Polish staffing firm Work Service lists in London

WARSAW, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Eastern Europe's largest staffing company, Poland's Work Service (LSE: 0Q9P.L - news) , listed on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday in an effort to broaden its investor base and help it expand into new markets.

Work Service, which is valued at 771 million zlotys ($195 million) on the Warsaw bourse, is the first Polish company to have a listing on both exchanges.

It operates in 12 countries around Europe, competing with the likes of the world's largest staffing companies Adecco (VTX: ADEN.VX - news) and Randstad, as well as London-listed Hays and Michael Page.

"We will continue to expand further, to expand geographically as well as strengthen our position in the present markets," Adam Jenkins, who heads Work Service's international operations, told Reuters.

Acquisitions will remain part of its strategy, he said.

"Our intention is to become top 5 in Europe in our sector in the next 3 to 5 years and (a) presence in London goes a long way in achieving this goal."

Jenkins said the group aims to expand its ownership base among pan-European funds specialising in small and mid-cap companies.

"We want to diversify our investor base to improve both our liquidity and security," he said. "Warsaw was not enough." ($1 = 3.9492 zlotys) (Reporting by Adrian Krajewski and Jakub Iglewski; Editing by Alexander Smith)