DX appoints new board member

DX Group, the Datchet-based logistics business that is expected to be taken over by one half of John Menzies later this year, has appointed a business transformation specialist to its board.

Ian Gray, who serves as chairman of both pharmacy support group Avicenna and media production company Atlantic Holdings, has become a non-executive director at

DX. He has been working with the board in an informal capacity since January.

Last month DX saw off a challenge from activist shareholder Gatemore

Capital Management by agreeing revised terms with John Menzies. A SCOTTISH law firm has signalled its ambition to strike commercial deals that will make it more visible in Scottish football than any other business.

And in giving the Scottish game a vote of confidence, McEwan Fraser Legal aims to achieve this with a particular focus on clubs in which supporters have at least part-ownership.

The estate agency and legal firm recently agreed a shirt sponsorship deal with Motherwell to complement existing agreements with Dundee, Dundee United and Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Motherwell is 76 per cent owned by The Well Society supporters’ group, while last week Rangers supporters’ group Club 1872 became the second largest shareholder in the club when it acquired shares held by Sport Direct owner Mike Ashley.

Heart of Midlothian is also in the process of transferring to fan ownership after being taken out of administration by Ann Budge.

Supporters also have a stake in St Mirren, Clyde, Clydebank, Stirling Albion and Annan Athletic.

McEwan Fraser Legal said it saw its support for Scottish football as an investment in local communities as much as in the clubs.

The firm’s involvement is purely on a commercial basis, and does not involve legal work.

Its sponsorship deals place a strong emphasis on fan involvement. As well as paying for its logo to appear on club kits, the agreements include a number of campaigns that bring players and supporters closer together.

“Supporters are key. If the fans are not content, they won’t attend games and that will have a negative impact on the finances of the club,” said Ken McEwan, co-founder and chief executive of the firm.

McEwan Fraser believes there is commercial benefit from engaging with communities through local football clubs, using the rights

McEwan Fraser Legal replaced Calor as Dundee United’s shirt sponsor for the 2015/16 season.

available via sponsorship to launch publicity-generating ideas.

The firm has been behind a number of recent fan-centric initiatives, including #HomeRun, where players deliver replica kit to supporters’ homes; #HomeAlone where ex-players joined supporters who can’t make away fixtures to watch matches at organised screenings; and #HomeAdvantage which creates memorable experiences for fans.

In another example, McEwan Fraser highlighted a match at the beginning of last season when Inverness Caledonian Thistle players took on 100 school children at the Caledonian Stadium, which was billed as the “biggest home game ever seen in the UK”.

Youngsters qualified by being

among the first 100 to buy the new junior home shirt from the club shop. In December a Dundee United fan with one leg beat a string of top stars to win the Scottish League’s goal of the month competition.

Tommy McKay, 32, who lost a leg through cancer as a child, netted from the edge of the 18-yard box during a half-time competition at the club’s Tannadice ground. The goal went viral after being posted on Facebook and was voted the month’s outstanding strike by fans in a poll.

“For us, associating McEwan Fraser Legal with Scottish football is a labour of love but it’s also a hard headed business decision. We recognise that the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish

Football league are powerful brands with big followings.”

He added that after a testing period which saw clubs such as Rangers, Hearts, Hibs and Dundee United fall into lower divisions, Scottish football was getting itself back into a stronger position.

Mr McEwan said: “Scottish football is getting stronger all the time. We believe it has a great future and we want to be part of that journey.

“Gates are healthy, TV viewing figures are on the rise and there’s some great football being played at grounds around the country. As a business we want to associate ourselves with success and there’s no better way of doing that than to support our great football clubs.” WEST of Shetland-focused Hurricane Energy has raised $520 million (£400m) to help develop a bumper oil find it made in a success that signals investors are excited about the potential of the area.

Hurricane said the funding should allow it to proceed with a plan to start production from the Lancaster field in 2019.

The Surrey-based firm reckons the Greater Lancaster Area 60 miles off Shetland could contain a billion barrels oil.

Hurricane secured the $520m backing from City investors in a fund-raising that was completed in a matter of hours.

Chief executive Robert Trice said the exercise provided a notable endorsement of the firm’s plans for Lancaster at a time when the crude price plunge has left many investors cool on the exploration and production sector.

“We see this as a landmark endorsement of the quality of our portfolio at a time when capital has not been readily available for E&P companies,” he said.

The results of two wells that Hurricane drilled recently underlined the potential of the company’s acreage West of Shetland. Hurricane has focused on a layer of granite that lies beneath the sandstone on which North Sea explorers have concentrated.

It will place £230m shares at 32p each, subject to approval from existing investors and issue £170m bonds. Hurricane shares closed down 4.5p at 32.5p.