Recruiters are attractive targets for private equity investment, Owen Trotter, a partner of Key Capital Partners, said.

The company chose distribution and warehousing contract recruiter Templine Recruitment, at the end of last month, for its first investment from its maiden fund, a £4.3m funding of the management buy-out. "We were attracted by the quality of the management team. They're ambitious, with a real appetite to grow the business," he told Recruiter.

He also said he was looking to invest in businesses with a European presence, as he expected that to be a major source of growth.