James Caan, the television personality from UK TV programme Dragon’s Den, has bought all assets of Cocoabean Recruitment after its owner Mary Pratt said it was "the only option to salvage the business", the Eastern Daily Press reports.

The assets were bought by the HB RIDA Investment Group, a joint initiative between Mr Caan’s Hamilton Bradshaw Private Equity firm and The Recruitment Industry Development Agency. Ms. Pratt, who set up Cocoabean in 2006 will continue to manage day-to-day business.

Mr Caan said "we have as a collective, watched Mary and the team at Cocoabean from afar for some time and have been impressed by the buzz that they created within the local market in a very short space of time."

He added: "With a new location that reflects their boutique service, Cocoabean are set to be a major force in the East Anglian recruitment market."