Appointment of James McColl as a Non-Exec Director

Amigo Holdings PLC

30 August 2024

 

Amigo Holdings PLC

("Amigo" or the "Company")

Appointment of James ("Jim") McColl as a Non-Executive Director

Amigo Holdings PLC (LSE: AMGO), a provider of mid-cost credit in the UK that is currently in an orderly solvent wind-down, announces that Jim McColl will join the Board as a Non-Executive Director. Jim's appointment as a Non-Executive Director is expected to be effective from Sunday 1 September 2024.

On 28 March 2024, Amigo Holdings PLC announced that it had appointed Jim as a Board Consultant to assist the Board in identifying potential strategic opportunities for Amigo to continue as a listed company by way of a reverse takeover ("RTO"). The work on identifying potential RTO candidates continues to make meaningful progress, which would deliver some value to shareholders that would otherwise not be possible.  However, there can be no certainty that a reverse takeover will take place. As indicated in the March 2024 announcement, we are pleased to announce that Jim will now be joining the Amigo Board, effective from 1 September 2024.

Jim McColl brings nearly 30 years' experience of creating investor value by building businesses. Further background information on Jim McColl is set out in the Appendix below. 

Jim McColl is currently:

·   Chairman of Clyde Blowers

·   Founder & Non-Executive Director of Alba Bank

·   Chairman of Adam Smith Business School Strategic Advisory Board

·   Member of the Glasgow Economic Leadership Group

·   Member of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board

·   Member of the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board

Jonathan Roe, Chair said: "Since March, Jim has been a Board consultant assisting the Board in identifying potential strategic opportunities for Amigo to continue as a listed company by way of a reverse takeover. We are delighted that Jim has agreed to join Amigo's Board as a Non-Executive Director to continue to seek a better outcome for Amigo shareholders. There is no guarantee that a transaction will result, but with Jim's track record and work to date, we believe we have increased the possibility of being able to do so."

Jim McColl, Non-Executive Director said: "I have been working with the Amigo team for several months and have found them to be passionate and hard working.  I am delighted to join the Board at this time to help try to find a new role for Amigo. A particular area of interest will be to explore the opportunity to build Amigo through acquisition as a wealth management focused group, supporting SMEs and high net worth individuals, as well as potentially providing back-office software solutions to support other developing finance platforms."

Following the appointment of Jim, the total number of Directors on Amigo's Board will consist of three independent Non-Executive Directors, including the Chair, and one Executive Director.

Other than as set out in the Appendix to this announcement, there is no further information which is required to be disclosed pursuant to UKLR6.4.8 in relation to Jim McColl's appointment.

APPENDIX

Jim McColl has specialised in creating investor value by building businesses for nearly three decades. Over that period, he has invested in 20 platform acquisitions, overseen 15 exits including 2 public listings and led a number of public to private transactions, mergers, demergers, spin outs and turnarounds.

This has included the successful turnaround of Clyde Blowers plc, a small engineering company with a full listing on the London Stock Exchange, in which he bought a 29.9% stake in 1992. With a 3 % market share, he led the acquisition strategy of six of the company's seven global competitors capturing a 60% share of the world market over 5 years before taking the company private.

Over the past 30+ years Jim McColl has been the chief architect of significant expansion and growth for Clyde Blowers, developing the business into a portfolio of global engineering companies. 

In May 2007, the acquisition of Weir Pumps (Glasgow) from The Weir Group PLC was announced. The diverse portfolio of technologies, process knowledge and expertise generated by Weir Pumps was incorporated into a newly created company, Clyde Pumps Ltd, and in so doing 600 jobs and an important part of Scotland's engineering heritage was saved.  

In September 2008, Jim led the largest transaction in Clyde Blowers' history by acquiring the entire Fluid & Power Division of Textron Inc, an American Fortune 500 multi-industry company in a deal worth over $1 billion. This included a US company, Union Pumps, which was merged with Clyde Pumps in 2008 to form Clyde Union Pumps. The combined business was sold 3 years later in 2011 for a return of 4 x invested capital and a 60% IRR. 

More recently, in 2018, Jim founded AlbaCo (now Alba Bank) with a view to establishing a new Scottish based challenger Bank focussed on serving the SME market with dedicated relationship management and modern digital IT. Alba Bank expects to be awarded a full Banking Licence during the 2nd half of 2024 enabling it to take deposits and start lending.

Jim is actively involved in promoting enterprise and enterprise education with a particular interest in improving the life chances for disadvantaged young people. In 2014 he set up Newlands Junior College. His vision was to create a Junior College for young teenagers at risk of disengaging from local secondary schools that would give them support and opportunity to move on to a successful and rewarding future by providing alternative curricular programmes.

Newlands' alternative approach to their education in years S3 and S4 which, in addition to academic subjects, combined vocational training, life skills, nutrition and outdoor activities. 92.1% of the students achieved a positive outcome (moving into employment or further education) after graduating. It was an outstanding success.

Further UKLR6.4.8 disclosures 

Jim McColl was formerly a director of Ferguson Marine Engineering  (Holdings) Limited ("FMHE"), and its subsidiaries Ferguson Marine Engineering  Limited ("FME") and Mackellar Sub-Sea Limited ("MSS"). 

·   The directors of FME appointed administrators on 16 August 2019. Jim McColl ceased to be a director of FME on 23 August 2019. The business and assets of FME were sold by the administrators on 2 December 2019 to an entity established, owned and funded by Scottish Ministers and FME was dissolved on 17 November 2021 with a deficit to secured and unsecured creditors.

·   The directors of MSS appointed administrators to MSS on 22 October 2019. Jim McColl ceased to be a director of MSS on 9 December 2019 and MSS was dissolved on 7 July 2022 with a deficit to secured and unsecured creditors.

·   The directors of FMHE appointed administrators to FMHE on 22 October 2019. Jim McColl ceased to be a director of FMHE on 12 December 2019 and FMHE was dissolved on 19 January 2022 with a deficit to secured and unsecured creditors.

 

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