FTSE 100 technology group Halma acquires Yorkshire-based linear heat detector designer Thermocable for £22m
- Linear heat detectors are cables designed to detect fire or overheating events
- Halma told investors that Thermocable will be part of his set of Apollo companies
- Latest takeover comes four months after Halma bought Weetech Holding
Technology developer Halma has acquired a maker of water and heat leak detection equipment, marking the FTSE 100 group’s seventh takeover in the past two years.
Halma told investors on Wednesday it had bought Thermocable, a maker of linear heat detectors (LHDs) based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in a £22million cash-free, debt-free deal.
LHDs are cables designed to detect fire or overheating events in a wide variety of buildings and applications, including power plants, thatched houses, conveyor belts and tunnels.
Safety: LHDs are cables designed to detect fire or overheating events in a wide variety of buildings and applications, including power plants, thatched houses and tunnels
When they recognize a fire or a significant increase in temperature, signals are sent through the cables to alarms and other fire protection devices that indicate where the overheating is occurring.
Halma told investors that Thermocable would be part of his Apollo group of companies, which also specializes in producing fire detection services.
Managing Director Andrew Williams said: “Thermocable’s specialist technologies will further enhance Apollo’s existing strengths in fire detection and alarm systems for industrial and commercial customers.
“They will allow Apollo to meet a wider range of customer needs in niche applications for a variety of sectors such as urban infrastructure and transportation, logistics, natural resources and emerging applications in the production of renewable energy.”
The company’s latest purchase comes about four months after it bought German-based Weetech Holding, a provider of electrical test technology to industries ranging from aerospace to rail and automakers.
Previously, Halma bought Maryland-based IZI Medical Products, a designer of consumable medical devices such as biopsy needles and thermoplastic face masks, for around £138 million.
Other acquisitions made since the start of 2021 include underwater robot maker Deep Trekker, health consultancy Infinite Leap and PeriGen, a software company aimed at improving childbirth safety.
The Amersham-based group’s long history of takeover-driven growth has helped its annual turnover to reach £1.5billion and its profits to rise for the past 19 consecutive years.
It was first founded as a tea estate in the Victorian era before branching out into rubber production, until the Sri Lankan government nationalized the country’s rubber plantations about a decade after the end of World War II.
From the early 1970s, under David Barber, Halma focused on securing electrical, mechanical, electrical and electronics engineering businesses.
Halma shares were up 1.1% at £21.72 early Wednesday afternoon, just ahead of fellow FTSE 100 companies Howden Joinery and British Land.
