Alasdair locke biography sample

He was assigned to shipping and offshore oil. He stayed at Citibank for about eight years before moving to another financial institution, Ocean Finance Corporation, which specialised in the oil and gas sector. With his appetite whetted, Locke took the plunge and set up his own company in the Far East, putting together finance packages investing in ships and rigs.

The company was eventually bought by merchant bank Henry Ansbacher and it was time for him to move on once again. Having decided to go it alone again, Locke's initial idea was to invest in, and try and develop, the drilling side of the industry. Locke had the foresight to expect there to be consolidation in the North Sea and decided to grow the business in that area.

His first important decision was to be ruthless with the company that he had just bought, closing its offices in London, Reading and Aberdeen. It's easy to forget that at the end of the s and in the early s oil companies were operating under a lot of pressure, with BP almost going bust itself. According to Locke, this combination of circumstances meant the large firms were keen to outsource parts of their business, including the ownership and management of production rigs.

Relaxing in the boardroom in Abbot's Aberdeen office, Locke reflects: "I would be claiming foresight if I said I could see all that. I did think there was an opportunity. I didn't realise how big an opportunity, which is what we seized. While many industry commentators put forward the notion that Abbot is a company grown on acquisitions, Locke refutes the suggestion.

His view of consolidation taken all those years ago seems to have been prophetic.

Alasdair locke biography sample

Today, Abbot has just two competitors in terms of platform drilling in the North Sea. The other major acquisition he made was in when Abbot bought its only significant European competitor, Deutag, which Locke saw as being a very complementary business. At this stage, Abbot KCA had a very strong position in platform drilling, not only in the North Sea but also in the Caspian and in one or two other overseas locations.

However, it was still mainly North Sea, mainly platform drilling. It was my hand in my pocket and I felt like sharing the pain. As a move away from drilling, the company formed a joint venture with energy giant Powergen in wind energy that lasted for five years and which Locke describes as "hugely successful". Today, Abbot has plus land rigs, three offshore rigs and manages a further 12 offshore rigs.

It also has 38 platform contracts in different parts of the world. The business, which employs people worldwide, is active in some of the world's most dangerous environments including Siberia, the Middle East and West Africa. Locke - who lives in Dufftown, about half way between Aberdeen and Inverness - is very philosophical and unassuming about his success over the last 18 years.

It must rate highly among the success stories that have surrounded the oil and gas industry in the north-east of Scotland over 40 years. We identified the areas we wanted to grow in and set out to obtain a foothold in those markets and to grow the business, which we have done. We are very profitable, very cashflow positive - but we think the outlook over the next three to five years, particularly with our new shareholders, is very good for us.

I am sure we can do that. Alasdair Locke is quietly confident about the future and believes Abbot Group's strategy is just about right. That is what we are selling. We aim to be not necessarily the cheapest, but the best performance on the block. He adds that, under current market conditions and with the cost of drilling and services ever escalating, a good performance is critical to Abbot's success and the board's ability to grow the business.

As well as organic growth, Locke does not rule out using some of the capital raised from Abbot's sale to First Reserve. Some of the cash will also be used to buy new equipment in areas where demand is likely to increase in future years. Locke says: "We will continue to invest in new rigs. We are currently building them for our businesses in Russia and Belize.

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