ONE of Hampshire’s major businesses has been taken over in a deal worth nearly £46m.

Lymington Precision Engineers (LPE) employs 225 people and has been operating for more than 30 years.

The firm makes components, fabrications, assemblies and kit sets for the oil and gas, telecoms, aerospace, defence, land and sea systems, nuclear and marine industries.

It has 121,000 sq ft of manufacturing space at its Gosport Street base.

The company was founded by Leon Crouch, who went on to twice become chairman of Southampton Football Club during its financial crisis in 2007-08.

Mr Crouch kept Saints alive by paying costs out of his own pocket while the club was in administration. He also paid for the Ted Bates statue that stands outside St Mary’s Stadium, pictured below.

Daily Echo:

Senior PLC has bought LPE from Vine Street Capital for an initial £45.8m on a debt-free cash basis. The cash was paid on completion.

It will become part of Senior’s Flexonics Division under the deal and the current management team is staying with the business.

An “earn-out” consideration of up to £31.7m is payable dependent on the financial performance of LPE during the 12-month period ending March 31, 2016.

LPE’s new owners expect its financial performance to be “materially lower” this year than recently because of falling oil and gas prices.

In the year ended March 31 2014, LPE reported sales of £42.7m and trading profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £7m. Those figures are expected to rise to £51.2m and £9m respectively for the year just ended.

A statement from Senior PLC said: “Due to the current short-term uncertainties in the oil and gas market, which accounts for 85 per cent of LPE’s sales, the financial performance of the company is expected to be materially lower over the next 12 months than that experienced in the recent past.

“The acquisition is, however, still expected to be immediately earnings enhancing.

“Following the acquisition, sales to the oil and gas sector will represent approximately five per cent of group revenue.”

It said LPE’s prospects were “encouraging” and it was “well-positioned” to benefit from a recovery in the oil and gas industry.

Mark Rollins, Senior PLC’s group chief executive, said: “I am very pleased to announce the acquisition of LPE and to welcome all of its employees to the group.

“LPE represents an excellent addition to Senior’s portfolio, strengthening the group’s precision machining capabilities and providing access to LPE’s strong customer relationships and adjacent markets.

“Combined with Senior’s wider market access and financial strength, LPE represents an excellent platform to enhance the longer-term growth prospects for the Senior group.”