Selby Jennings, the financial services recruiter, has launched a new business dedicated to executive search in the wake of an internal study that found recruitment among banks, hedge funds and other organisations in the sector could be up by over 300 per cent in 2011 compared to 2008.

The research found that while the desire to retain headhunters rather than engage contingent recruiters collapsed during the financial crisis, demand for their services experienced a massive upsurge in 2010, a trend that looks set to continue in 2011, said the firm in a statement.

Over 90 per cent of respondents suggested that their business would be more likely to consider executive search in 2011, citing several reasons including a shortage of certain technical skills, concerns around diversity, and less willingness on the part of candidates to forgo deferred bonuses.

The new business, called Selby Jennings Search, will seek to respond to these concerns and to what it views as a new market post-crisis through service, innovation and fee structure.

The research is based on the opinions of recruitment, human resources and business managers in over 200 financial organisations worldwide.