Parkmead cuts loss

Oil and gas-focused investor and adviser Parkmead Group has been transformed by the November 2009 purchase of energy sector consultancy Aupec. Cost savings have been made by moving the Parkmead operations into Aupec's Aberdeen office and Aupec has also boosted group revenues. Aupec, was a spin out from the University of Aberdeen in 1986, has a customer base of major oil companies, governments, financial institutions and oil services companies. Three-quarters of its revenues are from a three-year contract with a government in the developing world. Parkmead's revenues grew from £161,000 to £2.35m in the year to June 2010 and the loss was cut from £6.33m to £1.41m. The losses and write-downs on investments fell from £4.18m to £464,000. Net cash was £291,000 and non-current financial assets were £5.38m at the end of June 2010. Parkmead's main investments are in AIM-quoted Faroe Petroleum, exploration technology company Reservoir Exploration Technologies ASA and Transeuro Energy Corporation, a Canadian explorer. It also has some technology investments from the past when the company was known as Interregnum. Those investments have been completely written down.