Operator
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today’s Michael Page Third Quarter Trading Update. My name is Drew, and I’ll be the operator on the call today. [Operator Instructions]
With that, it’s my pleasure to hand over to Kelvin Stagg, Chief Financial Officer, to begin. Please go ahead when you’re ready.
Kelvin Stagg
CFO, Member of Executive Board & Executive Director
Thank you, Drew. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Michael Page 2026 Third Quarter Trading Update. I’m Kelvin Stagg, Chief Financial Officer. And on the call with me is Nick Kirk, Chief Executive Officer. While I will not read it through, I’d just like to make reference to the legal formalities that are covered in the cautionary statement in the appendix to this presentation and which will also be available on our website following the call. The group delivered gross profit of GBP 190.5 million in the quarter, representing growth of 1.5% in constant currencies and 1.4% in reported rates against 2025, the first quarter of growth since Q4 2022.
Productivity, measured as gross profit per fee earner, grew 6% versus Q3 2025. This is higher Q3 productivity than in our record year of 2022. Overall, around 50% of the group was in growth in Q3. Our fee earner headcount reduced by 63 or 1.3% during the quarter with a reduced level of new starters over the summer period. Overall, the group ended the quarter with 4,851 fee earners and a total headcount of 6,604. Net cash