IRISH FINANCIER Pierce Casey has teamed up with British private equity veteran Jon Moulton to take control of UK-listed recruitment group Garner plc.

As part of a proposed major capital reorganisation of Garner, Mr Casey and Mr Moulton have agreed to invest £1 million each to acquire 4.44 million new ordinary shares between them. This gives them a 57.58 stake in the recruitment firm.

The deal is subject to shareholder approval.

Mr Casey has also taken on the role of chairman with the recruiter, which made a loss of £3.5 million in 2009 but has traded profitably in the year to date.

The pair previously worked together with leading British private equity group Alchemy, of which Mr Moulton was a founder.

Mr Casey has previously been involved in two successful recruitment businesses. He built up and sold two recruitment firms – Walker Hammell and Imprint – making a tidy sum from both.

Speaking to The Irish Timesyesterday, Mr Casey said: "It's a sector that I know an awful lot about. It's a people business and a cyclical business . . . this is a cyclical play.

“Jon likes the sector and we decided to go for it.”

As part of the reorganisation of Garner, the company will change its name to that of one of its subsidiaries, Norman Broadbent.

This business was a wholly-owned subsidiary acquired in 2008. Mr Casey and Mr Moulton have renegotiated the sale price, reducing it from £5.5 million to £2.03 million.

Mr Casey said the recruiter would look at international expansion, particularly in Asia, through franchise deals. He previously helped Imprint to establish a presence in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“Asia is an obvious area of expansion for us,” he added.

Mr Casey left Alchemy in 2007 and established Adelaide Capital in Dublin to manage his family interests. It manages about 25 investments for Mr Casey.

“We’re actively looking at opportunities in Ireland and the UK both directly and with other investors,” Mr Casey said.