Ramco Tubular Services (RTS) has collapsed into administration, with all 29 workers at its headquarters in Portlethen, near Aberdeen, made redundant.
RTS businesses in Senegal, the Middle East, China and Romania continue to operate.
It is thought attempts will be made to find a buyer for these.
Administrators at global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) blamed the energy service company’s woes on a challenging economic conditions, and oil and gas price volatility.
RTS specialises in the care and maintenance of tubular goods for the global oil and gas industry.
© Supplied by thinkPRIt has bases in Norway, Romania, China and the Middle East, as well as at Portlethen.
Founded in 1977, RTS was for a long time part of SeaEnergy forerunner Ramco Energy.
It was at the heart of a £30 million takeover 10 years ago, when Lloyds Development Capital – the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group – bought it off Teasses Capital.
Accounts lodged at Companies House suggest there is no longer any single controlling party for either RTS or its ultimate parent, Ramco Acquisition.
Jonny Marston, Rob Croxen and Ben Cairns of Alvarez & Marsal Europe have been appointed as joint administrators of both RTS and Ramco Acquisition.
Some firms trading under the umbrella of Ramco Pipetech Holdings, including an Aberdeen operation and international subsidiaries, are not part of the administration.
RTS snapped up Norway’s Pipetech International in a multimillion-pound deal in 2014.
End of the road for Portlethen HQ
As a result of the administration, RTS’s site in Badentoy Park, Portlethen, will be closed.
New York-based A&M confirmed all 29 employees there were made redundant.
Mr Marston, managing director, A&M, said: “The oil and gas services sector has been under significant pressure in recent years, resulting from the challenging economic environment and volatility in energy prices.
“As administrators, we will wind down the group’s UK operations and ensure its remaining international businesses realise as much value as possible for creditors.”
Accounts not filed
RTS and Ramco Acquisition failed to submit their 2021 accounts before a Companies House deadline of December 31 last year.
The last accounts filed for RTS, for 2020, show losses of £952,000, against profits of £86,000 the year before.
Turnover for the latest period was £8.3m, down from about £9.1m previously.
Ramco Acquisition’s accounts for the same year show pre-tax losses of £5.2m, which followed a trading shortfall of £4.4m the year before.
Turnover in the latest period totalled £26.4m, down from £29.4m previously.
In his review of 2020 trading, the then group chief executive Russel Davies said profitability was hit by market pressures in the UK.
He also cited UK pipeline cleaning business restructuring and “joint venture performance relating to international expansion”.
Looking ahead, reduced activity levels due to Covid-19 were expected to be offset by “new opportunities and the continued development of new technologies”.
© Supplied by -UK markets accounted for 30% of group turnover in 2020, when Ramco Acquisition businesses employed 226 people, on average.
Mr Davies was previously group managing director of Aberdeen-based Dominion Gas.