Nick Dalgarno on why energy is key to Scotland’s economy

Nick Dalgarno has spent almost three decades backing Scotland’s energy industry and the vital spark that it gives the country’s economy.

The Piper Sandler dealmaker was awarded the Outstanding Contribution award at the Scotland Dealmakers Awards, a new category introduced at this year’s event.

Judging chair Brian Aitken of Nevis Capital presented the accolade at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central on November 11.

It comes in what is shaping up to be the best year ever for Piper Sandler’s Aberdeen office.

The team has closed eleven deals worth more than $1.3bn so far, and a further $800m of signed transactions is progressing to completion.

“It’s a great achievement in the current macro climate, and it’s been a real team effort,” Nick said.

“Of course, the key to success is to back it up year after year, and as I look at our pipeline, I think we’re well on the way to doing that.”

One of those deals was the sale of Balmoral Comtec, in which Piper Sandler acted for the seller, Balmoral Group.

Freudenberg Flow Technologies completed the acquisition on May 15, adding Balmoral Comtec’s buoyancy, cable protection and insulation technologies to its offshore energy and subsea portfolio.

Headquartered in Aberdeen, Balmoral Comtec employs more than 400 people and has delivered over 4,500 projects since its founding in 1980, roughly 80 per cent of them international.

The deal was shortlisted after being put forward by Freeths, which acted for the buyer, Freudenberg.

Nick said it was poignant to see it nominated the day after the death of Sir Jim Milne, whom he called one of the titans of the North Sea.

Sir Jim founded the Balmoral Group in 1980 with just five employees.

Nick heads Piper Sandler’s Eastern Hemisphere energy and power corporate finance team from Aberdeen, and has advised on M&A transactions across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and beyond.

He was a corporate lawyer specialising in oil service M&A at Paull & Williamsons and vice president of commercial and legal at ASCO before joining Simmons & Company in 2003.

He is also a founding trustee of Sport Challenge, which has raised more than £1m for Scottish charities.

“I joined Simmons and Company 23 years ago and I wanted to dominate our local market,” he said.

“I feel we’ve achieved that, but we’ve also delivered on transactions all over the world.”

He believes the market is coming back to energy and overseas buyers still see quality in Aberdeen and North Sea businesses, and the subsea sector, which he says north-east firms led, has recovered over the past two years.

“Our business in Aberdeen was built around oil and gas services and equipment companies, and we’ve been huge advocates of that market and for our clients throughout, he said.

“Particularly in the last decade, when other advisers, investors and lenders turned their backs on the sector and got caught up in the modern trend of believing something to be correct simply because you want it to be correct.

“Ambitions without substance are always dangerous, in any walk of life.”

That has not meant standing still and Nick talks about “energy addition”, the idea that growth needs more energy of every type.

Offshore wind has become a significant part of the business, alongside newer themes such as energy-to-industrials and defence and the security of critical offshore assets.

“We’ve been consistently adapting and growing our market and our business while recognising the fundamental truth that energy is the economy,” he said.

He is clear about where that conviction comes from.

“I tend to say what I think is right, and I stuck by our clients because I believe they were being unfairly maligned, and they’ve got great businesses in a sector that matters to all of us.”

“I’m not someone that blows with the wind and always feels the need to say what other people want them to say.” he said.