Aberdeen duo turn redundancy shock into thriving tech business
Deemed 'at risk of redundancy', their lives were put on hold and they spent a month meeting up around the city for coffee and scones – and coming up with a Plan B.
'It was surreal,' says Kevin, 'One moment we were running projects, the next we couldn't even get through the front door. We hadn't even been told, we were just locked out.'
During their meetups the pair plotted their comeback. 'We joked at first – we were basically just moaning about how unfair it was,' Kevin recalls.
When confirmation came they were to be made redundant, Escone Solutions was born – named in honour of those early 'scone and coffee' planning sessions.
Fast forward a decade, and Escone Solutions now employs 17 people and supports major clients across the UK and Ireland.
The company provides specialist business application support, focusing on financial systems like OpenAccounts and eBIS, through its flagship service Escone Assist.
Their clients include ScotRail, DFS, West Midlands Trains, and other national operators.
But Kevin admits the first few months were brutal. 'We were working from back rooms of cafés, chasing leads, scraping together any work we could,' he says. 'By December, we had £29 left in the bank.
'Mike was working nights at Tesco, and I was putting up fences with my brother-in-law. We were literally about to give up.'
But then, an email changed everything. A former colleague offered them a modest contract worth £350 a day between them.
'We dropped everything and took it,' Kevin says. 'It was the turning point and we did a really good job.
'Then, through word-of-mouth, we got some pretty decent contracts and the business just grew.'
Escone Solutions has built a reputation not just for its technical expertise, but for its people-first approach.
'What myself and Mike had said was we would never treat anyone the way we had been treated during our redundancy,' says Kevin. 'We have empathy for people.'
The company blends experienced business analysts with a pipeline of young talent, as an apprenticeship training provider.
'It's quite a young team,' says Kevin. 'We've got 50% graduates and 50% young people who we take on and give an apprenticeship.
'We make sure they follow the apprenticeship, that we get them through as well as learning how to work our way.
'We are really passionate about developing people as well as developing our business.'
One of their early apprentices, Alice Cassie, now holds a senior leadership role as head of consultancy.
Escone has also recently partnered with iplicit, a next-generation financial management system, as part of a strategy to future-proof the business and extend their reach into new markets.
Despite Escone's success, the founding values remain the same: work hard, treat people fairly, and never forget where you started.
'The way we were let go – we said we'd never treat anyone like that,' Kevin reflects.
'We've had no salaries at times, we've worked through every setback. But we stuck with it. And now, we've built something we're really proud of.'
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Scottish Sun
25-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Heartache for Bayesian yacht victim Mike Lynch's family – estate faces bankruptcy after court demands it hand over £700M
IT was a tragedy that claimed the lives of a billionaire father and his daughter, drowned in a storm at sea. British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was out celebrating his acquittal from US fraud charges when his £38million yacht Bayesian was knocked sideways by a sudden 80mph gust and started taking in water. 6 Mike Lynch and daughter Hannah drowned at sea while out on his £38million yacht Bayesian Credit: PA 6 Mike's wife Angela Bacares was pulled to safety by a crew member 6 The Bayesian disaster claimed the lives of seven people last August Credit: PA As the boat sank rapidly, his wife Angela Bacares was pulled to safety by a crew member — but Lynch, their 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others on board never made it out. Now, as the one-year anniversary approaches next month, 58-year-old businesswoman Angela is facing a financial battle. There is the potential of court action by the families of the victims who died on the yacht — and earlier this week, the UK's High Court ruled that her husband's estate owes US tech giant Hewlett-Packard more than £700million relating to fraud claims. The case was brought six years ago by HP after they acquired his company Autonomy in 2011. The firm claimed Lynch and the former chief financial officer had fraudulently inflated its value. While Lynch was facing court action in America, HP was already chasing him through the civil courts in Britain — leading to this week's damages ruling. The High Court ruled that HP had paid a lot more than it would have done 'had Autonomy's true financial position been correctly presented' during the sale. If his estate — which goes to Angela and her remaining daughter Esme, 22 — ends up having to pay, it will almost certainly be bankrupted, leaving no inheritance for the family. It is believed Lynch shielded his wife's personal fortune from the messy court cases. She owned millions of pounds worth of shares held in her name in other family firms. I found doomed Bayesian I saw still haunts me And she made more than £15million from the sale of her shares when Autonomy was taken over. One pal told us: 'Mike wasn't perfect but he wasn't a criminal in any way, shape or form. He had asked various Cabinet ministers and Prime Ministers, including Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson, to help him. 'Rishi and Johnson were more interested in making post-Brexit trade deals than making any trouble on Mike's behalf. 'Rishi and Johnson were more interested in making post-Brexit trade deals than making any trouble on Mike's behalf. 'These cases hung over him for years and he ended up under house arrest in San Francisco unable to leave for months, facing charges that he was ultimately cleared of. 'He helped a lot of people make a lot of money but they assumed he was guilty as charged and then ran a million miles. 'He was abandoned by his peer group and by his government then, when he won his US case, everyone wanted to be his friend again. 'The irony is he had gone out on the Bayesian to celebrate the US court outcome. "It's been one tragedy after another for his family.' The latest damages ruling had been delayed until this week because of the circumstances surrounding the yachting disaster on August 19 last year. The judge expressed his 'sorrow at the devastating turn of events' at sea and offered 'sympathy and deepest condolences'. 'STILL GRIEVING' He even said that he 'admired' Lynch, despite ruling against him. Insiders have told The Sun that the family want to appeal the High Court decision. Our source said: 'It's not just about money, it's about restoring Mike's reputation. 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Telegraph
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- Telegraph
Q: What is ITV's latest cost-cutting move? A: Quiz show repeats
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- The Independent
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