Smiths in £16 million property sale
Smiths Group, the airport security screening machine manufacturer and engineering firm, has announced the sale of an eight acre former operational site in Basingstoke, Hampshire for £16 million.
The site has a current value of just £4.3 million on Smiths’ books and, until October 2002, was occupied by part of the Smiths Aerospace division which relocated to Cheltenham. Smiths Aerospace was sold to General Electric Company in May 2007.
Prior to the sale Smiths secured planning consent for more than 95,000 ft.² of retail warehouse development on this site.
Smiths Group Chief Executive Philip Bowman (pictured) said: "This property sale is part of our drive to maximise returns on capital for shareholders through the disposal of surplus assets within the group".
