WITH a series of oil firms posting big increases in profits following the rise in the oil price since late 2016, a recruitment entrepreneur’s experience suggests conditions in the supply chain are improving after a long downturn.

Name:

Mark Lombardi.

Age:

57.

What is your business called?

Ably Resources Limited.

Where is it based?

Glasgow / Dubai / Malta.

What services does it offer?

A broad range of activities covering recruitment, selection, crew management contracts and payroll services.

To whom does it sell?

Our clients operate in multiple locations in the Oil & Gas, Property & Infrastructure, Drilling, Marine, Subsea and Professional Services sectors.

What is its turnover?

In 2017 turnover was £3.7m; 2018 is predicted to be £8m.

How many employees?

We started with seven in the team at the time of our management buy-out in January 2016. We are recruiting our 20th member of staff.

When was it formed?

2005.

Why did you take the plunge?

Having been in recruitment for 32 years and very fortunate to have been part of two previous MBOs, the opportunity to be involved in a third was something I relished.

I have worked through four recessions and four recoveries in recruitment and knew the timing was right. The market had been in decline for two years but the signs were there that it had bottomed, the crude price was $28 per barrel and our operator clients were beginning to hire again.

Following the MBO, we very deliberately developed a strategy to identify clients who could outsource staffing projects to us and where we could work in partnership by adding value to their supply chain. We were initially awarded two small projects in Singapore and Indonesian waters to cut our teeth. This then coincided with a completely new five-year project in the Mediterranean which we tendered for and won.

Following this we have won two further contracts in West Africa, a second one in The Netherlands and recently a commissioning project in China. These projects have been largely driven by the recovery in the oil and gas sector and a desire by our clients to develop relationships with external partners. Apart from the two West African projects, where we replaced existing suppliers, the projects are new, generating long term employment for 80-plus personnel.

Against the backdrop of an improving market and an increasing barrel price we have been very fortunate to gain a number of major players as new clients.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

Our business was a subsidiary of a large oil services group (Denholm Oilfield Services), where we were undoubtedly a drain on their resources and probably a distraction they could do without. As a member of the executive at Ably Resources, working with a great core team through a very severe recession, I knew that we should try and make a go of it as an independent, and agreed on a share purchase.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

A combination of directors’ loans and cash flow... our previous owners were extremely supportive.

What was your biggest break?

Winning a $15 million contract in the Mediterranean to supply and manage a very prestigious project which has now culminated in two further two-year contracts in West Africa worth $12 million.

The contracts cover recruitment and crew management projects where we do much more than source and recruit: we manage the mobilisation and de-mobilisation of candidates, visa applications, medicals, credential verification and referencing, arranging training, managing payrolls and at times act as an outsourced HR function…and that can be before 8.00am!

What was your worst moment?

Realising our armed security weren’t going to make it!

Having travelled to Lagos, Nigeria, for an important meeting with our client, Worley Parsons, one of Australia’s largest engineering companies, our security called ahead to say they were going to be very delayed in the Lagos traffic. Worley were managing the detailed topside design and engineering for the $3.2 billion FPSO Egina build project.

Our normal armed security amounted to a guard in the front of our vehicle with a machine gun and an armed driver who used to drive gold bullion trucks in Nigeria, together with a pick-up truck behind us with flashing lights, sirens and two more machine guns. Having established that we were going to be late if we waited for them to arrive, my colleague Nadim Shema and myself decided to risk it and grab a taxi. Our worst moment was when we realised as we were stuck in the same Lagos traffic, we were sitting there exposed but with no security! Never before had we felt so vulnerable and all because we didn’t want to be late.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

I started in recruitment before fax machines, e-mail, the internet or Skype calls were ever used! 30 years ago you sent a CV in the post to an International client, waited two or three months until a visiting partner interviewed your candidate in London and then an offer letter arrived two weeks later, hopefully. Today you submit the CV, organise the Skype or WhatsApp interview for the same evening and by the following morning the offer is accepted! The speed and reach you can achieve in business today is phenomenal.

We operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week because our Iranian clients start their working week on a Saturday, the Middle East start on a Sunday and with clients from Korea to Houston we have to be available across different time zones.

What do you least enjoy?

Red tape and the administration required to operate in multiple locations. Whilst unable to influence the oil price or exchange rates, trying to second guess them is tiring.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

To deliver a name in the global market that is synonymous with trust, integrity, innovation and value.

What are your five top priorities?

Expanding our team to meet the increasing demands of our clients;

Being recognised as a partner who adds value in our sector;

Growing and diversifying our client base;

Security for staff and candidates;

Having fun!

What single thing would most help?

More funding to support the countless opportunities available.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

Provide more support for small businesses with global ambitions.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

Never give up... view problems as challenges and don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

How do you relax?

Curling, with and without my wife Ceinwen, and holidaying with our three children.

Golf comes a distant third.