Rentokil swoops on Mitie division

Mitie has sold its pest control division to Rentokil Initial in a £40 million cash deal.

The company said the proceeds would be used to strengthen its balance sheet, pay off a portion of its pension scheme deficit and reinvest in its core business.

Mitie Pest logged pretax profits of £2m in the year to 31 March, while adjusted underlying earnings hit £3.2m. Mitie Pest has around £8.7m in gross assets.