Underemployed headhunters in the City of London are turning themselves into outplacement experts, as firing replaces hiring in the financial services industry.

Penna Meridian, one of the biggest outplacement providers, has doubled its staff to 80 associates in just three months to cope with soaring redundancies at banks and other firms. At least six of the new staff have come from Penna BBM, the headhunting firm and fellow member of the Penna group.