Acquisition of Vessel

RNS Number : 4724N

Harland & Wolff Group Holdings PLC

01 June 2022

 

This announcement contains inside information

1 June 2022

Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc

("Harland & Wolff" or the "Company")

Acquisition of the Former HMS Atherstone

Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc (AIM: HARL), the UK quoted company focused on strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset lifecycle management, is pleased to announce that it has acquired the former HMS Atherstone from the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

The former HMS Atherstone is a mine hunting class vessel that is no longer in Service. The Company has acquired this vessel with a view to refurbishing it for non-military uses, discussions for which have already commenced with interested parties.

As announced previously, the Company is involved in a competition run by the MOD regeneration programme for the former HMS Quorn (M55). Management believes that the acquisition of the former HMS Atherstone will significantly de-risk the M55 regeneration programme given that the two vessels share a number of spare parts and components. Should the Company be awarded the regeneration programme for the M55, such spare parts and components on the HMS Atherstone will be utilised during the regeneration programme of the M55. Management expects negotiations with the MOD on the M55 regeneration programme to be completed in the next few weeks with an announcement to be made thereafter, should an award be made in the Company's favour.

Harland & Wolff, group CEO John Wood, commented:

"I am delighted that we have acquired the former HMS Atherstone. The benefits of this acquisition are two-fold; we now can significantly de-risk the M55 regeneration programme by utilising spares and component parts common to the two vessels, which has been recognised by MOD and will certainly help in closing out the negotiations over the next few weeks. Secondly, we also can utilise this platform as the basis for other clients' projects, which will be a valuable revenue stream for 2023. I am pleased that we have generated a lot of interest for the repurposing of the former HMS Atherstone, and I expect to make announcements in this regard as soon as we have executed a refurbishment contract with a counterparty."

For further information, please visit  www.harland-wolff.com  or contact:

Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc John Wood, Chief Executive Officer Seena Shah, Head of Marketing & Communications	[phone] [e-mail]   [e-mail]
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser & Broker) Stephen Keys / Callum Davidson / Dan Hodkinson (Corporate Finance) Michael Johnson (Sales)	[phone]

About Harland & Wolff

Harland & Wolff is a multisite fabrication company, operating in the maritime and offshore industry through five markets: commercial, cruise and ferry, defence, energy and renewables and six services: technical services, fabrication and construction, decommissioning, repair and maintenance, in-service support and conversion.

Its Belfast yard is one of Europe's largest heavy engineering facilities, with deep water access, two of Europe's largest drydocks, ample quayside and vast fabrication halls. As a result of the acquisition of Harland & Wolff (Appledore) in August 2020, the company has been able to capitalise on opportunities at both ends of the ship-repair and shipbuilding markets where there will be significant demand.

In February 2021, the company acquired the assets of two Scottish-based yards along the east and west coasts. Now known as Harland & Wolff (Methil) and Harland & Wolff (Arnish), these facilities will focus on fabrication work within the renewables, energy and defence sectors.

In addition to Harland & Wolff, it owns the Islandmagee gas storage project, which is expected to provide 25% of the UK's natural gas storage capacity and to benefit the Northern Irish economy as a whole when completed.

 

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