SOUNDINGS of international executives by big four accountant Ernst & Young have found that the appetite for mergers and acquisitions is returning in boardrooms across the world.

That may be good news for people whose efforts to sell businesses have been complicated by the fall-out from the credit crunch. This week, however, we hear from the son of a Scot who built a global oil services empire whose efforts to expand his leisure business have been complicated by the big prices that people have been putting on their firms despite the recession.

Name: Garreth Wood

Age: 31

What is your business called?

Signature Pub Group

Where is it based?

Aberdeen and Edinburgh

What does it produce or what services does it offer?

We are a Scottish licensing chain. We own and operate five establishments across Scotland including two in Aberdeen (Paramount Bar and The Bieldside) and three in Edinburgh (The Rutland Hotel, Element Bar and The Black Bull).

To whom does it sell?

Our clientele spans young professionals, students, wine connoisseurs, mature patrons and foreign visitors (in Edinburgh especially).

What is its turnover?

£6m+

How many employees?

200

When was it formed?

In 2003 after my brother Nic and I went to America and visited 900 bars in two months. We clocked up 30-50 venues a day and although at the time

most of our friends and family saw it as a glorified pub crawl, we did actually work hard and used this to research the market and collate ideas. It was on our return from that trip that we launched Signature Pub Group, and purchased The Bieldside in Aberdeen that June for £700,000.

Why did you take the plunge?

When we returned from the US I was totally driven and motivated to start my own business and that was when Signature was born. Although I started the business with no establishments, it wasn’t long before the opportunity came up to buy the Bieldside. Then, within weeks of that acquisition, one of Aberdeen’s most reputable bar and restaurant units – Café Society – came on the market too. It was too good an opportunity to miss out on so I went for it and that is when my brother Nic joined the business too.

What were you doing before you started the business?

I was running a small bistro-style restaurant in Aberdeen. The restaurant was a new business and so I had to start from scratch – which included furnishing the premises and attracting, interviewing, employing and training a full complement of staff – all on a budget of £12,000. It was this experience that gave me the inspiration to start my own business.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

We started out with private family funding – obviously that has its own complications and indeed associations but between us we had 19 years experience and have built the business under our own steam and worked hard to get where we are today.

What was your biggest break?

The purchase of Aberdeen’s Café Society, which we sold three years later. Selling the business was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. It was my first bar, I had put blood, sweat and tears into making it a success and practically lived there for the three years we ran it. We had attempted to get a later licence from the council to further develop the premises but were unsuccessful. This limited what else we could do with the business and although it was a hard decision to sell, it was the right one. We sold the business for over £1m profit which has funded our expansion into Edinburgh.

What was your worst moment?

On the back of the sale of Café Society I had to make between 35-40 staff redundant which was single handedly the hardest thing I have ever had to do. We tried our very best to relocate as many of the staff as possible but ultimately, there were still

job losses.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

Seeing our ideas come to life. We have strategically cherry picked each of the units in the Signature portfolio based on our own vision for them (that and profitability of course). We are still on the acquisition trail now and I really enjoy doing the ground work for this – its rewarding to see the business keep going from strength to strength.

What do you least enjoy?

The lack of consistency in local councils that pass major changes in licensing laws that affect the way we operate our business.

What is your biggest bugbear?

We are actively looking for opportunities to expand the business but the problem is people see the Wood boys and propose ridiculous prices. Unfortunately people need to be realistic, we are not going to spend unwisely or pay over the odds for something – we’re in a recession but you wouldn’t think so if you were to see some of the prices that have been proposed to us for acquiring new units.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

To double the size of the business in the next two years – both in terms of the number of units and our annual turnover.

What are your top priorities?

People development and staff welfare. In my role as a trustee of the Wood Family Trust, I have become an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust Get Into Cooking programme, a scheme that supports young people in Scotland not in education, employment or training to gain skills to carve out a career in the restaurant or hospitality industry. Many of our staff play an increasingly important role in this, acting as mentors and placement providers to the benefit of themselves and the young people in the scheme.

What single thing would most help your work?

Greater support from other businesses in Scotland. For example, The Prince’s Trust Get Into Cooking

programme is currently looking for more businesses in Scotland to provide placement opportunities for young people. Waiting somewhere in the wings could be the next Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver but businesses will never uncover the hidden talents of youngsters if they don’t get involved and play their part. Businesses need to nurture future talent.

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

Offer longer-term support to organisations which assist disadvantaged young people to get into employment and/or further training. This is particularly relevant given the current economic climate as, undoubtedly, it is this demographic which will be hardest hit by the recession.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

My dad, (Sir Ian Wood), has always reiterated to me that people are the most important assets in any business. This lesson has taught me that it is essential to invest in people and also consider the human aspect when making decisions.

How do you relax?

Well, I live on a farm and we have a range of animals from goats and cows to cats and dogs and that commitment means I don’t get much downtime, but home is where I feel most relaxed. I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie to be honest and love driving fast cars but my first passion is travelling – getting away from it all with my

wife Nicola.