HADDINGTON-BASED FINANCE LEADER JOINS THE PUREMALT BOARD AHEAD OF DEBBIE LING’S RETIREMENT IN 2027
The East Lothian family business PureMalt Products Ltd is pleased to announce that David Reay has joined the company as Finance Director, starting today. David takes a seat on the PureMalt Board of Directors and will work alongside Debbie Ling, who has led the company’s finance function for almost ten years, ahead of her retirement at the end of March 2027.
David joins from Balmoral Comtec Ltd, the advanced composites manufacturer serving the offshore energy sector, where he spent more than twenty years rising from Purchase Ledger Assistant to boardlevel Finance Director. As a member of the Balmoral board since 2019, he was responsible for board governance, three-year budgeting and, from 2022, the group’s HR function. Most recently he worked alongside the board and its advisers on the successful sale of the business to Freudenberg Flow Technologies, part of the family-owned German Freudenberg Group.
A qualified accountant (ACCA) and Chartered Manager, David brings deep experience of manufacturing finance, from standard costing, cash and working capital management through to R&D tax credits. His remit at Balmoral extended well beyond finance into procurement, logistics and inventory management across a £60m+ spend portfolio, and he has taken part in the acquisition and integration of businesses.
David lives in Haddington, within walking distance of the PureMalt site, and is a familiar face in the local sporting community. A keen footballer and SFA-qualified coach, he is head coach of one of the boys’ youth teams at Haddington Athletic Football Club, continuing a commitment to grassroots football that began
when he first took on coaching in 2008.
Ross Turner, Managing Director of PureMalt, said:
“I am delighted to welcome David to PureMalt. He combines strong technical finance with a real understanding of how a manufacturing business works on the factory floor, and his experience of growth, acquisitions and board leadership will be invaluable as we move into our next chapter. It is a great bonus to welcome someone of his calibre from our own Haddington community. Debbie will be working closely with David over the coming months to ensure a smooth handover before she retires at the end of March, and I would like to thank her for her outstanding contribution to PureMalt over almost a decade of
service.”
David Reay commented following his appointment: “After many years working in Aberdeen and across the UK, I am thrilled to be joining a business with such
a strong reputation right on my doorstep. PureMalt’s family values, its investment in innovative products and its customers in over seventy countries make this a really exciting opportunity. I look forward to working with Ross, the Board and the whole team to support the company’s continued growth.”