HR professional services firm Peninsula Group growing in Ireland

Having also excelled in the UK, The Peninsula Group has reported record growth of sales for its Republic of Ireland wing. The news comes despite an economic slowdown relating to Brexit uncertainty, and the fact that Ireland has approached full employment, triggering a war for talent among top companies.

Established in 1983, The Peninsula Group provides professional services to small businesses across the UK. Initially specialising in consulting on employment law, the company has since expanded to provide services including tax and payroll advice, employee assistance programmes, and HR and health & safety training. Through organic growth and acquisitions, Peninsula has also moved beyond the borders of the UK, and now provides this offering to small businesses in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Despite Brexit anxiety putting a rising number of clients off launching potentially lucrative projects, Peninsula Business Services has managed to maintain its solid performance across the UK, and for some time has been one of the largest health and safety and employment law consultancies in the UK. The group declared an annual turnover of £270 million in its last business year, on the back of rocketing sales in the UK which rose by 20% year-on-year.

Now it has emerged that the group has also enjoyed an impressive year of growth in the Republic of Ireland. While the nation will remain in the EU regardless of what the UK ultimately decides, the uncertainty surrounding its closest trading partner has undeniably impacted on the economic growth of Ireland. EY's latest Economic Eye report, for example, concluded that growth for the Irish economy this year is now projected at 3.7%, down from the rate of 4.1% EY had projected in June.

Just as was the case in the UK, however, this does not seem to have slowed Peninsula’s individual performance. In fact, Peninsula is celebrating a record year of growth, following the news that its sales in Ireland rocketed year-on-year by nearly 30%.

Commenting on the news, Moira Grassick, Associate Director of Commercial, Ireland, said of Peninsula, "We are delighted to announce such an impressive sales increase during the previous financial year… With Ireland reaching near-full employment and the uncertainty over Brexit, we have seen a substantial demand from business owners across the country for our services. Our expertise helps ensure that they avoid the risks of financial losses and employment regulation repercussions."

She added: "The first half of this financial year has started well, and we are confident we will continue to build on this momentum."

The strong performance of the group has resulted in significant growth plans, not only in financial terms but also in job creation and expansion across Ireland – Cork, in particular. Earlier in October, this saw a new office open in the central business district of Cork, immediately creating eight jobs with plans to increase that number to 25 over the coming year. Over the last 12 months, the number of Peninsula employees in Ireland as a whole has ramped up by 12% as the organisation looks to service an ever-growing client base, which currently stands at over 6,200 businesses.

Peter Done, Group Managing Director, added, "It's an exciting period for the business as we continue to grow and innovate as the market leaders. Although our core offering continues to be employment law and health & safety support services for SMEs, our digital products like our staff management software, BrightHR, are also experiencing rapid growth."