Croma Security Solutions Group plc has announced a conditional agreement to sell its subsidiary Vigilant Security (Scotland) Limited, known more commonly as Croma Vigilant. The sale is being made to M&W Security Limited for a total price of £6.5 million.
The decision to sell Vigilant aligns with Croma’s strategy to focus on its higher-margin businesses, Croma Locksmiths and Croma Security Systems. The proceeds from the sale will support the nationwide expansion of Croma’s retail chain of modern security centers.
On December 6, 2022, Croma announced its decision to sell Vigilant in order to refocus its strategy on the development of Croma Locksmiths Limited and Croma Security Systems Limited, which offer higher margins, good cash generation, and potential for future growth. The management team of Vigilant, led by Operations Director Paul Williamson and supported by Managing Director Sebastian Morley, expressed their interest in acquiring the company and stepped down from their board roles to prepare a bid.
M&W Security Limited is owned and controlled by Sebastian Morley and Paul Williamson. To partly fund the cash consideration, Morley and Williamson intend to sell their shares in the Company.
Of the acquisition, Roberto Fiorentino, CEO of CSSG, expressed satisfaction with the proposed sale, stating, “We are delighted to be announcing the proposed sale of Vigilant, which is a good business but no longer fits with the future of our Group. The funds from the sale will accelerate our ability to drive our Locks and Systems business through the roll out of our modern Security Centres. Separately, the Group has continued to trade well, and we have had a strong second half to the year ending in June 2023, comfortably surpassing last year’s overall trading performance. We look forward to completing the sale and demonstrating to existing and new shareholders the true value of our core businesses.”
The sale is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to be completed on June 30, 2023.