10,000 Champions: Mark Cavanagh of XPD8
Former oil worker Mark Cavanagh has seen his consultancy XPD8 valued at £6m.
Mark Cavanagh started his career on the oil rigs, before starting the Aberdeen oil and gas consultancy XPD8. This week, in a management buyout led by Maven Capital Partners, some £2m has been injected into the firm, valuing it at around £6m. The Herald estimates Cavanagh will make £1m from the deal, which will leave him with a significant minority holding. A couple of years ago, Cavanagh invested £400,000 in Fusion, a new bistro in Aberdeen's North Silver Street.
XPD8 makes predictive computer programmes, which tell rig operators when equipment needs to be replaced (BP could have done with some of those).
Other key people in the deal: XPD8 management team of Neil Arthur, Gordon Ellis, Mike Noble and Scott Morrison, who become shareholders in the business; former Bank of Scotland integrated finance specialist John Duncan, who joins as FD; and Allan Merritt who joins as chairman.