‘One of the UK’s best-known hospital furniture and fit-out brands’, Fife-based Havelock, has been acquired out of administration by contract furniture specialist, Deanestor for an undisclosed sum.
Deanestor said: “The Fife-based Havelock business became a UK market-leader in the manufacture and installation of furniture in the healthcare sector.”
Havelock Europa Plc was listed on the main London Stock Exchange for 31 years, from 1987 to 2018, with a peak turnover of £138 m in 2008. In 2001 it acquired ESA McIntosh. Havelock International was incorporated in 2016, and in 2018 the business of Havelock Europa was sold to Havelock International. The deal for the intangible assets of Havelock International also includes the hospital fit-out brand, ESA Healthcare.
Richard Tonkinson, Executive director of Deanestor, said, “Despite their long trading history and a well-established market position, Havelock and its subsidiaries experienced increasingly difficult trading conditions, largely due to their exposure to the weakening retail and high street banking sectors. This culminated in Havelock International falling into administration earlier this year.”
He added: “Originally established in 1948 to manufacture hospital furniture for the newly established NHS, Deanestor is a market-leading supplier of fixtures, fittings, and equipment to the healthcare sector. We are well placed to build on its long history and market position, and continue to service its client base for new hospital building projects and refurbishments.”
Deanestor recently announced a record order intake for the first half of 2019, and last year completed a £1 m investment programme at its Mansfield factory (pictured), which included the installation of the latest computer-controlled cutting equipment and a second production line.
