Shares in recruitment group, Marlborough International, are up by 250 per cent since the company floated last October, leaving those investors who held onto their shares sitting on a tidy profit.

The rise in the share price has made Marlborough's managing director, Mr David McKenna, who retains 45 per cent of the stock, a wealthy man.

Although much of his wealth is tied up in shares, Mr McKenna realised some of his investment when the company went public last year. At the time, he sold four million shares, making just under £4 million before expenses. Not a bad return considering he spent only £6,000 to buy Marlborough in 1992.

However, Mr McKenna says wealth has not changed his life.

"I lived a comfortable life before and I still live a comfortable life," he says. He has not moved house, although plans made three and a half years ago to build a new home, are moving ahead. But he admits that he is probably working harder than ever. Weekend work means his season ticket for Old Trafford didn't see much use this year.

A former plumber, Mr McKenna spotted the opportunities in recruitment while doing sprinkler contracting work in Britain. He noticed there was a huge shortage of manpower, so he came home one Christmas, ran a few ads and got a huge response.

By the time he bought Marlborough in 1992, he was recruiting for the construction sectors in both Ireland and Britain.

"I didn't want to have all my eggs in one basket," he says.

Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength, reporting pre-tax profits of £3.07 million for the year ended February 28th, 1998, up from £647,000.