Dundee entrepreneur Graeme Carling has described his global hunt for investment deals after one of his companies made a £2m profit last year.
Mr Carling, who was raised in Dundee, is now based in Dubai and a frequent visitor to the United States as he seeks his next investment.
He was previously the owner of Dundee construction services firm McGill, which went into administration in 2022, and a former president of Lochee United FC.
He and his wife Leanne continue to own dozens of buy-to-let properties in Dundee while their heating firm Saltire Facilities Management has seen a record year.
New accounts for United Capital Group, which owns the Bellshill firm, shows revenue of £30.3 million and a pre-tax profit of £2.1m for the year ending March 31 2024.
Graeme Carling deals
Speaking from Dubai, Mr Carling said he was reviewing around one investment opportunity a week.
He is particularly interested in becoming a partner in a company in America, saying Donald Trump returning to office would be good for business.
He has been in talks about investing in an artificial intelligence company in the States for around a year.
Mr Carling said: “We’ve missed out on a couple of deals we thought we’d get in the early part of the year. They didn’t quite come off for us.
“We’re still active and we’re working with some great people across there.
“Some of these deals are just taking a while to get over the line.
“But we’re not in any massive hurry to rush into deals. We’re wiser now.
“The USA is still a huge market for us. With Trump getting in, it could be the gold rush, possibly.”
‘We’re a bit more careful now’
Mr Carling has previously said he lost around £2.2m when McGill collapsed more than two years ago.
He said that after that experience, he has put more focus on making sure his existing businesses perform well.
“We said that a couple of years ago that we needed to knuckle down, concentrate on the businesses we had and get them performing at their peak,” he said.
“Right across the group, we’ve had a record year, in every part of our business.
“Some of the best decisions we’ve made are the deals that we haven’t done – the ones we passed on because they didn’t feel right.
“We’re a bit more careful now, but we’ll move quick when the right opportunity comes up for us.
“Saltire has been a great business for us, with a top management team. We have won some contracts, mainly from local authorities, this year that will help secure that business for years to come.
“Since the end of the financial year in March, revenue has been up again.”
Conversation