Staffline, the UK-based staffing and employability organisation, said in a company update yesterday that it will launch an investigation in conjunction with auditors PwC relating to concerns over invoicing and payroll practices within its Recruitment division.

The company update follows an earlier announcement by Staffline to delay the publication of its full-year 2018 results.

Staffline has also suspended trading of its shares on AIM. It added that given the nature of the allegations, its preliminary results would not be published until the matters have been fully investigated.

“The Board is confident that its policies in relation to these matters are appropriate, particularly given that these practices have been the subject of prior audits,” Staffline said in a statement. “However, if the allegations are substantiated this could have a material impact on the group and its profitability and until further investigation has been undertaken the Board cannot assess the potential materiality.”

Other than what was noted above, the financial position of the company is unchanged, as reported on 8 January 2019 the company expects to report net debt of £63 million for the year ended 31 December 2018 and can also report that in July 2018 the company refinanced its £150 million lending facilities.

Staffline added that shareholders would be updated in due course.

Before suspending trading, Staffline’s shares fell 33.0% on the day.