PLEXUS Holdings has offloaded its stake in a Scottish manufacturing business to an unnamed buyer for £1.5 million.

In a stock market announcement the AIM-listed oil services business, based in Aberdeen, confirmed its subsidiary Afrotel Corporation disposed of its only asset, the 25 per cent shareholding in Glenrothes based KSW Engineering.

Plexus said the cash will be put towards its global expansion plans which have a particular emphasis on its range of wellhead products under its own POS-GRIP brand.

It had bought into Afrotel in July 2013 in a deal worth £725,000.

KSW, founded in 1980, is said to have generated a share of profits worth £215,000 for Plexus in the 11 months to June 30 last year.

The investment was valued at £941,000 at that date.

Plexus said: "Since then, and up to the date of disposal of the investment, the company has recorded an unaudited share of profit in line with the prior year."

Chief executive Ben Van Bilderbeek outlined how the business is looking to grow into several new geographic areas.

He said: "In tandem with positioning Plexus as the supplier of choice in the high pressure high temperature exploration market in the North Sea, we are working hard to move our products into new operating regions such as Asia, Australia, China, Russia, and West Africa.

"The need to align Plexus with alternative lower cost manufacturing capacity for POS-GRIP applications to be sold to our customers, is the primary driver behind the divestment of our 25 per cent shareholding interest in the private UK engineering company."

According to accounts at Companies House KSW had turnover of £8.5m and pre-tax profit of £1.3m in its 2014 financial year.