A senior manager with recruitment agency Marlborough International has resigned from the company a week before the company's shares begin trading on the Developing Companies Market in Dublin and the Alternative Investment Market in London.

Mr John Doupe, who headed Marlborough's computer recruitment division but was not a director of the plc, resigned last week after failing to agree terms for his service contract, even though the Marlborough prospectus for the £25 million flotation said the group had entered into service agreements with "all key personnel".

Mr Doupe confirmed last night that he resigned as manager of Marlborough Computing last week, and said that unacceptable terms were included in the service contract he had been offered. Mr Doupe added that he is now in the process of establishing a new recruitment agency. Mr Doupe (33) joined Marlborough four years ago, having previously spent four years with Richmond Recruitment.

A spokesman for Marlborough said, however, that Mr Doupe had resigned after the company refused to meet demands he made for the terms of his contract. He added that Mr Doupe's position as head of the computer recruitment division has now been filled.

The Marlborough prospectus stated under the "risk factors" heading that service contracts had been agreed with all key personnel, although the "senior management" paragraph three pages earlier in the prospectus said that these service contracts "are being put in place".

Commenting on the apparent disparity between the two references to service contracts, the Marlborough spokesman said the risk factors paragraph included a typographical error. "Service agreements are being put in place and will be finalised very soon," he stated.