Craneware chiefs bank millions as value soars

THE co-founders of Craneware, one of Scotland's most successful AIM flotations of recent years, have banked millions of pounds in profits after selling shares for the first time since it listed.

The market value of the Livingston-based software company – founded with just 50,000 of seed capital a decade ago – has more than tripled since it joined AIM at 128p in September 2007.

Last week the shares rose as high as 430p, taking the market value past 105 million.

Chief executive Keith Neilson, a former Balerno High School pupil who studied physics at Heriot-Watt University, sold just over 2m worth of shares but still holds a personal stake in the company which is now worth 13.9m after continued strong gains in the share price.

Chief technology officer Gordon Craig – a childhood friend of Neilson and co-founder of the business – sold just over 1m worth of shares but also retains a stake in the company worth over 12m. Together, the two men own more that 25 per cent of the company.

Non-executive director Neil Heywood, the co-founder of Scottish technology group Quadstone who is now managing director of Matrix Trading Systems, also top-sliced his stake, selling 30,000 of shares to leave him with a holding worth 524,000.

Two Scottish fund managers are also sitting on bumper profits from their long-term backing of Craneware.

Artemis and Standard Life together own some 21 per cent of the company.

It is thought most of the company's Livingston-based workforce are also shareholders in the business.

The share price rise came after the company announced a five-year deal with US-based healthcare provider Premier.

The company already works with Premier but the new deal is a five-year agreement with minimum value of $15m and revenues from the deal will become "meaningful" in its 2011-12 financial year.

Craneware's products help hospitals improve their financial management. It focuses on the US market and has offices in Florida, Arizona and Kansas, employing over 100 staff.

The company is expected to be a major beneficiary of US president Barack Obama's healthcare reforms whichfocus on improving IT systems.

Neilson and Craig, both now in their early 40s, were childhood friends whooriginally funded their idea for a business using interest-free credit cards before getting seed capital.