Business news in brief: Troy Income & Growth Trust | Welcome Break | Bridge Energy

JANN Brown, chief financial officer at Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy, has joined the board of Troy Income & Growth Trust as a non-executive director.

Troy chairman Ronnie Hanna – who also chairs Irn-Bru maker AG Barr and oil explorer Bowleven – said Brown will replace Ian Boyd as chair of the trust’s audit committee.

Hanna said: “Ian has given exceptional service for more than 20 years. We have valued his insights, commitment and counsel, and wish him well.”

Brown spent much of her career with KPMG before joining Cairn in 1998 as group tax manager.

£350m debt deal for Welcome Break

Motorway service area operator Welcome Break has completed a £350 million refinancing of its debt facilities.

Chief executive Rod McKie said the move provided a “great platform” for growth at the business and the brands at its sites, which include Starbucks and Waitrose. Chairman Darren Kyte added: “This successful refinancing in challenging banking markets is a tribute to the robust underlying performance of the business.”

Welcome Break operates 29 sites, including services on the M74 at Abington and A74(M) at Gretna Green.

Bridge Energy loses financial director

STOCK market newcomer Bridge Energy lost its finance director yesterday, just months after the Aberdeen-based oil explorer joined the Alternative Investment Market (Aim).

Eystein Westgaard resigned from his post but will remain with the North Sea driller until 16 April “to assist with an orderly handover”.

Bridge said: “The board would like to thank Eystein for his contribution to the business during his tenure and wishes him well for the future.”

The company added that it had already begun looking for a replacement for Westgaard.

Burgess builds stake in Havelock Europa

PRIVATE investor Andrew Burgess has restarted his stake-building in Fife-based shopfitter Havelock Europa.

Burgess snapped up 62,500 shares at 15.8p each, taking his holding back up to 7,345,062 shares, or 19.06 per cent of the company. The investor sold 50,000 shares at 10p each last summer to take his holding down to 18.92 per cent.

In 2011, Burgess – a former group finance director at Lincolnshire-based Paragon Print & Packaging – began building a stake in Havelock, which is run by chief executive Eric Prescott.