Parc, the international specialist staffing company with its headquarters in Santry, Dublin, was the subject of a £11.5 million management buyout from Aer Lingus in 1995, but is likely to be valued at between £40 million and £50 million after its flotation later this year.

Yet chief executive Mr Peter Keenan, who was played a central role in the buyout and who currently holds a 10 per cent shareholding in the company, says he believed at the time and still believes, that a fair price was paid.

"In the period between the MBO and now, the ISEQ has just about doubled and company turnover is up 50 per cent," he points out. "When you do the numbers you see it is quite fair."

The flotation, likely to happen in mid-September, will provide the company with access to capital which will assist improved business growth. The company provides specialist staff through its three operating divisions, aviation, technical staffing and information technology. It is the world leader in the supply of contract airline pilots and has established positions in the supply of aviation maintenance personnel internationally, technical staff in Britain and Ireland, and IT staff in Britain.

Parc was profitable at the time of the MBO and was valued at £13.5 million. Mr Keenan and Mr David Hanly, the former chief executive and now deputy chairman, held a 12.25 per cent shareholding, and the remaining 87.75 per cent stake, held by Aer Lingus, was bought for £11.5 million. The MBO was supported by Mercury Asset Management (MAM). At the time Mr Keenan was deputy chief executive and led the buyout negotiations on behalf of management.

Aer Lingus had been instructed by the government at the time to offload all non-core activities. A year earlier, management had made an approach but were told Parc was not for sale. By 1995, Aer Lingus had decided Parc should be sold.

"The scale of the company has changed substantially since then," Mr Keenan says. Growth in profitability has reflected the 50 per cent rise in turnover, he says. For the year to March 31st, pre-tax profits were £2.82 million, an increase of 52 per cent on the previous year.

He says it is difficult to judge the reasons for the company's growth since 1995. While the break with the public sector did provide increased room for manoeuvre, he is also generous in his praise of Aer Lingus. "Being part of Aer Lingus meant we put the corporate discipline in place that we might not have otherwise had."

Nevertheless, the presence of three Aer Lingus directors on the five-man board did affect the perspective of boardroom discussions. Constraints placed on semi-state companies were another factor. "For instance, we made an acquisition in 1995 (after the MBO) that might not have been allowed if we had still been part of Aer Lingus," Mr Keenan recalls.

This was because of an embargo on capital expenditure which was in place at the time at Aer Lingus. Yet that acquisition, of Euroforce, an Irish technical staffing company, has worked out very successfully for Parc. "The size of that business has more than doubled since 1995, which is pretty consistent with our experience of acquisitions."

So the change in acquisitions strategy is one factor contributing to the post 1995 growth of the company. Minor issues like flexibility in company structures when pursuing contracts is another. Organic growth, particularly within the aviation division, has been strong since the buyout, with the number of contract pilots more than doubling to over 400. Successful acquisitions here and in Britain have led to the growth in technical staffing and, more recently, in the IT staffing market.

Since the management buyout the company has put an emphasis on employee share ownership and all management and permanent staff, of which there are in excess of 120, have shares or share options. Six company executives hold 40.5 per cent between them (Mr Hanly holds 15 per cent), and MAM holds another 49 per cent. Should the flotation put a value of £45 million on the company, the staff's 10.5 per cent shareholding would be worth £4.2 million, or an average of £35,000 each.

"Even people who reasonably recently came into the company will do very well out of it. Effectively it is the transfer of wealth and even the most junior member of staff in the office will find it financially significant."

It is something, he says, he finds "very satisfying". The company will remain committed to the staff holding shares post flotation and believes the change will breathe life into the scheme. "The whole idea is to keep everybody on the same side and motivated."

His own shareholding is likely to be valued at £4.5 million and he will sell about 20 per cent of it as part of the flotation, generating £900,000. He finds this "personally very satisfying" but when asked how it feels to be joining the growing ranks of Ireland's (paper) millionaires' club, he says: "I've never gone into Superquinn and seen a queue for people with paper."

"I think my feet are firmly on the ground," he says, and adds that such an attitude is the inevitable product of coming from a family of 10.

The flotation of the company will allow MAM to get a return on its investment in Parc, though the company is to retain about half of its shareholding in Parc and wants to retain a seat on the board. "They see a lot of upside and they want to stay in."

Mr Keenan agrees with commentators who say intellectual capital is the main asset of western economies and the process of keeping the best people working with Parc will be assisted by flotation. Being a plc will also add to the company's profile.

He is optimistic about the long term prospects for Parc. When times are hard people want to use more contract staff, he says. When times are good, people just want staff. Also, there is a general shift towards contract staffing. With the sort of professionals his company deals with, there is a growing desire not to be locked into permanent employment. Professionals want to have the freedom to move around, moving from project to project, "managing their own careers". In time he sees this phenomenon developing so that the company will sell its services on both sides, providing staff for companies which need them, and managing the careers of the staff they supply.

The revenue breakdown for Parc shows 44 per cent coming from Britain, 21 per cent from the Far East, 18 per cent from Continental Europe, 14 per cent from Ireland, and 3 per cent from the rest of the world. In terms of divisions, aviation provides 51 per cent, technical staffing 30 per cent, and IT 10 per cent. Despite the difficulties in Asia, the last 12 months have seen the number of contract pilots in the region increase by 30 per cent. "We are contra-cyclical to some extent," Mr Keenan says.

The IT market is one which is growing rapidly but the greater-than-inflation wage increases being achieved by IT professionals is not something the seemingly ever-optimistic Mr Keenan considers a problem. "When there is a surplus of staff it is easy to get people. When it is difficult to get people, then that is when the skills of a staffing company are needed. It's a business opportunity."