Gamble of the week: oil services consultant with a bright future

This week's gamble has clients which include blue-chip petrochemical companies from around the world. And while this year has been tough, the longer-term picture looks bright.

For me, the most striking aspect of this month's Bank of England Inflation Report was the view that the UK's debt mountain is set to rise above 100% of GDP (more than £1.4trn). So after the 2010 general election, the average British family will be hit by a double whammy of higher taxes and big cuts to public services. That's bad news for any firm dependent on the UK consumer.

So what's the answer? From an investment standpoint, your portfolio should be weighted towards stocks that earn a large chunk of their money overseas. Take KBC. It's a niche consultant that focuses on the application of advanced chemical engineering and software in the oil refining (85% of sales) and other process industries.

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Paul gained a degree in electrical engineering and went on to qualify as a chartered management accountant. He has extensive corporate finance and investment experience and is a member of the Securities Institute.

Over the past 16 years Paul has held top-level financial management and M&A roles for blue-chip companies such as O2, GKN and Unilever. He is now director of his own capital investment and consultancy firm, PMH Capital Limited.

Paul is an expert at analysing companies in new, fast-growing markets, and is an extremely shrewd stock-picker.