Oil company name for sale

David Knott
London
[email protected]

Following the Scots' recent vote for self-government, a company name has been put up for sale that may be perfect for a petroleum firm operating in an independent Scotland.

The name is Anglo-Scottish Petroleum Co. Ltd. This is a firm currently in the hands of a liquidator, which is looking to pay off its debts before closing the company books.

How the company came to be in the hands of the liquidator-accounting firm Harris Kafton & Co., London-is a story of a little company squeezed out of a big firm's market.

Anglo-Scottish was formed in 1933 by two former managers of Texas Oil Co. Ltd. They were Archibald Jones and Norman Donald, and their business was retailing motor fuels and lubricants.

Sales of gasoline and kerosine amounted to 8,500 gal in January 1933 and rose to 66,000 gal that April. Within a few months Jones and Donald recruited 10 salesmen, all from Texas Oil, a works manager, and a chemist.

Gasoline was priced, in U.K. "old money," at 1 shilling 2 pence/gal (9¢/gal at today's conversion rate), while motor oil was 2 shilling/gal (16¢/gal).

Tough market

While the old currency may bring a nostalgic tear to the eye of British readers, it would be wrong to see those days as a golden era for retailers.

Britain had not recovered by the early 1930s from the depression of the late 1920s. In 1935, Anglo-Scottish cut its staff and cut the salaries of remaining staff by 25% and directors by 50%.

During World War II, the company's fuel business and fleet of road tankers were commandeered by the government to join the national gasoline pool. It was not until 1948 that the tankers were returned.

In 1950, gasoline rationing was lifted, and Anglo-Scottish raised its sales to 2 million gal/year by 1959. In 1960, Jones retired as managing director, to be succeeded by his son William.

During the boom era of the 1960s, Britain guzzled cheap oil supplies from the Middle East, so even then the market was tough for a small company.

William Jones called in a management consultant, which recommended focusing on lubricants rather than gasoline sales. Sales of specialty lubricants to niche markets brought in steady profits from 1967 to 1988.

Liquidation

In 1988, another recession hit Britain. Many Anglo-Scottish customers went bust, others held off purchasing lubricants. As sales fell, the company reduced its staff and operations.

But customers disappeared faster than Anglo-Scottish could make cutbacks. After a number of disputes among staff and directors, it was not until 1994 that the company could make a small profit.

By then it was too late. The liquidation report by Harris Kafton states, "The recession eased a little, but a large oil competitor decided upon volume rather than profit and the company lost a lot of business, as it was often undercut by 20%."

Malcolm Harris, director of Harris Kafton, said the company was taken into liquidation in July 1997 by William Jones, now in his 70s. The name is just about the company's only potentially valuable asset.

"Its value is whatever price somebody would pay," said Harris. "We would expect to be made an offer, including payment of legal costs regarding the transfer of the name."