Additional Information

Significant personal milestones.


 Lyle Offshore Group Limited.

I joined Lyle Shipping Company in February 1975 as a precursor to moving to Lyle Offshore Group (LOG) shortly thereafter. LOG was a specialist North Sea shipping and services group. I was initially the LOG company accountant but within 2 years I had been promoted to Group Company Secretary and Group CFO of Lyle Offshore Group reporting to a non-executive board. Within 3 years of its launch, Lyle Offshore was generating group revenues in excess of £20M and was making pre-tax profits of over £2.5M on shareholders’ funds of £3.8M. I was responsible for all group finances including audit, banking relationships, tax planning and shareholder relations. Lyle Offshore’s principal investors were 12 major investment institutions.

 Ivory & Sime plc.

I was responsible for managing unlisted investments that cost in excess of £30M. These ranged from early stage companies to major buy-outs. Of note was my instigating and securing the services of Cazenove as the brokers / advisers to a Luxembourg investment fund of which I was a co-manager; instrumental in achieving the re-listing of MFI on the London Stock Exchange ; backing a buy-out that subsequently produced a 10 times profit on the original investment and, finally, working with the corporate venturing arm of a major US Pharmaceutical company on a new start-up. I was subsequently asked to join the board of the developing company by the US backers.

 Adaptive Venture Managers PLC.

I established AVM with two colleagues in 1995 and grew it to the stage of a successful AIM listing at the end 1999. During that period, a client of AVM was also successfully listed on OFEX.
Total funds raised for AVM and its clients were approximately £8.75M thus allowing me to gain significant experience and awareness of all factors and details associated with successful private and public fundraisings. I was latterly asked to contribute to the structure document that launched Scottish Enterprise’s Co-investment Fund.

 Non-executive directorships.

I have over 30 man-years of non-executive directorship experience.

Non-executive directorships.

1981-2 Fenton Barnes (Scotland) Limited- integrated food production and processing company. Relaunch and refinance.
1981-2 Wavebreaker Marine Limited – specialist steel fab. Failed 1984 following illness of owner.
1981-2 Ronnoco Limited – safety products, early stage.
1981-2 Gaeltec Limited– miniaturised medical devices. Development and expansion.
1981-3 MI Instruments Limited – process control instruments. Creditors’ voluntary 1986 following owner’s terminal illness.
1983-5 Omega Limited – hand-held computerised sales-aid devices.
1983-7 Stepp Electronics Limited – electronic musical instruments. Product development to launch. Sold
1983-5 Expert Software International Limited – AI based software. Members’ voluntary.
1991-5 Deltron / Roxburgh Electronics Limited – specialist distributor of electronic
devices. MBI/MBO to Main Board listing.
1995-6 SEEL – wide area high security networks.
1995-8 Transgenomic Ltd – synthetic DnA production & chemicals. US Glaxo corporate venturing a major investor.
2000-03 Full Immersion Television Limited – highly advanced software for 3-d data transmission.
1981-2000 3 Charities – all limited by guarantee
1995-2005 Beaconhurst School – independent school.