Sale and Leaseback of Walsall Property

Chamberlin PLC

02 May 2023

 

2 May 2023

Chamberlin plc

("Chamberlin" or the "Company")

Sale and Leaseback of Walsall Property

Chamberlin plc (AIM: CMH.L), the specialist castings and engineering group, is pleased to announce that it has exchanged contracts on a sale and leaseback of its freehold property in Chuckery Road, Walsall with Heritage and Hill Investments Limited (the "Property").

The Company announced on 23 February 2023, that it was in discussions regarding a proposed sale and leaseback transaction at its Walsall freehold property which would include a proportion of any realised funds to be utilised to further reduce the Company's pension fund deficit.

The sale proceeds are £2.2 million in cash and Chamberlin has a 10 year lease for the Property at an initial rent of £0.2m per annum, with a rent review after five years.

The Property had a net book value of £1.6m as at 31 May 2022. Under IFRS 16, a right of use asset of approximately £1.1m and associated lease liabilities worth approximately £1.5 million will be reflected on the Group's balance sheet and approximately £0.4m of the book profit on the disposal will be deferred and recognised in the Group's income statement over the period of the lease.

The proceeds will be used to reduce the Company's pension fund deficit by £1.1 million in satisfaction of the Chamberlin & Hill Life Assurance Scheme's charge over the property, with the balance of the proceeds to be applied to the Group's growth strategies and provide working capital.  Following completion, the Group will no longer hold any property assets.

Completion of the sale and leaseback is expected to occur on 16 June 2023. Following completion of the transaction, the Company's pension fund deficit on the Trustees' basis is expected to amount to £1.2 million, a significant reduction from the £5.1 million deficit as at 31 March 2019.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the UK version of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (2014/596) which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended and supplemented from time to time.

Enquiries:

Chamberlin plc Kevin Price, Chief Executive Officer Alan Tomlinson, Finance Director		T: 01922 707100
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) Katy Birkin Stephen Keys George Lawson		T: 020 7397 8900
Peterhouse Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Lucy Williams Duncan Vasey		T: 020 7469 0930

 

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