Dana shareholders hope to cash in as Cross shifts allegiance

MORE than 100 former Dana Petroleum shareholders are set to follow its outgoing chief executive Tom Cross to AIM-listed Parkmead Group, where he will next month become executive chairman.

Shareholders, who made a premium of more than 60 per cent on their investments when Dana was sold at 1,800p-per-share to the Korea National Oil Corporation, are keen to cash in on Cross's latest venture. Cross has already made it clear he intends to pursue rapid expansion at Parkmead by applying for a string of oil and gas exploration licences and targeting further acquisitions.

"The Dana deal got very good benefits for (its 6,500] shareholders," Cross told Scotland on Sunday. "More than 100 have said: 'Look, we're delighted with what has happened with Dana and if you are looking at working with a new vehicle we'd like to get involved.'"

Parkmead, which is registered in London but has a heavy presence in Aberdeen, is an energy investment and advisory practice but Cross is keen to replicate his success at Dana by transforming it into an exploration and production business. He says the group is well placed to apply for licences because it already advises more than 100 government and oil companies worldwide.

"We've got a powerful recipe and the relationships we've got will enable us to move pretty quickly with this company."

Parkmead's shares doubled on Wednesday when it was announced Cross would join the firm, where he has been a non-executive director for four years, as executive chairman on 9 November.

Cross's departure from Dana on 8 November will leave just three members of the original management team, technical and commercial director Stuart Paton, company secretary John Arnton and finance director David Macfarlane.

Cross is expected to depart the firm he co-founded in 1994 with a windfall of more than 40 million.