Healthcare Locums (HLO:LSE), a recruitment agency providing temporary and permanent staff to the healthcare and social care sectors in the UK, has today said that proceedings which had been filed against the firm and some former directors in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York have been dismissed.

The news about the firm’s legal proceedings first broke at the end of February. The proceedings had originally been filed by various hedge fund investors – including Permian Master Fund, Arundel Capital LLC, Arundel Long Fund LP, Arundel Hedge Fund LP, Privet Capital, LLC and Flinn Investments, LLC – who claimed the staffing firm had misrepresented its profitability and accounting practices.

Today the staffing firm announced that the proceedings have been dismissed voluntarily by the Plaintiffs who did not give prior notice or explanation as to why they did so.

Peter Sullivan, Chairman of the firm, said “The Board welcomes this decision. The filed legal proceedings were an unwelcome distraction and the Board was always of the opinion that the claims were wholly without merit.”

In the UK, the company is still involved in a tribunal claim from the former Executive Vice Chairman Kate Bleasdale, who is suing the firm over “wrongful dismissal” in a multi-million Pound case.

The firm has recently restructured its business with a new management team and reported in April that annual revenues for 2011 increased to £227.1 million compared to £154.9 million in 2010.

After announcing the news this morning, the stock market reacted positively as the company’s share price jumped by +21.5% to 4.10 Pence, which is down -95.1% from a year ago but +161.15% above the 52-week low of 1.57 Pence set on 24 April 2012. The firm has a market capitalisation of £28.61 million.

Healthcare Locums was formed in 2003, providing workforce solutions to the health and social care industries. The firm supplies temporary and permanent doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and qualified social workers to public and private sector clients in the UK and internationally.