Havelock Europa has sold its Dalgety Bay headquarters to Fife council for £750,000, writes Simon Bain.

The storefitter and school supplier will lease a modern office space from the council in Kirkcaldy, close to its main operating base where it consolidated all manufacturing in 2009. At that time Havelock retained Dalgety Bay for administration and warehousing but the site, 17 miles from Kirkcaldy, now requires major maintenance spending, the group said yesterday. It will spend around £700,000 on refitting and relocation, but says the reduction in warehousing space will have no operational impact as it has " rationalised stock holding policy to hold fewer and newer lines". There will however be a £2.1m provision against stock writedown, adding to a £1m net book loss on the sale. Shares were up 0.5p at 17p.