Johnson sells Alex Reid division for £2.1m

JOHNSON Service Group has sold part of its dry cleaning business in a £2.1m deal.

Belgian chemicals manufacturer Christeyns, which has its UK base in Bradford, has acquired Alex Reid, a Leicester subsidiary which supplies the laundry business with equipment.

AIM-listed Johnson, based at Preston Brook, Cheshire, said it would use the cash to pay down debt.

In the year to December 2011 turnover at Alex Reid was £12m, of which £3.6m related to inter-company contracts. The adjusted operating profit was £200,000 and as at June 30 the business had net assets of £2.3m.

Christeyns is a major detergent supplier to the UK laundry market and an existing supplier to Johnson’s textile rental business.

Johnson Cleaners, the retail drycleaning side of the group, has now signed a three-year supply agreement with Christeyns.

Johnson’s chairman John Talbot said: “In July we announced the conclusion of a strategic review of our drycleaning business.

“As part of that review it was decided that Alex Reid was not a core business for the group going forward. We are pleased that we have secured a multi-year agreement to continue to use the services of Alex Reid under its new ownership.”