Offshore firm Tekmar has offloaded one of its subsidiaries in a £1.9m deal.
The Darlington-based firm has sold Subsea Innovation (SIL) to Aberdeen-based Unique System (海角视频), part of the Emirati firm Unique Group. The deal does not include Subsea Innovation’s HQ at Innovation House, however, with Tekmar retaining control of the £2.8m property and Subsea allowed to use the property rent-free for 12 months.
The deal is made up of an initial cash payment of £27,000, a £1.4m relating to a trade debtor and a further £549,000 to be paid a year after the completion of the deal. Tekmar said that the deal for Subsea Innovation, which made an Ebitda loss of £1.4m last year, would be broadly Ebitda neutral in its current financial year.
Read more: Cambridge University spinout expands into North East
Go here for more North East business news
Tekmar - which retains four other subsidiaries, including Ryder Geotechnical Limited and Tekmar Energy Limited - has been battling significant challenges in the offshore sector and effectively put itself up for sale in a bid to safeguard its future. Last May it secured £22m investment from US-based private equity firm SCF Partners and indicated that it looking to grow in the offshore wind market.
In March, Tekmar released results showing that revenues increased from £30.2m to £39.9m in the year to the end of September 2023. But operating losses more than doubled to £9.3m, mostly due to a £4.7m writedown of goodwill in its offshore energy division. Last month the company announced contract wins worth around £6m, mostly through its Pipeshield International division.
Tekmar CEO Alasdair MacDonald said: “The disposal of SIL reflects our strategic focus on strengthening Tekmar’s performance and financial position through efficient resource allocation and portfolio management. SIL has an established reputation in the energy industry and we are particularly pleased for SIL’s employees and customers that they can look forward to realising its full potential under the ownership of Unique.
“From a Tekmar perspective, we continue to execute our strategy to drive profitable growth organically across our balanced portfolio, and to complement this growth through targeted M&A to strengthen and broaden our core offering. The disposal supports this objective. We also reiterate our expectations for FY24 to be a year of profit improvement for the business with the Group having delivered Adjusted Ebitda profit in the first half in line with management’s expectations.”