Mike left school at the age of 16 to work in a local jute mill before joining the RAF. On leaving the RAF, Mike recognised potential in the industry for employment and in the early 70s started working as a roughneck on an oil rig in the Arabian Gulf.

After a period of investing and acquiring a series of successful businesses, including during the lowest ebb in the sector for decades – $8 a barrel oil, Mike launched Cansco Equipment and Rental.

Thirty years later, the venture still exists as Saltire Energy – the leading supplier of state-of-the-art drilling tools to the global energy industry.