'Law of Jante' costs the Scottish Borders dear

by EWAN LAMB

A mere fifteen months after its 'disruptive technology' was hailed by a senior Scottish Borders councillor as the harbinger of major investment and jobs, the chairman of the Avocet group of companies told hundreds of shareholders the entire operation would be leaving the region which he described as "an entrepreneurial blackspot".

Martin Frost, who leads the Avocet businesses which are said to be developing 'green' fuel and revolutionary forms of agricultural production admitted in a letter to investors: " It was my mistake that I attempted to progress and develop the Avocet concepts in a society which neither understood nor could rise to the required work practices."

And yet Mr Frost had been at the helm of several companies which were located in the Scottish Borders 35 years ago, so presumably had experience of the perceived shortcomings of the local population. 

In October 2018 Avocet's chairman told The Berwickshire News : "This is about investment, employment and skilful innovation and it’s all happening here in the Scottish Borders.”

At that time a number of major schemes were outlined for the farms of Sunwick, Harcarse Hill, and Greenwood - all situated in Berwickshire - involving Mr Frost's Avocet Farms firm.

According to the Berwickshire News article 'After visiting Harcarse Hill farm, Councillor Mark Rowley (Conservative), Scottish Borders Council’s executive member for business & economic development said: “The model is fascinating, I hope it will bring significant investment and employment to the Borders.

"Berwickshire has an exceptional reputation for agricultural innovation; from James Small’s revolutionary plough to the innovations of liming and marling that were pioneered here.It is exciting that such new and innovative techniques are now being pioneered by Avocet and local farms here in the Scottish Borders almost 300 years later.”

Not Just Sheep & Rugby has been sent a copy of Mr Frost's letter to his 650 shareholders dated March 30th this year in which he predicts: 'By the close of 2020, Avocet will have vacated the Scottish Borders.'

The news of the intention to withdraw was circulated just two weeks after Avocet Farms Ltd (by now called Orrdone Farms) was the subject of a damning report by joint administrators Emma Porter and Joanne Brown. They had been appointed by a firm of financial lenders with a claim for £3.2 million against Orrdone Farms.

The insolvency team's initial report stated: "The Company is recorded at the Scottish Land Register as owning Sunwick Farm, part of Greenwood Farm and Harcarse Hill Farm. There are a number of allegations and assertions regarding the ownership of these properties and the existence of leases, which are currently being investigated. Once investigations have been concluded, the property will be dealt with appropriately and where possible marketed and sold."

Mr Frost's lengthy letter alleges: "In my opinion the ‘Law of Jante’ extends into the Scottish Borders rendering the locality an entrepreneurial blackspot."

A dictionary definition of the Law of Jante says: "(Danish: Janteloven) is a code of conduct known in Nordic countries that characterizes not conforming, doing things out of the ordinary, or being overtly personally ambitious as unworthy and inappropriate."

In Mr Frost's view Janteloven’s social code dictates emphasis on collective accomplishments and well-being, and disdains focus on individual achievements. 

"It is an underlying Scandinavian philosophy principle that applies across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. Understanding Janteloven is paramount to understanding both the history and modern-day cultures of these countries", Mr Frost wrote.

And he added: "Succinctly, because of Janteloven’s social code, it is my belief that it was a mistake for Avocet to setup or attempt to establish itself in the Scottish Borders. 

"Happily, for Avocet, the world is a much bigger place than the Scottish Borders – today witnesses the third in a series of articles published in the British Parliamentary Review about Avocet, avocet’s methanol cetane additive, and its remarkable innovative work on renewable methanol.

"Once more, Avocet is invited to locate in the US - and when again it is safe to travel, the Washington invite shall be taken up and a US master franchise shall be established there.

"Contradictorily, in the Scottish Borders farming community one should take account of the soil before you sow it. It is a very true maxim. Avocet was predicted to become one of Scotland’s largest companies. Now Avocet will flourish but in a climate of enterprise devoid of the Law of Jante."