Re Joint Venture

7 Dec 2005 15:16

Empresaria Group PLC07 December 2005 Empresaria Group plc Investment in staffing company in China Empresaria Group plc ("Empresaria" or "the Group") is pleased to announce thatit has today invested in Aston HR Consulting Ltd ("Aston HR") a UK start upcompany which will itself enter into a joint venture with an establishedShanghai based HR consulting and staffing company. Empresaria has agreed to invest £250,000 by way of equity and loan into Aston HRConsulting Ltd ("Aston HR"), a new UK company in order to acquire a 49% interestin Tian Yun Human Resources Co. Ltd an established Shanghai based staffingcompany which will operate under the Aston HR brand. Empresaria is co-investingwith the new management team of the Chinese company to contribute a totalcollective investment of £300,000. The Aston HR management team is led by Juliet Newett, who was born and raised inShanghai before gaining over eight years financial services recruitmentexperience in London. The company will focus initially on supporting theinternational business community operating in China with particular initialfocus on financial services and IT sectors. Miles Hunt, Chief Executive of Empresaria commented: "The investment in AstonHR represents a further step along the path towards creating a balanced,international specialist staffing group. Investing in the rapidly expandingChina market with its emerging staffing sector provides opportunities foraccelerated growth and also further develops our strategy of diversifyingoperations, and therefore risk, across different international markets." For further enquiries please contact: Empresaria Group Plc 01293 649 900Tony Martin (Chairman)Miles Hunt (Chief Executive)Nick Hall-Palmer (Finance Director) Bridgewell Securities Limited 020 7003 3000Nick Tulloch Notes for editors: Empresaria Group plc is a diversified recruitment group built on a philosophy ofmanagement equity through organic growth, investment in start-up businesses andproviding funding for management buy outs within the staffing sector. Empresaria was formed in 1996 by Miles Hunt and consists of 21 staffingcompanies. Its business model, allows founder managers and key staff withinEmpresaria's subsidiaries to acquire or retain a meaningful stake in thebusinesses they run or work in. Empresaria currently provides specialist recruitment services across fivesectors in the UK; namely: 1. Construction, Property Services & Engineering; 2. Supply Chain; 3. Public Sector; 4. Financial Services; and 5. Specialist Brands. In addition, Empresaria is actively expanding internationally and hasestablished operations in both the US and Japan. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange