The recruiting arm of the Bermuda office of accounting firm Ernst & Young is being spun off as an independent entity under a new owner who hasn?t been named.

E&Y explained the development as part of its plan to exit ?non-core? business areas in the coming months.

The James Partnership ? a placement company active on the Island for the past three decades ? and its online insurance specialist unit bermudaREcruit will remain in the E&Y stable until July.

Under new ownership, managing director Britt Reiss will remain onboard. The company will not see a name change although the identity of the private investor stepping in to to take over ownership is being kept under wraps, according to a company spokeswoman.

In a press statement, E&Y said it would in the next year exit ?non-core assurance services? including ceasing to provide insolvency and bookkeeping services.

Gil Tucker, managing partner elect, Ernst & Young, Bermuda said: ?The decision to exit these non-core services was driven by an E&Y global decision to put more focus and investment in our core business areas and the increasing significance of auditor independence driven by the SEC.?

Mrs. Reiss said the change in ownership would give the company ?increased flexibility? to provide a broader ranger of services.

?We will be working with different owners. This transition to new ownership will occur within the next two months and plans are in place to ensure that the changeover is smooth with no impact on our clients.?

TJP has had an official presence on the Island since 1991 ? and has been called The James Partnership since then ? but its unofficial ties go back to the 1970s with a now retired English businessman, Trevor James, recruiting personnel for Bermuda companies from that time.

He sold his stake in the company in 2001. TJP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the E&Y Bermuda company.