Investcorp to capitalize on revitalized German economy with acquisition of 'top ten' temporary staffing firm

German official statistics recently confirmed that the second quarter of 2006 saw the strongest economic growth in that country for five years, boosted by higher domestic demand as well as the World Cup. The temporary staffing sector is particularly well placed to benefit from this continuing economic revival.

Established in 2004, TimePartner has completed nine successful acquisitions and, by the end of 2005, had expanded from 26 to over 50 locations. TimePartner is responsible for placing 5,500 skilled and unskilled temporary workers with high-profile, blue-chip companies across Germany in specialized sectors such as aviation, engineering and logistics, in addition to meeting the more traditional staffing needs of various other sectors. Over the past two years, TimePartner has significantly outperformed the market and its competitors in terms of revenue growth, achieving a "like-for-like" compound annual growth rate of over 30%.

Investcorp's Chief Operating Officer, Gary Long, said: "Industries in Germany are finally shifting from a rigid, traditional mindset to a very flexible way of staffing their businesses due to the significant labour market deregulation in January 2004.

TimePartner is exceptionally positioned to take advantage of these structural shifts with its proven acquisition strategy and a superior track record of growth and operational excellence in the high-growth, temporary employment industry.

Confidence is at long last back in the German economy. Businesses there are expanding to meet demand, but after such a long period of stagnation they're naturally cautious about employing more permanent staff, so this is the ideal climate for us to be investing in the fastest growing temporary staffing business in the country".