Norcros agrees £8.25m land deal with Morrisons

NORCROS, the showers-to-tile making business based in Wilmslow, has agreed a conditional sale of some surplus freehold land to Bradford-based supermarket chain WM Morrison.

The company said that the sale of the site for £8.25m is conditional upon planning consent being agreed, although it has not divulged which site it has sold.

Under the terms of the deal, Norcros would have to take on infrastructure costs amounting to around £5.65m, but these would only be carried out once planning consent has been gained and the sale agreed.

Norcros said that it expects to make a profit of around £800,000 on the site sale once the development costs and the £1.8m carrying value of the land is factored in. It expects to receive the cash on completion of the deal, which it is anticipating will take place in its next (2012/13) financial year.

The money made from the sale will be used to pay down net debt, which stood at £12.4m at its March 31 year end.