InfraStrata to acquire BiFab assets
InfraStrata plc has acquired
assets from Burntisland Fabrication Limited (BiFab), providing the company
with increased capacity across two locations in Scotland.
The acquisition of assets and leases covers two sites: Methil on the east
coast of Scotland and Arnish on the west coast of Scotland. The Burntisland
site will not form part of the transaction.
The consideration paid for the assets is £650,000 in cash with a further
deferred consideration of up to £200,000 in cash, subject to achievement
of future revenues targets. This includes consolidated group turnover is
or exceeds £75 million in the next 24 months or consolidated turnover of
Methil and Arnish reaches or exceeds £40 million in the next 24 months
These facilities will trade under the Harland & Wolff brand and represent
the final fabrication piece of InfraStrata's UK footprint. The company
stated that this positioning it to deliver on its existing strategy quicker
than it would have done with only its two existing sites: Harland &
Wolff (Belfast) and Harland & Wolff (Appledore).
The acquisition includes over 25,000m2 of undercover fabrication capacity
acquired, with 580,000 m2 of total site area and 24,000 tonnes of quayside
load-out capabilities and annual throughput tonnage potential estimated
at over 100,000 tonnes.
The sites are in close proximity to an array of wind farm projects currently
ongoing and planned in the Irish Sea and the North Sea. They feature waterfront
sites that are capable of load in, load out and launching activities.
John Wood, CEO of InfraStrata, commented: "I am very pleased to
have completed the acquisition of the assets of Bifab, which is in keeping
with our stated strategy of capitalising on complementary opportunities
when they present themselves. Whilst the total consideration is not material,
relative to our balance sheet size and market cap, it nevertheless is a
very important and highly strategic acquisition for InfraStrata. With this
acquisition, we now have a footprint in Scotland, which is the hotbed for
major wind farm projects as well as for shipbuilding programmes.
"We have now positioned ourselves strategically across the UK, with
four sites capable of servicing our five core markets. This acquisition
gives us the flexibility to optimise our operations across the Group and
offer our clients the ability to fabricate faster and de-risk their exposure
by offering multiple sites. As we move into larger contracts, it is crucial
that we demonstrate the capacity to bid for and deliver on these projects.
The acquisition of Bifab's assets delivers that capability to us and will
open up a larger demographic of tender opportunities. Most importantly,
it is expected to substantially boost our existing sales pipeline success
rate given that the fabrication risk carried by the project developers
will drop significantly since we will now be more favourably located geographically
than others. Finally, I wish to warmly welcome the personnel whom we have
taken on at Methil and Arnish and I am confident that we will turn these
facilities into highly successful businesses that generate jobs and investment
into their local economies in due course."
