Nualight buys firm for €11m

CORK-BASED retail lighting company Nualight has acquired Dutch firm Lumoluce for €11 million.

Nualight has a leading focus on LED-based lighting for refrigerated food displays in supermarkets, but this deal will allow it to expand into the broader area of ambient lighting in shops, with the chief focus remaining on food retail.

“Through this acquisition, Nualight has acquired a portfolio of products and excellent technology expertise that allows us to move very quickly into accent lighting for food retail, and doubles the speed at which we can bring new products to market,” said the Cork company’s chief executive, Liam Kelly.

“It also offers us instant entry into complementary market sectors.”

The ambient/accent lighting market (typical use of which is for accentuating fresh food displays) for food retailing is expected to reach a value of around €1 billion within the next five years.

The purchase of the Amsterdam-based company will boost Nualight’s staff from 110 to more than 200 and will bring the company’s revenues to over €25m this year.

Mr Kelly said: “Food retailers today are very focused on deploying new technologies to make their business models as sustainable as possible. In terms of price and performance, LED technology is fast approaching the tipping point for accent lighting in food retail.”

The Cork company’s clientele includes leading players like the Co-Operative Group, Tesco, Carrefour and Sainsburys.

It says the inclusion of Lumoluce offers growth opportunities in four additional areas of high-end retail, infrastructure, commercial lighting and drivers and that its LED accent lighting solutions are proven to save up to 40% on energy costs.

Nualight is the only LED lighting company in the world that specialises exclusively in lighting food retail displays.

Lumoluce chief executive Gerard Kroone — who will join the Nualight board, which is chaired by former Superquinn head Eamonn Quinn — said the deal will create “a combined company with an enhanced expertise, responsiveness and reach that will create new and exciting market opportunities”.