Aberdeen Rich List 2025
Aberdeens Richest - GROUP 3
GROUP 3
6. Dave Cormack – Software & Football
Estimated Wealth: £600m
​
Dave Cormack is a prominent figure in both the software industry and football, serving as the Chairman of Aberdeen Football Club. He is also the founder of several successful software ventures, including Soft Systems, MiracleWorkers, and Brightree, and is currently the Chairman of Curve Dental Software.
Cormack’s entrepreneurial journey began with Soft Systems, which he sold to Atlanta-based IQ Software in 1995. He then moved into healthcare recruitment, founding MiracleWorkers.com, a platform he sold to CareerBuilder.com in 2000. In 2005, Cormack launched Brightree, a business management and clinical software company. He served as President and CEO of Brightree until its acquisition by ResMed for $800m in 2016.
In July 2024, Cormack was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Business from Robert Gordon University. He is also a co-founder of the Cormack Family Charitable Foundation, alongside his wife Fiona, which supports various causes.
66. Steve Judge – Space Solutions
Estimated Wealth £6m–£10m
​
While the exact wealth of Steve Judge is unclear—due to unknown ownership percentages in the company he founded—this entry recognises the success of both the man and the business. Steve is the founder and Managing Director of Space Solutions, a company that has grown to become a powerhouse in Scottish commercial property design and redevelopment.
Steve began his career as a recruitment consultant with Carton Appointments before transitioning into property management at Chess Holdings in the early 1990s. There, he noticed a recurring issue: as client companies grew, they required more suitable or larger premises, and were often leaving to find them. Steve saw an opportunity to retain tenants, increase rents, and add value by redeveloping existing properties to meet evolving client needs. He hired an architect and began reimagining commercial spaces—and in 1997, Space Solutions was born.
From these beginnings, the company rapidly expanded across Scotland’s commercial landscape, completing major projects for clients like the Scottish Government and Edinburgh Zoo. Though not directly tied to the oil & gas or marine industries, the company's Aberdeen base and strong presence in Scotland’s coastal cities align it closely with the region's economic tides.
In 2024, Space Solutions reported £40m in sales, with a gross profit of approximately £7m and around 210 employees. We estimate the company’s value to be between £70m and £90m, placing Steve Judge’s personal wealth in the range of £6m–£10m.
Space Solutions remains one of Aberdeen’s most quietly impressive success stories.
45. Stuart Clarkson – Bars – Property Development
Estimated Wealth: £32 million
​
Stuart Clarkson has been a driving force in Aberdeen’s business scene since the age of 20. His father, a well-known local electrician, founded a business in the 1960s, laying the groundwork for Stuart’s entrepreneurial path. One of his earliest ventures came in the early 1980s with the rise of home entertainment—his company, Video Shack, operated four video rental shops in Aberdeen.
In 1985, Stuart launched Microshack, one of the first computer stores in Aberdeen, quickly establishing himself at the forefront of new industries. A year later, he entered the hospitality sector, opening his first bar in Aberdeen. By the late 1980s, he owned popular venues like The Nile, Café Bardot, The Cotton Club, multiple hotels, and a string of bars and nightclubs.
Today, his company PB Devco owns and operates some of the most successful bars in Aberdeen, with a reputation built over two decades. According to 2024 company accounts, PB Devco posted nearly £10 million in turnover and employs 220 staff across its venues.
58. Considine – The Aberdein Considine Family
Estimated Net Worth: £20 Million
​
In 1981, the renowned firm Aberdein Considine was founded by two friends, Harvey Aberdein and Iain Considine. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1975, Iain began his legal career at Edmonds & Ledingham, followed by a role at Roy Grant & Co. Both founders started out at an established Aberdeen law firm, but shared a vision to revolutionize the way lawyers did business with their clients.
Over the decades, Aberdein Considine has grown to become Scotland’s largest estate agent, with more than 20 major offices across the UK and a team nearing 500 staff.
In the mid-2000s, the company expanded beyond its estate agency roots, branching into legal services, financial planning, and wealth management. Today, Aberdein Considine stands as one of the most respected law firms in Aberdeen, known for its innovation and client-focused approach.
While an exact valuation is difficult to determine, the company could be worth up to £40 million. Our list estimates the Considine family’s net worth at £20 million.
