Umeco to offload R&O

today announced plans to sell its repair and overhaul (R&O) business to

for £36m in cash

The proposed sale will allow the Leamington Spa-based company to reduce debt and focus on its composite materials and supply chain businesses.

To facilitate the sale, the entire issued share capital of AEM Limited and Antavia SAS will be sold to Ametek Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paoli, US-based AMETEK.

The R&O business provides repair and installation services to operators of fixed and rotary wing aircraft, from facilities in the UK, France and Singapore. In the year to 31 March 2007, it generated operating profit of £2.7m. In the same period its gross assets were £33.1m, with net assets of £22m.

‘This is a strategically significant move for Umeco,’ said Clive Snowdon, chief executive of Umeco. ‘By disposing of our R&O operations, we will be able to focus all of our management and financial resources on further developing our two core businesses of composites and supply chain. With their greater scale and market positioning, these offer significantly more attractive growth opportunities for the Umeco group.

‘The markets in which these businesses operate are buoyant and, in both cases, we have well-developed plans for organic and acquisitive growth. The proposed disposal will leave us even better positioned to convert those opportunities open to us.’