ABACUS ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN LED LIGHTING BUSINESS

7th July 2015
ABACUS ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN LED LIGHTING BUSINESS

Two years after Abacus Lighting was purchased out of administration the business has posted a strong set of results for its second year of full trading.  Turnover has increased from £18.6 million in 2014 to £20.1 million in the year to 30 April 2015.  Underlying earnings before interest and depreciation increased to £2.3m from £1.5.  At the year end the Mansfield based group was free of external debt.

In May 2013 the business was rescued in a deal led by Intrinsic Equity, the investment vehicle of Orbis Partners.  Since that time, and under the leadership of a new management team, the business has been restructured to close its subsidiary in Dubai, sell off its subsidiary in Shanghai, and reduce its costs base by over £2m.

As part of the turnaround plan Abacus has invested in both people and R&D, and in addition is pleased to announce it has recently completed a strategic investment in AAA-Lux, a leading LED lighting company from the Netherlands.

This investment will support the growth of AAA-Lux and further strengthen Abacus' LED offering in the sports and large area lighting sectors.  With its head office and research centre in Eindhoven, AAA-Lux has developed a range of high power LED floodlights that are controlled via a unique lighting control management system. The system allows control of the lighting via touch screen, smart device, keypads and a variety of sensors.

Steve Lamb, Managing Director of Abacus Lighting said, "We are delighted to announce both a strong second year performance and the investment in AAA-Lux Lighting.  We are always looking to innovate and advance our position in the exterior lighting market.  AAA-Lux’s high quality product and technologically advanced system perfectly complements our product offering and we look forward to working together for the benefit of both businesses and our customers.

James Grenfell, Principal at Intrinsic Equity said, “Over the last two years we have worked hard to transform the underlying performance of the business and live up to the promises we made to suppliers, customers and employees. We continue to invest in both developing the existing team as well as introducing new skills to make the most of Abacus Lighting’s strong market position.  We move into our third year with our order intake up by 25% year on year and very much look forward to working with the AAA-Lux team.”

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