World Fluids resumes trading under new name

WORLD Fluids, which is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, has changed it name to the Peterhead Group and completed its transformation to a crane and plant hire company.

The company, which was merely a shell company last year, had been suspended from the Irish Stock Exchange in November 1995. It has raised £8.85 million in a share placement of 12.5 million shares at 70p sterling a share. The company's shares resume trading today.

The company's chief executive, Mr David Symon, said yesterday that £4 million of the monies had been raised in Ireland. Institutional investors had been very supportive, he said.

The restructuring involved the takeover of Peterhead, a mobile crane operator in Scotland and Birchwood Services, a forklift company in the north of England and north Wales. It operates a fork lift truck dealership for Toyota. It also has a separate division known as Birchwood Sales, which hires and maintains fork lift trucks.

Mr Symon said Peterhead, which is the major asset of the three companies, is on course to increase its turnover from £8 million to £11 million and to make £2 million in pre tax profits next year.

The company paid £8.85 million for Peterhead which hires out operatives and heavy mobile cranes to a variety of companies different sectors.

Peterhead is the fifth largest company of its kind in Britain, according to Mr Symon, and has 120 cranes. It has a number of fixed contracts for the next five years with companies including Shell, Mobil, Total and Elf.

Mr Symon said the company had sought an investment which had good long term contracts providing strong cash flows. The total consideration for the acquired operations was £11.1 million.

He claimed the company had several other acquisitions in the pipeline and would also be looking for acquisitions in Ireland.

The company has just one remaining asset in Ireland, a quarry in Wicklow. Its life expectancy is for a further two years, Mr Symon said.