Stirling consultant taken over by bosses

THREE directors of a Stirling-based recruitment consultant have completed a management buyout of the business.

Long-serving executives John-paul Toner, Julie Fleming and Alan Shave have acquired Contract Scotland from founder Colin Woodward, who has taken on an advisory role further to the deal.

Contract Scotland, which specialises in technical and professional recruitment, employs 25 people, turning over £14 million.

Mr Toner, who has been with the company for 18 years, is now majority shareholder, with Ms Fleming and Mr Shave having acquired “notable” stakes.

Mr Toner said: “Colin has built a successful and respected company over the last 30 years which has redefined recruitment. Succession planning has always been high on the agenda and having developed my own career here and been part of the company’s journey, I’m excited and enormously proud to be part of the leadership team shaping its future. Together with Julie and Alan, our ambition is to build on the legacy Colin has created, and retain the values and ethics that the business was founded on that are an integral part of our culture.”

NORTH Sea-focused NEO Energy has clinched another bumper acquisition in the area as it continues its rapid expansion despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis.

The private equitybacked firm has agreed to buy Zennor Petroleum for up to $625 million (£450m).

The deal will give the firm stakes in a portfolio of fields in the area and allow it to add around 40 million barrels

It has been announced two weeks after NEO cemented its standing as one of the leading independents in the North Sea by agreeing to acquire the bulk of the portfolio amassed by US giant Exxonmobil for around $1bn.

NEO’S chief executive, Russ Alton, said the Zennor deal underlined the scale of the company’s ambitions in terms of the UK North Sea.

It will continue the shake-up in the area, which has accelerated amid the fallout from the coronavirus crisis.

This triggered a sharp fall in oil prices last year in response to which some firms decided to reduce exposure to the North

Sea.

A range of firms have sold North Sea assets to raise funds to invest in areas in which they see more potential. Exxonmobil is increasing investment in US shale fields and offshore Guyana.

However, some investors have decided the downturn has created opportunities to acquire assets at attractive prices.

The Brent crude price has rallied in recent months amid the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and moves by major exporters such as Saudi Arabia to limit production to support the market. The price rose above $70 per barrel on Sunday for the first time since the Covid19 pandemic started. It rose that day following attacks on Saudi facilities.

NEO is backed by Norway’s Hitecvision and acquired a big North Sea portfolio from France’s Total last year.

Zennor won backing from the Kerogen Capital investment business to buy North Sea assets during the last downturn.