A new company said yesterday it had acquired key parts of Aberdeen oil field products firm Stable, which went into administration in August.
Paradigm Oilfield Services Limited (POSL) is paying a six-figure sum for the remaining trade and certain assets of Stable Holdings, Stable Services, Stable Leasing and Holsco. Stable employed 79 people in the city before the administration, but this has since been cut to just a handful.
POSL said that, as a result of a number of potential contract wins, it planned to recruit 25 people to add to the current five posts.
POSL is a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Paradigm Group.
The acquisition of Stable is said to be part of the group’s growth strategy of buying technology-led oil and gas companies with a track record of excellent service delivery.
Paradigm Group chief executive Fraser Innes said: “Stable had experienced dramatic growth and we’re in a position to realise this growth and to continue to deliver on the company’s future potential with sufficient funding to support this.
“There is potential for a significant increase in staff numbers over the coming 12 months.”
The deal was initiated by Simon Cowie, a partner at north-east accountant Hall Morrice and head of its corporate finance and business advisory team.
He said: “The company had a healthy order book, but was unable to secure additional funding to enable it to deliver on its orders.
“It had experienced a period of outstanding growth from a turnover of £7million to more than £29million in less than three years and POSL was able to see the undoubted potential of this acquisition.”
Stable chief executive Rod Coffey had been a director at International Tubular Services in Aberdeen before buying a stake in Stable in 2005. The following year, he bought the company.
Following the administration, more than 50 parties expressed an interest in buying Stable.
Joint administrator Bruce Cartwright, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, said there had been significant interest from home and abroad.