Disposal

Eleco PLC 1 August 2001 1 August 2001 ELECO PLC Sale of the Rail and Marine Equipment Business of Abtus Limited for £0.77m Eleco plc ('Eleco') announces the sale of the business and net operating assets of Abtus Limited ('Abtus'), its railtrack measurement systems and marine lighting and communication equipment subsidiary, to Evengrove Limited ('Evengrove') for £770,000. Eleco will continue to market and service the Zeta-Tech range of railway systems application software. Evengrove is a newly formed company that has been established to execute the buy-out. Included among the buy-out team is Russell Owen, the current Managing Director of Abtus. John Ketteley, Executive Chairman of Eleco, commented: 'The transaction is another step towards the strategic refocusing of the activities of the Eleco Group on building systems and related applications software design and service. The sale of the Abtus business to the Evengrove team will strengthen our balance sheet and enable us to concentrate on our core competencies and improve the quality of Eleco's earnings.' The entire business, assets and liabilities of Abtus are being sold, with the exception of bank balances and certain leasehold improvements, which are being transferred to Webster Properties Limited. This Group subsidiary currently holds the freehold of the property at Haverhill occupied by Abtus. Evengrove is being granted a 5-year lease at an initial annual rental of £27,000 increasing to £45,000 from December 2001. The purchase consideration of £770,000 is being settled by the payment of £ 740,000 in cash on completion and the issue of £30,000 loan stock by the purchaser, repayable in instalments by 31 December 2002. The £740,000 received on completion, together with £41,000 of net bank balances retained, will be applied initially in reducing net bank borrowings of the Group. Abtus' net assets being transferred to Evengrove were £772,000 as shown by unaudited management accounts of Abtus at 30 April 2001, the effective date of the transfer under the business Sale Agreement. Abtus' net assets being transferred, were £772,000. For the 10 months period ended 30 April 2001, Abtus' operating profit was £3,000 on sales of £1,043,000. For the year ended 30 June 2000, the last date to which audited accounts were made up, Abtus reported an operating profit of £134,000 on sales of £2,180,000, representing 8% of Group sales. Enquiries to: John Ketteley, Executive Chairman Tel: 01920 443 830 David Dannhauser, Finance Director Eleco plc David Millham/Tarquin Edwards Tel: 020 7256 5756 Millham Communications
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