NEWS FEBRUARY 2018
Free office space in Silver Fin INGREDIENT-checking app LiberEat is the winner of the #StartMeUp Pitch competition organised by serviced office provider Orega and receives six months of free office space at the Silver Fin Building. The #StartMeUp Pitch asked local businesses to submit short business pitches online, with five finalists making it through to the final pitch. LiberEat’s founder, Barry Leaper, developed the idea having spent most of his career in private equity and investment banking after graduating from the University of Aberdeen with a degree in finance. Barry’s fiancée and some close family and friends have to avoid certain ingredients because of intolerances and medical conditions, which inspired LiberEat. The app makes it easier for people with food restrictions to eat out at restaurants, cook at home and shop at the supermarket, whether they have food allergies, are vegan/vegetarian or need to avoid certain foods for religious reasons.
Barry Leaper of LiberEat
Orega’s managing director, Zach Douglas said: “Barry had done significant amounts of research into his business, he had secured highly credible third-party contributors and we could see the scalability potential, both nationally and internationally.”
First Minister opens new Total office FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has officially opened Total’s new Aberdeen HQ at Westhill. “This is a fantastic new facility which gives Total a modern, fit-for-purpose base for its operations in Aberdeen,” she said. “It is a signal that the company is committed to a long-term future in Scotland. “While we realise these are challenging times for the industry and workforce, this investment and expansion from Total is a real vote of confidence in the North Sea’s future.” Elisabeth Proust, managing director of Total E&P UK said: “Total has exciting years ahead of it in Aberdeen and the North Sea and we needed to make sure we had the right office and the right work environment to support that. This new office provides light open work spaces with technology to help bring people together to share new ideas. 2017 has already been a successful year for us -Total E&P UK completed the Edradour-Glenlivet project West of Shetland early and under budget. We also won the Maximising Economic Recovery Award for our work with the Oil & Gas Technology Centre in trialling new technology offshore.” 32.
Elisabeth Proust and Nicola Sturgeon