Recruitment company Charterhouse has bought the contract book of Hamilton James & Bruce (HJB) after it became the second insurance recruiter to call in administrators in the past few weeks.

The first creditors meeting for HJB, whose shareholders include Charterhouse, will be held tomorrow, according to administrator Scott Turner.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, HJB CEO Grahame Doyle says cost-cutting measurers and a restructure have “not proven sufficient to return the company to a profitable position”.

Meanwhile, recruitment agency QPL, which works in areas including insurance broking, loss adjusting and life insurance commercial and personal lines, has appointed administrator Adam Shepard.

Charterhouse Insurance Practice Manager Jonathan Attwood says the company is expanding its Australian insurance operation after entering the market in March. It has so far worked with about a dozen companies placing talent.

“It is certainly a growing industry, so we are seeing a lot of joy from companies looking at expansion and growing their portfolios of business, but also consolidating what they already have,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.