Upton & Southern have come a long way since company doctor Ron Trenter took over. Businesses were sold and closed down until all that was left were department stores in the north east. A new direction is now underway: building a human resources business, starting a year ago with the purchase of newly-established Garner International, headed up by experienced head-hunter Andrew Garner. He is looking to add new allied businesses such as outplacement, recruitment advertising, and employee benefits to provide a one-stop shop for blue chip corporates. Garner negotiated a good deal for himself on selling 51% of his business to Upton, as he is now the biggest ordinary shareholder at 19% (the second biggest is the Bank of Scotland who converted debt to equity to ensure the survival of the group). A lot rests on the talent of Garner to provide the expansion while Trenter ensures that the retail business stays on course. At the interim stage revenue was significantly up (£9.07m compared to £6.098m), but margins were under pressure which resulted in pre-tax profits falling from £238,000 to £40,000. Trenter was non-committal about the full year, contenting himself with saying he hoped the business as a whole would be profitable. In the medium term (two years), there will be a change of name, a share consolidation and a concerted effort to get the share price up so that more acquisitions can be made.