HAVING TAKEN his leave of Circle Oil some time back, Irish resource investor John McKeon is back in the saddle with Niche Group, a little-known cash shell listed on London’s Aim market.

McKeon and some “associates” have acquired 26.64 per cent of the business and Niche yesterday announced that the Irishman had been appointed as a consultant.

“Mr McKeon is extremely well connected, at government and ministerial level, with most of the oil and gas ministries in north Africa and the Middle East,” Niche told the stock market.

So what are his plans? “We’ll be looking at the resource sector,” McKeon told me yesterday before heading to the Middle East.

“I have access to funding and I’d like to develop some potential investments.”