Kathy Tompkins, who recently helped persuade a team of star managers to move from Bank of Ireland to Perpetual Trustees of Australia, has made her own move to Sheffield Haworth, the headhunting firm.

Tompkins , previously an executive at search firm Warren International, believes more lift-outs are on the way. "Overall, there is disenchantment with the notion of acquisition. Their failure has taken a huge toll on the human capital of their business. Lift-outs have been developing as the expansion route of choice," she said.