Jon Moulton takes control of headhunter firm in a management buyout

Venture capitalist Jon Moulton has acquired a controlling stake in Garner, the parent company of leading headhunter firm Norman Broadbent, in return for an investment of £2m.

Moulton teamed up with Irish entrepreneur Pierce Casey for the management buyout, and has secured a 58 per cent holding in the firm, which is amongst London's oldest recruitment businesses.

The businessmen are providing £1m each to put into the business. Future plans include changing the name to Norman Broadbent, and expanding the brand by franchise in the Far East, Latin America and the US. It already has an overseas presence in Spain, Italy and the Middle East.

Garner purchased Norman Broadbent in December 2008 for £5.5m from BNB, which was liquidated in June last year.

In an interview Mr Moulton said: "We're buying a company that is definitely down on its luck. It's operating at a profit. It's clearly capable of doing much better. I always invest in things I think are going to do much better."

Chairman, Andrew Garner is to step up to the role of chief executive, while Mr Casey will take over his present role. Mr Garner wants to increase the brand's presence in other business service areas - training, board evaluation, coaching and mentoring for example.

Trading has been poor since changing hands in 2008, and Mr Garner expects that the company to lose £3.5m in 2009.

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