Halma expands fire safety capabilities with £22 million Thermocable deal

The initial consideration for Thermocable (Flexible Elements) Ltd is £22 million on a cash and debt-free basis, which will be funded from Halma’s existing facilities. Thermocable’s unaudited revenue for the 12 months to 31 March 2022 was £6.3 million, with ‘Return on Sales’ substantially above the upper end of Halma's target range of 18%-22%.

Based in Bradford, Thermocable (Flexible Elements) Ltd concentrates its attentions on the development and manufacture of linear heat detectors. The latter are temperature-sensitive cables, installed in areas at risk of overheating and fire, which trigger an alert when they detect a change in temperature. The company’s specialist detection technologies expand the range of devices offered by Apollo, in turn helping to keep more people safe from the risk of fire.

“Thermocable’s specialist technologies will further enhance Apollo’s existing strengths in fire detection and alarm systems for industrial and commercial customers,” explained Andrew Williams, CEO at the Halma Group. “They will enable Apollo to address a greater 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 renewable power generation.”

The technology developed by Thermocable (Flexible Elements) Ltd’s is particularly suited for use in challenging infrastructure and industrial applications such as tunnels, factories, car parks and, increasingly, solar farms.

“Our long-term growth is driven by increasing urbanisation, population expansion and safety regulation,” stated David Bulley, managing director of Apollo. “With the acquisition of Thermocable, we will serve a greater range of customer needs globally, while in parallel offering an extra layer of protection to help extinguish fires at source before they can developed and cause serious harm. Thermocable’s technologies are very much aligned with Apollo’s purpose of protecting people and their immediate environment.”

The acquisition is part of Halma Group’s growth strategy to acquire bolt-on and standalone businesses. So far this financial year, the Halma Group has made a total of four acquisitions.

*A copy of the announcement, together with other information concerning the Halma Group, is available online at www.halma.com

**Halma Group is fully focused on growing a safer, cleaner and healthier future for everyone, every day. The Group’s purpose defines the three broad markets in which it operates: safety (protecting people’s safety and the environment as populations grow and enhancing worker safety), the environment (addressing the impacts of climate change, pollution and waste, protecting life-critical resources and supporting scientific research) and health (meeting the increasing demand for better healthcare as chronic illness rises, driven by growing and ageing populations and lifestyle changes). The Halma Group employs over 7,000 people in more than 20 countries, with major operations in the UK, mainland Europe, the US and the Asia Pacific region