Wincanton sells stake in Shropshire firm for £11m

LOGISTICS group Wincanton has disposed of its 20% stake in Shropshire-based Culina Logistics in a deal worth £11m.

The investment in Culina had originally taken place as a result of Wincanton merging its chilled consolidation activities in the UK with Culina in March 2009.

Market Drayton-based Culina provides primarily chilled logistics solutions to the food and drink industry across the UK.

The book value of Wincanton’s investment in Culina, which is accounted for as an associate, is £14.5m and the profit after tax attributable to the company’s investment for the year to March 31, 2011 was £1.2m.

The disposal is in line with Wincanton’s strategic objective of reducing its existing level of debt through the disposal of specific non-core operations. The net cash proceeds from the disposal will be used to reduce Wincanton’s debt.

Eric Born, Wincanton chief executive, said: “This is another important step in the reduction of our debt through the disposal of non-core investments and allows us to focus our attention on delivering profitable growth in the UK & Ireland business in the future.”