Panmure Liberum reiterated its Buy on Staffline Group, retaining a 60p price target after the group's AGM trading update showed a strong operational start to FY26 but left the broker reluctant to lift its rating amid macro uncertainty.
Analyst Joe Brent leaves Panmure Liberum's PBT estimates broadly unchanged while raising fully diluted EPS by 5.1% for FY26 and 4.7% for FY27, and introducing a H1 FY26 FD EPS estimate of 1.6p, describing Staffline, the UK‑ and Ireland‑focused recruitment and workforce‑solutions group, as benefiting from industry‑leading conversion rates and a healthy new‑business pipeline.
The analyst makes three operational points, that the Middle East conflict and inflation are creating uncertainty with permanent placements down even as temporary placements improved, that Recruitment GB is gaining market share aided by the Culina acquisition, and that Recruitment Ireland is showing strong demand, and he flags an estimated H1 net debt (ex‑leases) of c.£9m and the board's buyback of 7.01m shares for c.£3.18m year‑to‑date.
Brent says he will watch the conversion of the new‑business pipeline, the sustainability of temporary hours growth and the group's H1 trading and net‑debt trajectory before moving to an upgrade.
