A LEADING Scottish businessman said last night that he quit his director’s post at a safety equipment group to “protect my reputation” after raising concerns about the way the company was being run.
Calum Melville and his brother, Stuart, were suspended from their top jobs as bosses launched a probe into business practices at Cosalt’s offshore division in Aberdeen on Monday.
Mr Melville broke his silence yesterday to say that the allegations made against him were “wholly unfounded”.
He denied speculation that he was planning to set up a rival firm in the north-east.
Despite his sudden exit from Cosalt, the 41-year-old will remain a director at Dundee Football Club, which has been given assurances that his investment in the Dens Park side will be unaffected.
Cosalt Offshore was set up three years ago after the Melville brothers sold their previous company, GTC, to the Grimsby-based group for an estimated £30million.
Mr Melville, who had been head of Cosalt’s offshore division, was also given a position on the board – but now says he has lost all confidence in his colleagues. “It is with regret that I have formally tendered my resignation from Cosalt with immediate effect,” he said in a statement last night.
“Having raised several serious concerns about the running of the business with the chief executive officer recently, I was totally shocked that their response was to suspend me on wholly unfounded allegations.
“Having sold GTC to Cosalt three years ago, my brother and I have remained committed to the company and have at all times acted in the best interests of the business.
“Regrettably, I have now lost all confidence in the board and have no alternative but to resign to protect my reputation and professional integrity.
“I am taking legal advice and am not prepared to comment any further on the matter.”
Mr Melville, who lives in Rubislaw Den South in Aberdeen, registered a new firm with Companies House on May 26.
He is the sole shareholder in the new venture, which has been named C51 Limited.
But last night he denied claims that the company was created to rival Cosalt Offshore.
“This company is a new and unrelated business opportunity outwith Aberdeen,” he said. “I have several other private business ventures which I will continue to pursue.”
Stuart Melville, 45, who lives in Carden Place and is the operations director at Cosalt Offshore, has not been listed on the new company’s records.
Last night, Cosalt said it could not comment on the nature of its investigation.
A spokeswoman said: “Cosalt is carrying out an internal review of the operating practices of the group’s business in Aberdeen at present and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time. Cosalt Offshore’s day-to-day operations are not affected in any way and the group is continuing to work with customers as normal.”
Cosalt Offshore employs 240 people in Aberdeen and about 100 in Stavanger, Norway, and Lowestoft, Suffolk. It provides lifting, tooling and marine services to the oil and gas industry.
Calum Melville started his first business with his father at the age of 21. They had identified a niche in the market to provide quality lifting equipment and services to the offshore market.
The business name changed to GTC and Mr Melville and his brother took over the running of the company eight years ago.
Several approaches were made for GTC but were resisted before Cosalt came along in 2007 and struck a deal worth up to £30million. The operation then became Cosalt Offshore.
In addition to brokering the GTC-Cosalt deal, the Melville brothers – previously reported to be worth a combined £100million – had built a property business.
In March last year, Mr Melville was appointed to the board of Dundee FC. He is reported to have spent in excess of £1million in little more than a year, but the club failed to win promotion to the Scottish Premier League.
The club’s recently-appointed chief executive, Harry MacLean, is understood to have held a phone conversation with Mr Melville on Monday morning, when he was given an assurance Dundee would be unaffected by his business troubles.
Mr McLean, who was promoted from commercial director only last week, said: “This is a personal matter between Calum and Cosalt and not something for us to comment on.”