Trinity Mirror has sold off the consultancy recruitment business it acquired with its purchase of Hotgroup last year, but it will keep the online divisions.

Chris Herrmannsen is leading an £11.2m management buyout of the division, backed by NBGI Private Equity. A company — Ochre House — has been formed for the venture.

Ochre comprises a number of recruitment consultancies which operate in education, retail, leisure, commercial and legal. They include brands such as the International Teachers Network, ASA Law, Mark Education, The Buzz retail and leisure division, and Profiles Resource Management, a recruitment process outsourcing division (RPO).

Herrmannsen told Recruiter: 'We've been planning this for some time, and working with Trinity Mirror with a view to doing it, ever since the acquisition (of Hotgroup) in October."

Ochre begins with an annual turnover of about £40m and more than 170 employees operating out of 18 offices nationwide. It has overseas sourcing capabilities in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and Ireland.

Herrmannsen emphasised the RPO growth potential. He said: "The turnover will double this year." Clients include IT firm Xansa.

He said he was also looking for acquisitions as part of a "buy and build" strategy.

Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey said the division was "not a core part of our publishing portfolio, and the opportunities for development will be greater under the direct ownership of the management team."

In 2002, NBGI invested in Walker Hamill (a recruitment business started up by Brian Hamill, now chief executive of Imprint). It sold this stake last year.