Leading Aberdeen entrepreneur Ian Suttie dies, aged 80

Mr Suttie received an honorary degree from Aberdeen University in 2012

Leading Aberdeen businessman Ian Suttie has died aged 80 after suffering from dementia.

A chartered accountant by trade, he built a hugely successful career in the oil and gas industry and spent millions of pounds supporting good causes.

He was also behind an unsuccessful attempt to revive the troubled Richards textile mill in Aberdeen city centre.

Paying tribute to her late husband, his wife Dorothy said she was proud to support him in his business endeavors.

"Ian had a tremendous zest for life, and together we shared so many wonderful times.

"Over more than 50 years of marriage, we travelled the world and made countless friends along the way."

Educated at Broomhill School, Robert Gordon's College and Aberdeen University, Mr Suttie became one of the most prominent industrialists to emerge from the city's transformation into the oil and gas capital of Europe.

He was behind a string of entrepreneurial ventures spanning exploration, services and manufacturing.

With just seven employees, First Oil Expro became the largest private UK-owned oil and gas company with £100m in turnover.

But he faced controversy when he bought the troubled Richards Textiles company, relocating it from its home in the historic Broadford Works in the city centre. It went into administration in 2004.

The Broadford Works site has lain empty for more than 20 years

Later plans to develop an "urban village" of 500 homes on the Broadford Works site led to a visit from the then Prince Charles in 2012.

However they never came to fruition and the site, which is home to several at-risk listed buildings, has often been the target of vandals.

Mr Suttie continued to be involved in a wide range of ventures, including whisky bottling, property development, hospitality, and further oil and gas service companies.

These enterprises were brought together under the First Tech Group, which today employs 400 people across the UK in energy, oil and gas, and renewables.

Mr Suttie was cleared of tax fraud charges at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2005, admitting he had lost track of bank accounts in his name.

He was a keen philanthropist, giving generously to NHS Grampian and Aberdeen University for the £21m Suttie Centre for Teaching and Learning in Healthcare, as well as the Suttie Arts Space at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and other good causes.

He is survived by his wife and their three children, Julia, Fiona and Martin.