IT started in a small office with just a handful of staff 22 years ago.

After working in the recruitment industry for most of his 20s George Materna decided it was time to launch his own business.

The company he founded, Matchtech Personnel, soon branched out with a marine spin-off, Matchtech Engineering.

The two combined four years ago and Southampton-based Matchtech will this week float on the stock market in a deal that will net Mr Materna, its 53-year-old chairman, £36 million.

The deal will also create a £10 million windfall for 120 staff members, largely consultants, who hold shares and options. They are worth an average of £80,000 although only six employees took up an offer to sell.

Mr Materna, a married father-of-three who lives in Hampshire, is set to sell £11 million of his shares and will retain a £25 million, 35 per cent, stake in the business.

Other board members and senior employees are selling a further £11m in shares The company specialises in providing engineering and technical staff on large, long-term infrastructure projects.

It has grown on the back of increased public sector spending in recent years and is expected to play a key role in supplying staff for London 2012 Olympic projects.

Mr Materna said the flotation would bring the employee share scheme to life.

"We have been extremely encouraged by the response we have received from the investment community to our story," he said.

"This IPO shows that there is good investor demand for cash generative businesses with a proven track record and good growth potential.

"Becoming a publicly listed company will further raise Matchtech's profile and will enable us to attract key employees who are the lifeblood of any recruitment business.

"It is a testament to the hard work of everyone in the group that we have reached this milestone and are now so strongly positioned for the future."

He added: "We believe that the Matchtech story has a great deal further to go."

Matchtech has placed 22.4 million shares at £3.10, valuing the company at £72.5 million.

Institutional investors will hold about 31.7 per cent of the company's share capital.

Matchtech operates from a purpose-built office on the Solent Business Park, Whiteley, near Fareham.

The firm's annual turnover of £158m has almost doubled in the past two years, with a profit of £7.8 million.

It is the largest recruitment agency is Hampshire and the 4th largest technical and engineering specialist in the UK.

It employs 210 people, 150 are recruitment consultants.

Matchtech is due to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) this Friday.