Surface Transforms plans £1m fundraising

SURFACE Transforms, the maker of high-performance ceramic brakes, is planning to raise up to £1m of new equity.

The firm unveiled the plan in its interim figures and said the cash would be used to undertake a “number of projects” to help drive down costs.

The company is planning to halve costs over the next three years to enable it to compete on price with larger firms.

The Ellesmere Port-based company said turnover, for the six months to November 30, rose 19% to £405,000.

Pre-tax losses narrowed to £429,000 from £433,000 but were £298,000 after stripping out exceptional costs – roughly in line with last time.

The firm’s ceramic brakes are used in high-performance sports cars and in the aerospace industry.

It hopes the brakes will one day be adopted by volume producers and fitted as standard in most supercars but its immediate objective is to break even next year, which will require sales of £1.9m.

Chairman David Bundred said: “The company is confident that, over time, it can compete on cost with its bigger competitor, the aim being to approximately halve production costs over a three-year period.

“The company has identified a number of projects that will enable it to achieve these cost reductions, some of which will require further working capital.

“Whilst it is possible that the company could undertake these projects without recourse to further finance, the directors believe that it would be more prudent to raise further equity finance in the near future to support this programme and to enable the company to commence the necessary projects as soon as practicable.

“Consequently the directors are in discussions with potential investors with a view to raising a minimum of £300,000 and up to £1m of new equity.”