Silvermines has agreed to sell its British-based manufacturing and distribution operations, and the related Belgian and Dutch sales businesses, to Sweden's Bewator Group.

The £5.6 million sterling (€8.7 million) cash consideration will be used to cut the firm's borrowings. It is the latest in a series of sales designed to focus on core business and cut costs.

The operations have been sold at a substantial discount to the original purchase price. The assets of the operations were valued at £7.1 million last June and Silver mines said the £10 million of goodwill written off to reserves would not be recovered.

But the operations were incurring large losses. They incurred pre-tax losses of £1.1 million in 1998 on sales of £12.4 million and a pre-tax loss of £800,000 in the first half of 1999. The operations being sold are engaged in the manufacture, sale and distribution of CCTV security products.

Silvermines last month sold its British aerospace division to a unit of US group Esterline Technologies for £12.8 million. The electrical division was sold to management and its US aerospace unit Pickering Controls was sold for £1.1 million.

Silvermines intends to focus on two divisions - broadcast and telecoms, and video technology. The remaining segments of the security division are being retained to form the video technology division.

Mr Ian Scott-Gall, Silvermines chief executive, said the latest sale largely completes the group's disposal programme. "Together with the proposals that have already been announced to dispose of the UK aerospace and electrical divisions, it will allow the group to focus on its core operations and be in a strong position from which to grow."