Struggling materials business sells off subsidiary
Versarien has sold its specialist plastics manufacturing business, AAC Cyroma, as it continues to focus on its core graphene technology.
The Cheltenham-headquartered advanced materials engineering group has sold its subsidiary to Harper Bennett for £550,000, which will be paid in quarterly instalments over a four-year period.
Versarien will retain a charge over the assets of both AAC Cyroma and Harper Bennett to cover any outstanding payments.
The most recent filed accounts for AAC Cyroma, for the year to September 2023, showed a loss of £146,000 on £2.5m turnover.
Stephen Hodge, chief executive of Versarien, said: “The sale of AAC Cyroma is a pivotal step in our turnaround strategy, allowing the company to continue to focus on maximising the potential from graphene and advanced engineering technologies, and take a manufacturing-light approach.
“In our core business the pipeline of opportunities and partnerships continues to improve and I believe that Versarien is increasingly well positioned for sustained growth and industry leadership.”
Versarien is listed on the Alternative Investment Market although its shares have almost no value, with the market cap of the company around £1.7m. Its value has been eroded by poor performance and the subsequent need to fundraise over the past two years.
