PDG Helicopters bought out by Dollar Group

By PETER RANSCOMBE
Published on 21/06/2012 00:00

A HELICOPTER firm that has shot images for the James Bond and Harry Potter films has undergone a £1.8 million management buyout backed with funding from Clydesdale Bank.

Inverness-based PLM Dollar Group bought the stake from Maven Capital Partners, which is based in Glasgow, and cancelled the shares, leaving the ownership in the hands of the Laing family and management.

Clydesdale Bank provided £900,000 to fund the deal, with the remaining cash coming from the business, which trades as PDG Helicopters and turns over about £12m a year.

PDG Helicopters – which has bases in Aberdeen, Dublin, Glasgow and Wolverhampton – has customers including Network Rail, for which it carries out aerial surveys of 20,000 miles of track throughout the UK.

Chief executive Jerry Francis said the firm had also carried out work for films including Braveheart and Rob Roy and TV series including Monty Halls’ Great Escape and Hidden Talent.