Positus Capital part of Tamaran Group FZE, Dubai the property investment specialist was founded by Thomas John Stodart in 2010. Investing across a wide range of businesses including; IT, Oil and Gas, Construction, Forestry, Education and Blockchain. Positus Capital is looking for growth opportunities through market dominance, diversification, consolidation and rationalization. With expertise in creating profitable growth strategies leading to an exit via, trade sale, management buyout or private listing. Investing and Advising on Mergers and Acquisitions in the SME sector. Positus provides debt and equity funding and uses our extensive network to support growth and enhance strategic direction. Providing solutions on revenue-generating businesses which are ideally profitable. Also, focused on maximizing shareholder value through profitable growth and or release of asset value.
Thomas John Stodart, the founder of Positus Capital investment company, acquires Scottish Electric Group in November 2011. Headquartered in Dundee, Scotland this small group of 5 trading companies was significantly in debt. Restructuring the group was central to elements of the business surviving. With investment from Positus Capital the business was restructured to form Scottish Electric the specialist electrical and mechanical business. This was a particularly complicated transaction as the group was in significant debt and was a matter of hours away from being placed into forced liquidation. By restructuring the debt, gaining a CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) for the engineering business and gaining a postponement of liquidation by the main creditor, closure was avoided. Significant redundancies were made, the cash hemorrhage ceased and the business was given a chance to rebuild. Investment from Positus saw the electrical mechanical business thrive and grow into a significant player in Scotland.
In February 2012, DC Winders Ltd. is acquired by T.J. Stodart. This specialist wiring business has been in existence for 100 years. With investment from Positus Capital the business diversified into other areas. Specialising in the repair of outdated motors the business diversified into weight load testing for lifting gear. The client list grew significantly over the next 3 years with DCW becoming the preferred tester for many of the top 100 UK companies. Reskilling the workforce allowed the continuation of employment. Ultimately a Management Buy-Out occurred in 2014 where management and employees bought the share and assets from Positus Capital.
Positus Capital (Via Azure Investments) ventures into the oil and gas industry by acquiring Screw Conveyor Ltd in 2012 for the sum of 5M GBP. Screw Conveyor Ltd, a specialist Mud services business specialized in the bespoke manufacture of conveyor systems for shakers and conveyors on Oil Rigs. This investment began a period of significant investment by Positus and there banking partner Bank Leumi. Thomas J. Stodart, the founder of Positus created a strategy of international growth. This involved the creation of sales and service offices in Houston, Singapore and Dubai. The client base grew 400% in 2 years, with NOV Brandt, Schlumberger, Total, Shell, KCA Deutag, AL Mansoori, Haliwell, ABB, Weatherford, Baker Hughes and Halliburton amongst a few who agreed preferred service contracts with Screw Conveyor Ltd. Over the next 3 years, significant growth and market share was achieved. In 2017 the business was sold to a competing business.
The investment company of John Stodart, Positus Capital, acquires Muirfield Construction Ltd in 2013. In an unspecified deal, Stodart agreed to buy the entire share capital of Muirfield. The £50M turnover constructor headquartered in Dundee, Scotland, with 1500 staff has a number of large projects across Scotland. Despite Muirfields questionable trading history, the decision to acquire was based on a larger strategic play. With Positus Capitals experience and relationships in the Middle East, a strategy was developed to grow the Muirfield business into an international player. This involved Muirfield becoming a preferred construction partner in Dubai for one of the major developers. This would see Muirfield turnover grow from £50M to £200M in 3 years as their expertise was exported to Dubai. With a 2 year moratorium insisted upon by the vendor, significant delays took place in agreeing on contracts. During this period a number of questionable practices were also uncovered. In 2015 the decision was taken to place the business into administration.
In June 2014, Positus Capital ventured into the Forestry business. The specialist timber harvesting business, Dick Brothers Limited, the largest by machines and turnover in the UK was acquired by Stodart via his investment vehicle Positus Capital. With over 150 staff Positus Capitals strategy was to grow the business both organically and through acquisition. Recognized as the number one harvesting business in the UK, Positus strategy was to grow the business across Europe by adding to the services provided. A period of significant growth followed with the client base growing significantly to include; Forestry Commission, Tilhill, BSW, Euroforest, Scottish Woodlands, UPM amongst many others. DBL also became the largest fleet in Europe with harvesters and forwarders acquired from; John Deere, Ponsee and Komatsu. DBL focussed on low impact harvesting ensuring that land and water damage was kept to a minimum ensuring early replanting reduced environmental impact. Sustainable practices ensured that the impact on wildlife was reduced significantly with selective harvesting ensuring areas of protection existed to provide nesting and shelterbelts. In 2018, Dick Brothers was sold to the private equity firm FCFM for an undisclosed sum.
Elliot Henderson Ltd (EHL) the second-largest timber harvesting business in Scotland was acquired by Positus Capital in 2015. As part of Positus commitment to consolidate the sector and increase its competitiveness, Elliot Henderson Ltd has been acquired for an undisclosed sum. Geographically diverse EHL also had a client base that complemented that of DBL. Operational synergies improved efficiencies and profitability. With EHL’s improved efficiency and increased market share, the vendor decided to reacquire the business less than 18 months after Positus acquired it.