Alumasc offloads Levolux in £1m-plus-£1 deal

26th Aug 2022 12:10

(Sharecast News) - Building products and systems company Alumasc has sold Levolux to Talrus, a company associated with private investor Rcapital Partners, it announced on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said Levolux, which formed part of its building envelope division, designs, manufactures, and installs solar shading systems, architectural solutions and balconies used to enhance buildings and provide shading solutions to the public and commercial sectors.

It said its shading solutions reduced the impact of sunlight for the occupiers and users of the internal environment.

Demand for new build architectural solutions had taken longer to recover from the Covid-19 slowdown in Levolux's core UK and US markets, and in the year ended June, the business recorded a loss of £2m on sales of £7.8m.

After a review of the business and its prospects, the Alumasc board said it agreed that Levolux, with its focus on installation, was non-core and would be better positioned under new ownership.

Rcapital was said to be "well-placed" to support the Levolux business and management team to return the business to sustainable profit.

The consideration receivable for the sale was £1m-plus-£1 in cash, comprising a nominal initial consideration of £1, together with £1m of deferred consideration, repayable from proceeds over £1m arising from any subsequent disposal of Levolux by Rcapital.

As a result of the transaction, a non-cash impairment charge of £14.9m before tax would be taken in the group's consolidated accounts for the year ended June, comprising £11.1m of goodwill and other intangible assets and £3.8m of tangible assets.

Levolux was expected to hold £1.4m in cash at the date of disposal, which would form part of the disposal.

As a result of the sale, Levolux's results for the year ended 30 June would be reported separately, as discontinued operations, within the group's consolidated annual results.

"We are pleased to have sold Levolux to Rcapital, and wish them and Levolux's employees well as they take the business forward," said Alumasc chief executive officer Paul Hooper.

"This disposal completes Alumasc's transition to a supply-only business focused on premium sustainable building products, systems and solutions, and will allow our management team to focus on the organic and inorganic growth opportunities within our core business."

Alumasc said it expected to announce results in line with its expectations for the year ended 30 June on 6 September, and confirmed that trading in the core activities of the group during the second half was "strong".

At 1040 BST, shares in the Alumasc Group were down 1.83% at 134p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.