A Liverpool city region manufacturer of carbon fibre brake discs for high performance cars is to supply its products for three new vehicles in a deal worth £45m. Tony McDonough reports

Supercar brake disc firm Surface Transforms (ST) has secured a £45m contract with an unnamed carmaker, taking its total order book to £115m.

The Knowsley-based manufacturer will supply its sought-after carbon fibre reinforced ceramic brake discs for one the forthcoming launches of three new cars of one of its existing customers.

It has been a busy week for the business, which is listed on the stock exchange’s Alternative Investment Market. On Tuesday its shares fell by more than 7% after it revealed it would miss its revenue targets for 2021. 

However, optimism returned on Wednesday when the company revealed it had drawn down a previously agreed £1m loan from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. This will be used to expand it production facilities and create new jobs. ST has already increased its workforce by 60% this year to 80 people.

In the latest deal, brake discs will be fitted as standard to both axles on all three cars. The lifetime value of these contract wins is more than £45m – bringing the overall company order book to in excess of £115m.

This contract wins is in addition to the previously notified vehicle selection with this customer. The first car is a limited-edition special model with start of production in late 2023 with a short series production period.

The second two models (the base car and a derivative) have an production start of mid-2024 and will be in production for at least six years. In total, they are expected to generate approximately £500,000 of sales in 2023, increasing to approximately £4m in 2024 and to approximately £7m in 2025 and thereafter.

ST chief executive Kevin Johnson said “We also note that this is now the third example of demonstrating our ability to win carry-over contracts after having won the first award. We expect to win further contracts in the new financial year across our range of existing and new customers in parallel to moving into profit and operational cash generation in 2022.”

The firm is based at Image Business Park in Knowsley. It is currently supplying brake discs for the Aston Martin Valkyrie, a limited edition model that will cost buyers almost £3m. Other customers have included Porsche, Ferrari and Nissan