Entrepreneur Jonathan D’Arcy grew up in north-west England, where he remembers some of the grown-ups going off to work in “a place called Aberdeen”.
He now runs a business, Apollo Offshore Engineering, in the Granite City.
Mr D’Arcy is Apollo’s managing director, having launched the firm in October 2010.
In its third full financial year – the 12 months to September 2013 – the company turned over £3.2million, which was substantially up from £1.6million in 2011-12.
Apollo now employs about 50 people, including 26 at premises in Waterloo Quay, Aberdeen. Most of the rest of the workforce is in the Derby/Nottingham area.
The firm provides engineering design and analysis expertise – spanning structures, marine and subsea work, technical safety and process services and flow assurance support – to the oil & gas and renewable-energy industries globally.
Mr D’Arcy, 46, was previously co-founder and managing director at Prospect Flow Solutions (PFS), overseeing the Aberdeen-based engineering consultant’s dramatic growth – workforce numbers swelled to around 40 from just a couple of people during his time there – and eventual sale to Hallin Marine Subsea in 2008 for an initial sum of £3million.
He went on to become operations director of Hallin’s PFS unit for a spell before leaving in August 2010 and going on to start up Apollo.
His career path to Aberdeen started taking shape during a childhood in Cheshire. Mr D’Arcy said: “As a kid, quite a few of my friends’ fathers used to work in a place called offshore. It meant them going to a place called Aberdeen. One of my friends showed me a photo of what they were building offshore, and I started to learn more about all the oil that was being produced in the North Sea.
“Our next door neighbours were from Houston (in the US). My friend’s dad (next door) would go up to Aberdeen every week.
“I remember seeing a picture of his transport to work, which was a helicopter.”
The childhood experience left a lasting impression and when he finished civil engineering studies at Nottingham University, he jumped at the chance to join Wimpey Offshore, part of construction group George Wimpey.
“There seemed to be a lot of glamour and excitement in the (offshore) industry, he said.
Mr D’Arcy was soon putting to good use a passion for engineering cultivated in his schooldays, when he was fascinated by mathematics and physics and loved building go-karts. “That was the side of my brain which seemed to work best,” he said, adding: “I was born an engineer.”
After six months at Wimpey Offshore he had to choose between helping to build a missile base in Cornwall or moving to the north-east oil and gas industry. He came north.
He arrived in the Granite City in February 1989, spending the next couple of years gaining experience in structural integrity assessments and platform modifications.
His time at Wimpey Offshore also included a spell helping to build accommodation modules at the company’s offshore fabrication subsidiary in Lowestoft.
Mr D’Arcy’s Wimpey days came to an end after his boss left for engineering contractor Matthew Hall, which was later acquired by Amec. “I joined him there for about four years before leaving to join DNV (Det Norske Veritas).”
He was with DNV for about three-and-a-half years, mainly worked on rig modification approvals, before becoming operations manager at Houlder Offshore Engineering.
The death of his father, soon after retirement, created the entrepreneurial spark which led to the creation of PFS alongside business partner Ivar Iversen in 1999. PFS benefited from his experience for more than nine years before he took the decision – after a spell on “gardening leave” in the wake of Hallin Marine acquiring the business – to set up his own venture, Apollo. Mr D’Arcy owns one-third of Apollo, which has eight shareholders.
The firm is targeting turnover of £4.7million in its current financial year, rising to an estimated £10million in 2014/15.
Apollo’s MD said his aims were two-fold; to continue growing business in the UK and raise the firm’s profile overseas. The company plans to open an office in Singapore next year .
Mr D’Arcy and his wife, Dublin-born Aberdeen University research scientist Louise, live in Ferryhill, Aberdeen.
Jonathan Darcy: Q&A
What do you still hope to achieve in business?
I’ve only really started and I have so much to achieve. Our five-year plan is to grow from our current 50 staff to 250.
What is your greatest business challenge today?
Reassuring potential clients that we are capable of providing their engineering needs. I understand why one plc likes to use another plc, because no one is putting their neck on the line. However, I believe we can do a better job because we are nimble and reactive.
If you were in power in government, what would you change?
Lots of things, but some key points would be to focus on bringing in revenue to the country from the rest of the world, rather than wholly looking at not spending internally.
Where is your favourite place to go on holiday?
Ski-ing in Courchevel, France, and sailing in the Med, especially around the Greek islands.
What are you reading, listening to or glued to on TV?
I have just finished reading an autobiographical novel about the BBC character Alan Partridge called I, Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan. It is possibly the funniest book I’ve ever read.
If you were a character in a TV series or movie, who would you be?
Definitely James Bond.
What do you drive and dream of driving?
I own an Audi A5, which generally sits in the garage waiting for a long journey as I walk to and from work and clients. I love occasionally driving my wife’s Fiat 500 around town and dream of steering a Formula 1 car to victory at Monaco or Silverstone.
Which charity do you support and why?
Apollo supports different charities. In 2013, we have been supporting Momentum Scotland. Next year, we will be supporting Alzheimer Scotland. Personally, I support Macmillan Cancer as my father died of bowel cancer aged 62.
What’s on your bucket list – the things you still want to accomplish?
There are loads of places I want to visit at some point but, on the more challenging side, I would like to successfully complete the UK Three Peaks challenge and sail myself and Louise across the Atlantic. I would also like to go to Glastonbury and watch my nephew play with his band, The Lottery Winner.