ROLLS-ROYCE NETS €70M MORE IN SELL-OFF

ROLLS-ROYCE boss Warren East today chipped away at his £2 billion disposal target by selling the maritime business Bergen to UK engineer Langley Holdings.

East, due to present the engine giant’s half-year results tomorrow, sold Bergen at the second time of asking after an original deal worth €150 million (£128 million) with a Russian firm was blocked by the Norwegian government in March. Today’s sale to Nottinghamshirebased Langley, which employs 4600 people and is an MoD contractor, has generated sale proceeds of €70 million

(£59.7 million). Rolls will also retain €40 million (£34.1 million) of cash currently held by Bergen. The cash will help rebuild Rolls’s balance sheet after its finances were rocked by the sharp reduction in civil aerospace engine flying hours due to Covid-19. The biggest deal in the fundraising is still to come as Rolls is expected to raise about €1.5 billion (£1.3 billion) from the disposal of Spain’s ITP Aero. Graeme Evans