Regulator clears Straight takeover
THE £10.7m acquisition of Yorkshire recycling products manufacturer Straight by Irish business One51 has been cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The cancellation of admission of Straight shares to trading on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) is due to take place on August 12, the statement said.
One51, based in Dublin, operates a portfolio of businesses in the areas of environmental services, renewable energy and injection moulding plastics. In the year to December 2013, revenues decreased by 12.8% to €301.6m, from €345.9m the year before.
The move comes after Straight announced it has seen a “transformational” year as it returned to profit.
Straight announced a rise in underlying operating profit to £0.82m, compared to a loss of £0.24m in 2012, as it announced its final results for the year ended December 31 2013. Group EBITDA increased to £1.99m from £0.75m.
Revenue dropped slightly to £26.10m from £27.82m, which the group said was primarily due to the disposal of the DIY business sold in May, and pre-tax losses shrunk to £133,000 from a £1.6m loss in the previous year.
Well-known Yorkshire entrepreneur Jonathan Straight founded the Leeds-based business in 1993 and floated it on AIM in 2003.
