Sheffield Haworth, the financial services executive search firm, has invested in another headhunter with a significant Asian presence.

The magnitude of the investment in nbi Consulting, a human capital consulting business with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and London, was not disclosed, but the deal is expected to help Sheffield further boost its global leverage. In Asia, Sheffield already has offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney.

"nbi's expertise in human resources search and capabilities in executive assessment and leadership development will add to our current client service proposition in global financial services," said Tim Sheffield, chief executive of Sheffield Haworth, in a statement.

The move to capture a larger Asian market is significant as more global financial services companies are seeking opportunities to set up shop locally and either filling key positions with new regional hires or by relocating senior management from Western headquarters.

In January this year, this publication exclusively reported that Sheffield Haworth acquired international wealth management recruitment firm Gibson Tullberg. The deal brought together the 20-year-old Sheffield Hawarth,which has offices across the world, and a decade-old business with offices in London, Geneva and Singapore and clients range from the largest global banks to niche wealth management businesses and family offices. Gibson Tullberg has expanded in recent years, adding the key Asia-Pacific region to its footprint in September 2010.