A METAL finishing firm in Huddersfield has been sold as part of a £3.7m deal.

Heywood Metal Finishers (HMF), based at Red Doles Lane, off Leeds Road, employs 79 people.

The firm has been bought by Belgian company Coil.

In an unusual transaction, Coil bought another metal finishing firm, LHT Anodisers, of Uxbridge, Surrey, at the same time.

The acquisitions - for a combined £3.7m - give Coil a strong foothold in the UK for the first time.

HMF is a UK leader in providing anodised aluminium.

The anodising process is a way to treat aluminium to resist corrosion and weathering while improving its appearance.

Customers include car manufacturers and suppliers of aluminium to the construction industry.

Latest published accounts show HMF made profits of £1.4m on turnover totalling £2.8m.

For many years, HMF was part of the Elland-based Heywood Williams Group. HMF was bought by its management in 2001.

Under its new owners, HMF and LHT Anodisers come under the new banner of United Anodisers.

Both companies will continue to operate independently under existing management and all staff have been retained.

Tim Hutton, chief executive of Coil, said: "HMF has a modern production site suitable for a full range of architectural, industrial and automotive applications.

"The acquisition of HMF has helped us to build a presence in the UK and be in the best possible position to offer our customers across Europe a greater range of services.

"It also enables HMF to know that it has a secure future as part of one of the world's largest aluminium surface treatment groups."

Coil was advised on the deal by accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward and law firm Gordons, both in Leeds.

Funding was provided by Yorkshire Bank's Leeds financial solutions centre, which was advised by law firm Cobbetts.

Mr Richard Frogson, of law firm Gordons, one of the advisers to Coil, said the acquisition put Coil in a strong position to continue to plans to expand across Europe.

Coil has 125 employees at sites in Belgium and Germany. The company is listed on the Paris stock exchange and had sales of £14.3m last year.