Shares tumble as woes continue at brake disc maker

Shares plummet at Liverpool city region supercar brake disc maker, which is backed by a £13m Combined Authority loan, as it battles ‘numerous challenges’ and ‘cash constraints’. Tony McDonough reports

ston Martin Valkyrie
Surface Transforms made brake discs for the £3m Aston Martin Valkyrie.

 

Liverpool city region supercar brake disc maker Surface Transforms (ST) admits it is continuing to face “numerous challenges” and “increasingly constrained’ working capital.

Shares in Knowsley-based ST, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market, plummeted more than 30% at one point on Tuesday before rallying later in the day. However, the price still ended the day more than 22% down at 0.32p.

ST manufactures carbon fibre reinforced ceramic automotive brake discs for high performance cars. Customers of the business include, or have included, Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin.

It currently has a forward order book of £390m and says its prospective customer pipeline is worth around £700m. However, despite the popularity of its products in 2023 ST experienced what it described as “the most difficult year in the history of the company”.

It has been dogged by issues related to the ramping up of production and those troubles continued into 2024. Earlier in the year the company tested the patience of its investors further by tapping them for an extra £9.5m.

In November 2024 the company’s non-executive chairman, Andrew Kitchingman, resigned but a fresh trading update issued on Tuesday revealed that its troubles are continuing.

It revealed revenues for the 12 months to December 31, 2024, of £8.2m, up from £7.3m in 2023. However, the statement laid bare the company’s woes. It said: “Gross cash at December 31 was £0.5m with working capital becoming increasingly constrained.

“These working capital constraints significantly impacted both revenue as well as yield in Q4 and trading results will remain challenged until current constraints are resolved.”

It added that backing from customers has included increased pricing, funded manufacturing expertise and cash advances of more than £4m in 2025 to support its working capital requirements.

In November 2023, ST secured a £13m loan from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority solely for use against capital expenditure. £4.9m had been drawn down at the year end with further drawdowns having been made in 2025.

 

Surface Transforms
Surface Transforms makes brake discs for multiple automotive manufacturers including Porsche

 

Chief executive Kevin Johnson insisted “key customers remain highly supportive” but added: “There remain numerous challenges to grow output and revenue at the pace required.

“The company alongside customer support is working through each of these difficulties, not least those posed by the cash constraints which have limited our ability to operate.

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“Frustratingly our efforts have not yielded the results we expect of ourselves or at the levels of demand our customers require.

“As the Company navigates these difficult times the support of our customers remains steadfast and their desire to see the company succeed is highly encouraging and welcome. 

“These Q4 results are not typical and do not reflect the progress achieved during 2024 as a whole. We remain optimistic that we can firstly, find a solution to current working capital constraints and thereafter, achieve the necessary operational volumes and targets.”

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