRS 16) of £1.5m, better than expected, reflecting the planned working capital investment in both new customers, including the new strategic partnership, as well as in the strong growth in existing customer activity

·    Ongoing share buyback programme of up to £7.5m, repurchasing a total consideration of £6.5m in FY 2025

¹Company-compiled consensus for FY 2025 operating profit, profit before tax, and net debt (pre-IFRS 16), based on the mean average of two analyst estimates, stands at £11.9m, £6.0m, and £(2.7)m, respectively.

²Presented on a continuing basis. These figures are unaudited and provisional.

³FY 2024 operating profit is stated after charging £0.2m of non-underlying expenses.

Summary

Staffline's strategic shift to focus on pure-play recruitment has contributed to an excellent financial and operational performance for FY 2025. Organic growth remains a key strategic priority, delivering remarkable success during 2025. Staffline's scale and reach, combined with its financial strength and high governance standards, ideally positions the business in a market where competition remains fragmented and customers, both new and existing, continue to consolidate their labour suppliers.

In addition, the Company's strong balance sheet and track record of cash generation, before working capital investment, support the Board's disciplined capital allocation policy and ongoing commitment to delivering shareholder value.

Recruitment GB

Recruitment GB has delivered an excellent trading performance across FY 2025, with a 6.8% year-on-year increase in temporary worker hours worked, driven by market share gains across both new and existing customers. The division's ongoing cost efficiency programme continues to improve the gross profit to operating profit conversion ratio, mitigating the effects of inflation.

Organic growth remains a key priority as the Company seeks to expand market reach with both existing and new customers. A notable success includes a significant new strategic partnership secured in May 2025 with a leading UK logistics company to provide temporary drivers, security and warehouse operatives. At 31 December 2025, an additional c.1,800 temporary staff had been onboarded under this new partnership, further expanding Staffline's operational footprint.

In addition, Recruitment GB successfully converted a number of new business opportunities in H2 2025, including returning to full operational capacity with two customers impacted by cybersecurity disruption. Delivery during the festive peak, the busiest trading period for the Company, was strong, with the maximum weekly temporary hours worked reaching a five-year high, leading to Q4 temporary worker hours being 11.1% up on prior year.  

Recruitment Ireland

Recruitment Ireland generated 10.3% year-on-year growth in permanent recruitment fees despite the generally weak job market, focusing on the health and social care and public services sectors. The growth in temporary hours worked underpinned the turnaround from H1 2025, with momentum expected to continue into FY 2026.

Another significant contributor to the success of Recruitment Ireland in FY 2025 was Staffline's focus on RPO and Managed Services, particularly in the Republic of Ireland. Demand is generally stronger in the larger market of the Republic, with public spending outpacing Northern Ireland and increasing year-on-year. Demand from branch-led high street recruitment also showed signs of recovery, with new offices contributing during the year. Finally, tight control of the division's cost base ensured financial results exceeded original management expectations.

Albert Ellis, Chief Executive Officer of Staffline, commented:

"We are delighted to have delivered such a strong performance in FY 2025, underpinned by another successful Christmas peak trading period and significant new contract wins. Following the disposal of the PeoplePlus training business in Q1, Staffline has been able to focus exclusively on the recruitment sector, using its financial strength and specialist expertise to grow its market share significantly in a challenging jobs market.

I want to express my gratitude and thanks to all Staffline employees and temporary staff who have worked tirelessly during 2025 to make this such a successful year. We start 2026 with cautious optimism despite the continuing macro economic challenges, and the Board's expectations for 2026 are unchanged."

For further information, please contact: 

About Staffline - Recruitment

Enabling the Future of Work™

Staffline is one of the UK's leading Recruitment groups. It has two divisions:

Recruitment GB

The Recruitment GB business is a leading provider of flexible blue-collar workers, supplying up to c.40,000 staff per day on average, from over 500 sites, across a wide range of industries including supermarkets, drinks, driving, food processing, logistics and manufacturing.

Recruitment Ireland 

The Recruitment Ireland business is a leading end to end solutions provider operating across multiple industries, ten branch locations and ten onsite customer locations, supplying c.4,500 staff per day on average, and offering RPO, MSP, temporary and permanent solutions across public and private sectors throughout the island of Ireland.