Aberdeen metal reprocessing, tubular supply and decommissioning company John Lawrie Group has been acquired by its management as it gears up for an expansion of its business in the UK and USA.

The Group, which was founded in 1930 by metal merchant John Lawrie in Aberdeen, and still has its headquarters in the city, is one of Scotland’s largest privately-owned businesses with bases in Montrose, Evanton near Invergordon, and Houston, USA.

Four members of the Group’s management team, and existing shareholders, – Vic Sinclair, CEO; Charlie Parker, financial director; operations director, Dave Weston; and Tubulars director, Iain Laing – have bought out the majority shareholder in partnership with Rubicon Partners, a leading industrial investor, and principal investment firm Grovepoint.

Bank of Scotland and Santander have together provided banking facilities to support the acquisition.

John Lawrie has three divisions providing metal recycling and reprocessing, decommissioning, and steel tubular services to the oil and gas, construction and utility sectors in the UK and from its US bases in Houston, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Opportunities for growth have been identified across the three divisions. With more than two decades of experience in decommissioning projects, a key focus for the Group will continue to be the North Sea decommissioning sector, in which an estimated £17 billion will be spent over the next decade.

These growth plans will continue to be supported by environmental director Ray Grant who has been a key member of the management team since 2007. Following the acquisition, all existing staff will remain to help grow the business.

Finance director Charlie Parker, an Aberdeen University graduate and Chartered Accountant, successfully led the transaction on behalf of the executive team, said: “John Lawrie is a business with a proud past and an exciting future. We are delighted to be partnering with new investors, who have an established pedigree of working with industrial sector enterprises, to drive new opportunities and value creation. We have a clear strategy for growth and that’s good news for all our stakeholders.”

CEO Vic Sinclair added: “The commitment of the senior management team has helped make John Lawrie the industry leader it is today. We enter this exciting new era as a financially strong and ambitious business backed by new investors who will help us drive further organic growth in both the UK and USA across all three of our divisions. We also intend to pursue new markets, including through acquisitions, in this partnership with Rubicon and Grovepoint.”