RSK’s Abigail Draper wins Northern Finance Director Award

Abigail Draper, Group Finance Director at leading environmental, engineering and technical services business RSK, headquartered in Helsby, Cheshire, has won a 2019 Northern Finance Director Award. The prestigious awards, which celebrate the exceptional talent of finance directors and their teams across the north of England, were presented at a black-tie gala dinner at Manchester Cathedral last night (20 November).

Abigail, who was shortlisted for the second year running, is an experienced Chartered Accountant and joined RSK in 2011. She is responsible for the financial leadership of the leading environmental, engineering and technical services company, which employs more than 3600 staff across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and has a turnover of over £250 million. She is based in RSK’s head office in Helsby.

Abigail, who received the Acquisitive Growth award, has been a finance director in the technical manufacturing, property, legal and retail consultancy sectors for more than 20 years. She has overseen RSK making a major series of acquisitions in the last three years, the latest of which were backed by funding package from Ares Capital Europe and a revolving credit facility provided by NatWest announced in December 2018. The latest acquisitions, overseen by Abigail, include RAW Technology in July, Geocore Site Investigations in August, Ecologia Environmental Solutions in September and ATP in October.

“After a busy financial year for RSK, with seven acquisitions to date, Abigail has had her work cut out to keep on top of the group’s finances,” commented Alan Ryder, RSK Chief Executive Officer. “Always up for a challenge, Abigail has met obstacles head-on and obviously impressed the judges at her panel interview in September.”

The awards were open to finance directors with more than one year of experience in a business with headquarters in the north of England. More than 20 individuals were shortlisted across 13 categories. This year’s awards continue to be sponsored by founding sponsors Barclays, Ernst & Young, and Squire Patton Boggs.

Abigail said, “I am absolutely delighted to have won this award after another incredibly busy year for RSK. Working in such a dynamic, exciting group as RSK gave me a huge amount to talk about in my panel interview for the award. However, recognition like this would not be possible without a great finance team behind me and it reflects all the hard work that everyone at RSK puts in to make the group a success.”