Lense firm sold as owner retires

LENSE manufacturer Optimum Coatings has been bought by Manchester-based MasterObjective for an undisclosed sum, following the retirement of its founder.

Optimum Coatings, which employs 16 staff in Morecambe, manufactures ophthalmic lenses and provides specialist coating services to lens laboratories and opticians across the UK. 

Established in October 2001 by managing director David Birt, the company’s facility at the White Lund Estate is one of only three remaining independent coating laboratories in the country.

Mr Birt said: “I spent six months looking for the right buyer as I believed it was important to leave the business in safe hands. I wanted someone who would invest in the company and take it forward.

MasterObjectives, founded 11 years ago by Paul Bailey, invests in and provide financial and commercial consultancy services to SMEs.

Bailey aims to form a portfolio of manufacturing companies securing at least 100 jobs and generating an additional £10m of turnover across the North West. 

Mr Bailey said: “Optimum Coatings is an ideal acquisition to add to the group. It has a proven product and client base, and I’m looking forward to investing and developing the business even further over the next few years.”