Rich List Number
Name
Net Worth
44
Ricky Simpson – Bars, Nightclubs, Property
£35M
29
Johanna Basford – Publishing & Bestselling Author
£90M
19
Leslie Benzies – Rockstar Games Visionary | Grand Theft Auto Creator | Video Game Industry Icon
£178M
14
Martin Dickie – BrewDog Co-Founder, Brewing Pioneer
£290M
7
Klaas Zwaart – Oil & Gas | Motor Racing | Investments
£560M
63
Colin Lawson – Transport Logistics
£18M
55
Stewart Proctor – Tech Industry – Motor Racing
£22M
50
Dan Millard – Oil & Gas Inspection and Integrity Services
£28M
45
Stuart Clarkson – Bars – Property Development
£32M
6
Dave Cormack – Software & Football
£600M
66
Steve Judge – Space Solutions
£10M
58
Considine – The Aberdein Considine Family
£20M
Eddie Anderson – ARR Craib – Transport and Logistics
Adrian Taylor & Family –Taylors Industrial Waste
Stewart Milne – Housebuilding | Property Development
Robert Kidd – Oil & Gas Rental Equipment – ITS (International Tubular Services)
Peter Tait – Fishing
Roy Macgregor - Global Energy Group
Nicky Walker – Walkers Shortbread | Food & Drink
Martin Gilbert – Finance, Investment & Consulting
Sandy Clark – Finance Expert | Investment Strategist | Corporate Leader
Paul Lawrie – Golf
Jimmy Buchan – Fishing & Seafood Supply
Ian Dunbar – Kirkwood Homes Founder & House Building Pioneer
Marshall Family – Marshall Trailers & Agricultural Innovation
Ian Suttie – Property and Oil
Douglas Craig – Craig Group | Shipping & Offshore Services
Alistair Locke – Abbot Group | Motor Fuel Group | Distilleries
Trond Mohn – Framo & One Subsea – Oil & Gas - Inheritance
Andy Bird – Inoapps Founder & Software Development Visionary
Mike Straughen – Executive Leadership | Management Expert | Non-Executive Directorships
Eric Evans – Oil Services | Media | International Trade
Alan Massie – Carlton Rock – Property Developer
Jim Geddie – Oil & Gas – Apex Tubulars – Motor Racing
Bob Drummond – Hydrasun | D2Zero
Tommy Dreelan – Oil & Gas | Motor Racing
64. Scott Martin – CEO Glacier Energy – Accountancy MBOs
59. Mark Cavanagh – XPD8 and Oil Plus Ltd – Property Investment
Alistair Thomson – Fishing Rights | Land Investment | Property Development
Malcolm Allan – House Building Entrepreneur
John Ray – Rigblast | Property | Oil & Gas Services
Derek Nicol & Stephanie Nicol – Nicol of Skene – Civil Engineering
Doug Duguid – Oil & Gas Services & Renewables
Tony Quinn – Pet Food, Confectionery & Motorsport
James Watt – BrewDog | Brewing | Beer | Investment
Glenn Gordon – Whisky – Glenfiddich – Distilling - Inheritance
Ean Emslie – Commercial Property Rental
Maitland Mackie 3 – Ice Cream & Agribusiness
Shaun Ross – Founder of Metrol Technology (Photo Unavailable)
Sir Jim Milne – Balmoral Group | Hotelier | Property
Tom Cross – Oil & Gas | Parkmeade Group
Steve Mackie – Prosource – I.T. Software and Corporate I.T. Services
John Heiton – OEG Group | Oilfield Equipment Rental
Robert (Bob) Keiller – Oil & Gas Services | Business Consultancy
Larry Kinch – Oil & Gas Exploration
George Maxwell – Eland Oil & Gas | Oil & Gas Exploration
Doug Milne – MTM Construction – Civil Engineering
Alistair Langlands – WOODGROUP – Investments & Directorships
Graham Wood – Hotels – Bars – Property Development
Michael Freeman – CAN Offshore | Oil & Gas Services
Steven Ferguson – Ferguson Group, Oil & Gas Logistics
Scotoil Graham Davidson Family
Mackintosh Plant Hire – Moira, Suzanne, Albert, Gary, and Moira Mackintosh
Graeme Bone – Drum Property Group Founder | Prime Four Developer | UK Commercial Real Estate Visionary
Conrad Ritchie & The Ritchie Family
John Clark – Car Dealership
Sir Ian Wood – Fishing & Oil & Gas – Rig Maintenance – Philanthropy
Billionaire industrialist Sir Ian Wood stands as the wealthiest homegrown founder of a company in Scotland. When he stepped down from the helm in 2013, his creation—Wood Group plc—had grown into a global powerhouse valued at $12 billion, operating in more than 60 countries, employing 60,000 people, and elevating his personal fortune to over £2 billion.
​
A figure both formidable and fiercely debated, Sir Ian Wood’s life unfolds as an extraordinary saga—one marked by relentless effort, unwavering determination, profound personal sacrifice, moments of tragedy, brushes with disaster, and the darker currents of betrayal, greed, immense wealth, and influence.
​
Beginning with his family’s modest fishing-boat repair business in 1967, he boldly steered the company into the emerging world of oil and gas just as the industry reached Britain’s shores in the 1970s. From there, he built a sprawling empire that touched shipping, energy, fishing, technology, travel, electronics, power generation, offshore drilling, and property development. His leadership oversaw the most dramatic industrial transformation Aberdeen had ever seen.
​
Now, for the first time, the story long hidden behind closed doors is revealed. This is an explosive, deeply revealing journey into the sometimes shadowy, often ruthless, yet undeniably electrifying world of the Aberdeen oil and gas sector—its power brokers, its high-stakes decisions, and the man whose influence shaped an era.
​
Sir Ian’s real-life ascent makes HBO’s Succession seem like little more than a gentle bedtime tale.
His achievements stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the greatest entrepreneurs in any industry, at any point in history.