Global recruitment giant Adecco has expanded its presence in the Spanish recruitment market with the announcement that its subsidiary Adecco Iberia will acquire HR services company Humangroup.

Adecco Iberia will pay €66m (£45m) for the firm, which last year reported sales of €240m (£164m), in a bid to solidify its position as one of Spain's largest recruitment brands.

Humangroup offers staffing services under the AltaGestión brand and outsourcing services under the Eurocen (logistics and manufacturing), Extel (call centres) and Eurovendex (sales and marketing) brands. It has been in the Spanish HR market for 20 years.

According to Jerome Caille, Adecco's chief executive officer, the purchase is all part of the firm's wider plans to enter the market for "value-added services" other than just pure recruitment.

These services will include specialised recruitment, training, outsourcing, career transitioning and HR consulting.

Commenting on the acquisition, Enrique Sánchez, head of Adecco Central Europe, Iberia and Latin America said: "This transaction is a very positive move for our group in the fast-growing Spanish market. We will continue to operate with all the brands in a healthy competition, while at the same time achieving operational synergies."

Financial analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank said that while the acquisition would keep Adecco at "market weight", the acquisition is relatively insignificant on a financial basis as it will amount to just 2% of Adecco's total profits and sales.