UK recruitment group Harvey Nash has expanded into the Irish market with the acquisition of Dublin-based IT specialist Rescon for €7.7 million.

Harvey Nash has agreed to make an initial cash payment of €3.7 million for the company. Further payments worth up to €4 million, in the form of Harvey Nash shares, will be made if certain "demanding profit targets" are met over the next three years.

If these targets are exceeded, additional payments worth up to €2.3 million may be made, bringing the maximum potential consideration to €10 million.

Harvey Nash has confirmed that the management team at Rescon will remain with the business.

The UK group, which has 31 offices across three continents, anticipates that the purchase will immediately enhance its earnings.

Rescon reported pretax profit of €800,000 on revenue of €7.2 million for 2006. At the end of last year, the company had gross assets worth €2.8 million.

"We are delighted with this strategically important acquisition in what is a thriving and relatively undeveloped IT solutions market," Harvey Nash chief executive Albert Ellis said yesterday.

"Rescon is a well-established business with a leading brand, excellent long-term client relationships and a reputation for quality."

He added that the acquisition would strengthen the group's existing European IT recruitment and outsourcing business.

The move will also enable Harvey Nash to introduce its offshore software development and executive search services to the Irish market.

Harvey Nash joins a number of other major UK recruitment companies that have a presence in the Irish market, including Michael Page International and Hays.