Acquisitive Avingtrans set to break even

Avingtrans, the Sandiacre manufacturer of engineered components, systems and services, is set to almost break even for the six months ended November 30 2016.

The firm’s losses will fall to almost neutral after slipping £1.2m into the red in the first half of 2016.

Revenues at the firm increased by 11% to £9.6m in the second half of last year.

The firm says it will now look to grow the business through acquisition.

The first sign of this is Avingtrains taking a majority stake in superconducting magnet and cryogenic systems company Space Cryomagnetics, trading as Scientific Magnetics’ for £347,000.

Scientific Magnetics is based in Abingdon and has 15 members of staff. It was formed in 2000 as a spin-out from Oxford Instruments, before becoming fully independent in 2005. It designs, manufactures, tests and installs superconducting magnet systems for a range of applications, as well as providing consultancy services to companies such as Siemens and Rolls-Royce.

Steve McQuillan, CEO of Avingtans, said: “We are delighted to have completed this deal, which will deliver a real step change in our offer to several key markets.

“The acquisition aligns with our ‘buy and build’ strategy, which also saw us purchase the assets of oil and gas manufacturer Whiteley Read in December 2016. We are looking forward to working with the Scientific Magnetics team to deliver on what are genuinely exciting opportunities across a number of key markets.”