Consulting firm Procorre closes its Dublin operation

International consulting firm Procorre has announced the closure of its Dublin office, to the shock of its staff. While the firm was profitable in the most recently available financial year, sources at the firm said maintaining the office was no longer “viable”.

Founded by entrepreneurs with a desire to challenge the status quo of the consulting industry, Procorre is a next generation management consultancy which looks to provide clients with access to expert consultants who deliver client projects to the highest standards. Evolving from the 2004 formation of the Von Essen professional services group in Switzerland, Procorre officially became an entity in 2014, and has since expanded to operate offices in the UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Dublin.

Procorre’s Dublin office predates the company's formal birth with the firm trading in Ireland since 2011. At that time, a rapid expansion had led to the management of more consultants in numerous European countries and sectors, triggering the establishment of a Dublin office. However, following almost a decade of trading in the Irish capital, Procorre has decided to shutter its location in the city.

A spokesperson said the news was the result of a “strategic business decision”, suggesting that the locale is 'not viable' anymore. According to a notice published by the Companies Registration Office, a creditors’ meeting has been called for the end of this month, when a liquidator will be appointed for locally registered entities Procorre Consulting and Procorre – though this only applies to the Dublin office, and the wider group will continue trading in its other international wings.

While the location was said to be unviable, however, according to Procorre Consulting’s most recent available accounts, the firm overall enjoyed sales of €12.1 million in 2017, an increase of just over €220,000 on its tally for 2016. Directly employing an average monthly staff of 22 people in 2017, Procorre’s Dublin wing had a wages and salaries bill worked out at roughly €49,550 per head, and reported a small profit for the year of just over €18,640. At the same time, company filings show that three directors have recently exited the company, in the time between November 2018 and the end of January 2019.

Speaking to Fora.ie, one former employee privately described the decision to close the Irish unit as “a shock”. At the same time, an Account Manager from the Dublin office stated in a recent review on Glassdoor.ie that “management didn't listen to the needs of the staff”, something which might have pointed toward the knowledge the locale was not to last.

In October 2018, Procorre announced it was looking to rapidly expand its headcount in the UK. The firm stated it hoped to recruit 100 women in the same number of days in its London office.