Alasdair locke biography of donald
Russell Findlay unveils new Scottish Conservative chair as ...!
Alasdair locke biography of donald
THE BIG PROFILE - ALASDAIR LOCKE: Locke still key to Abbot's success
When Abbot Group was sold to US private equity giant First Reserve for £906m, warning bells were ringing loudly for many. Could one of Scotland's major players in the oil and gas industry be in trouble?
But Alasdair Locke is quick to put the record straight.
The executive chairman at the Aberdeen-headquartered oil and gas drilling contractor says the decision was taken purely on operational grounds.
"There was clearly a feeling amongst a number of our institutional shareholders which was pretty surprising," he explains.
"They questioned the board's strategy; they questioned the valuation and wanted us to spend our time on paying debt down.
"I don't object to that normally, but when I'm looking at an improving market where I'm getting ever better contracts, terms, rates and periods, why would I want to throttle back?"
Abbot's share price at that time was -