UK staffing firm Impellam Group announced today that it plans to demerge subsidiary Carlisle Support Services Group Ltd, in order to focus on its managed services and specialist staffing portfolio.

Carlisle provides support services in the UK, including providing cleaning and security, events management, and support for retailers.

Impellam said the demerger will result in qualifying shareholders being issued with an equivalent number of ordinary shares in Carlisle.

Impellam said its reasons for the demerger was that it considered Carlisle a non-core division of the group, which represents less than 3% of Impellam's 2017 revenue, which stood at £2.17 billion. In that same year, Carlisle reported £44.8 million in revenue.

According to Impellam, demerging the business would allow the company to focus on its core services, and in turn reduce selling, recruitment and operational costs.

As an independent business, it is expected that Carlisle will have more flexibility to pursue activities intended to build scale and take market share, which may include the acquisition of similar complementary businesses. The business will also benefit from a dedicated Board and anticipated operational efficiencies.

Impellam’s Board said that qualifying shareholders would be those shareholders on the company's register of members at 17:00 GMT on 1 March 2019.

“The transaction is to be effected through a dividend in specie by the company in accordance with its articles of association to eligible shareholders by the issue of new ordinary shares of 0.034 pence each in the share capital of Carlisle, on the basis of one new Carlisle Share for each Impellam share owned by an eligible shareholder on the record date,” Impellam’s directors stated.