Bodycote, the Macclesfield-based heat treatment and thermal processing giant, announced the completion of the sale of a package of 10 non-core sites to the French asset management company Arcole.

“The sites are based in France and are focused on heat treatment for Automotive and Industrial Markets,” said Bodycote.

“The cash consideration for the deal is €22m.

“The completion of this deal marks an important milestone in the execution of the Group’s Optimise programme, which at full run-rate in mid-2027 will deliver an operating profit benefit of at least £15m, with net programme cash costs of £10-15m.”

Bodycote CEO Jim Fairbairn said: “We are delighted to have completed this transaction, which brings in considerable proceeds and is a key step in the delivery of our Optimise programme.

“It accelerates our efforts to transform the group’s portfolio and to create a higher quality, more resilient and faster growing Bodycote.”