NES Group, the Altrincham-based engineering recruitment company with 275 staff, is to undergo a £80m management buy-out backed by Graphite Capital. NES recruits contract staff for blue chip companies in the oil and gas, infrastructure, rail and power sectors, and its clients include multinationals such as Shell, Alstom Power and Obayashi. The management team is led by NES chief executive Neil Tregarthen, and will buy the business from founders Geoff Lloyd and Bryan Sullivan and Bridgepoint, the private equity group. Bridgepoint backed the previous buyout in 1999 for £32m.