NUCLEAR services operator NUKEM will be sold this week for more than £120m.

The sale, to an overseas buyer, has been led by James Gaskell at the Manchester office of investment bank NM Rot hschild.

The Warrington-based company, the UK business of German group NUKEM Gmbh, offers a range of services including decommissioning, engineering design and build, consultancy and program management, radiation safety services and nuclear facility maintenance and support.

Its head office is in Risley, while it has other sites at Harwell in Oxfordshire, Dounreay in Caithness, Winfrith in Dorset, and Westlakes and Sellafield in Cumbria.

Growth

It is led by Dr Michael Down, who over the past 12 years has overseen growth from 45 to 900 staff. Last year turnover came in at £68m.

Dr Down is a renowned nuclear industry expert and was responsible for original research related to fast reactors and nuclear fusion at Nottingham University. He has also worked in the US, for Westinghouse Corporation.

Dr Down said: "We have had good, steady growth over the past 12 years. We were owned until last year by German energy giant RWE, but the company was sold to private equity firm Advent International.

"We are happy with the current owner, but we are now looking at options with Rothschild."

Deal

A spokesman for Rothschild, which handled the £1bn-plus sale of the Caudwell Group last year to US private equity firms, and before that the £800m Glazer takeover of Manchester United, said: "We have been working with Nukem's UK management team for some time. It is an excellent business in a growing sector. We hope to sign a deal soon."

Nukem was originally founded in Bramhall, and moved to Warrington 10 years ago.

Dr Down said: "The nuclear engineering sector has a long history in the north west, and there is a good pool of well qualified people here."

NUKEM'S major customers include British Nuclear Group and British Energy. Its senior management team includes Ken Jackson, director of major projects and engineering, who was chief engineer at Sellafield during a 15-year career with BNFL.

The nuclear sector has seen considerable merger and acquisition activity in the last few years.

Engineering consultancy AMEC paid £38m for Knutsford-based nuclear consultancy NNC, while more recently global giant Babcock is seeking to buy Irlam-based International Nuclear Solutions for £39.3m.