Edinburgh office means big opportunities for Abacus

AbacusBio consultants (from left) Peter Amer, Tim Byrne and Hadyn Craig prepare for the opening...
AbacusBio consultants (from left) Peter Amer, Tim Byrne and Hadyn Craig prepare for the opening of the company’s office in Edinburgh, to be run by Dr Byrne. Photo: Peter McIntosh.
From the Edinburgh of the South to its namesake in the north, Dunedin-based AbacusBio is spreading its wings.

The agribusiness consulting company is opening an office in the Scottish capital next month. Dr Tim Byrne will be managing director of the UK operation.

The move came about through existing business relationships involving Dr Byrne and fellow consultants Dr Peter Amer and Hadyn Craig.

AbacusBio already had very strong relationships with some big clients over there and the initiative was a vote of confidence in those relationships, Dr Amer said.

There were also a lot of opportunities and the scale of the market was a lot bigger than New Zealand, Mr Craig added.

Dr Byrne will be based in the Roslin Innovation Centre, on the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush campus, which is next to the Roslin Institute, home of Dolly the cloned sheep.

Edinburgh was one of Europe’s hubs for animal science and genetics, Dr Byrne, who has been with AbacusBio for 10 years, said.

There was a very strong new venture and technology-type environment over there, and a lot of investment in early-stage companies, Mr Craig said.

Initially, Dr Byrne would be solo in the office, although it was expected both Dr Amer and Mr Craig would also spend time there.

Dr Byrne saw opportunities in genetics, animal science, economic analysis, new business development, commercialisation, new ventures and technology evaluation, all in the agritech field.

"It should be a cool place to do cool things," he said.

His visa was for three years and his partner was  moving with him.

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