Havelock in £1.1m property deal to reduce debt

Fife-based shopfitter Havelock Europa has sold a property occupied by a former subsidiary to help reduce its borrowings.

The company, which had bank debts of £4.8 million at the end of June, has sold the building in Hertfordshire for £1.1m.

The property is occupied by Showcard Print, which was sold off by Havelock last year and had been paying its former parent £150,000 in rent a year.

Because it will no longer be receiving the rent, Havelock said the sale would knock earnings, but the subsequent reduction in debts “is expected to enhance the prospects for the focused expansion and continued development of the group’s interior fittings and fit-out services”.