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Climate change sparks AEA recruitment drive
Climate change is good news for Oxfordshire company AEA Technology, which is creating up to 100 new jobs to cope with the problem.
Ironically, AEA was created by the privatisation of the profitable side of the UK's nuclear research organisation, based at Harwell, where it still has its headquarters.
Chief executive Andrew McCree said: "Rising international concern about energy security and climate change means we are operating in a growing market.
"The management team has been strengthened and our aim is now to grow this business through a combination of strong organic growth and acquisitions."
The company, which declared a pre-tax profit of £5.9m for the six months to September, has already recruited 75 new energy and environment consultants.
| "Rising international concern about energy security and climate change means we are operating in a growing market. " | | AEA Technology chief executive Andrew McCree |
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They include top industry figures such as Dr Garry Felgate moved from The Carbon Trust, who will head the Energy & Environment business, and Tim Curtis, from the Energy Saving Trust.
AEA has opened an office in Bucharest and appointed energy experts to take advantage of European environmental grants to new EU members.
Mr McCree said bank debt had been cut from £55m to £42m by the sell-offs of the rail and nuclear businesses.
He said employees had volunteered to reduce their pension benefits, cutting the company's pension deficit to £95.7m, and the corporate head office had been cut from 35 to 12 staff.
The environment business employs about 700 people at Harwell and he said most of the new jobs would be based there.
The growth follows several years of financial difficulty, with hundreds of redundancies and the resignation of chairman Peter Watson.
AEA sold its rail, engineering and nuclear businesses, making £16.4m from sell-offs last year, and underwent a radical financial restructuring, including a new bank loan of £42m, down from £55m last year.
12:17pm Thursday 14th December 2006
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