Oil and gas firm Parkmead Group has completed a £4.9 million deal to buy farmland majority-owned by the wife of chief executive Tom Cross.
The acquisition of Pitreadie Farm, a business set up in 2015 and owning extensive acreage in Aberdeenshire, heralds Parkmead’s entry into the renewables sector.
In line with the deal, announced by London-listed Parkmead late last month, 9.6m new ordinary shares of 1.5p each will be admitted to trading on AIM today.
Mr Cross’s wife, Linda, owned 75% of Pitreadie Farm and had a director’s loan of £4.3m, which will be settled in Parkmead shares. The remaining 25% was owned by Kevan Smith, who will also receive shares.
In addition, Parkmead, based in Aberdeen, also takes on £3.6m worth of Bank of Scotland debt held by Pitreadie.
Announcing the deal last month, Mr Cross said the land was well-suited to the installation of wind turbines, solar farms and biomass production facilities.
One of the acquired sites is located about 15 miles west of Aberdeen and spans 1,238 acres.
Mr Cross said the move into renewables was a “natural transition” for Parkmead and “in line” with the firm’s strategy of “balancing” its portfolio.
But Mr Cross insisted Parkmead was not “easing off” oil and gas projects.
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