Hill & Smith has announced a major international investment that is set to place the Birminghambased group firmly among the global leaders in its markets.

Not only does the £24 million deal open up Europe and the US, it also means that the infrastructure, building and construction products group will benefit from world leading technology and innovation.

Hill & Smith has bought a one third stake in a German investment company, Zinkinvent, which controls Vista, a galvanizing and lighting column supplier operating across Belgium, France and the US.

Vista is the market leader in Northern Europe for hot dip galvanizing systems for the protection of steel from corrosion.

It is also at the forefront of the development of innovative coatings technology, especially in extra thin hot dip galvanizing.

Hill & Smith's initial investment will result in the UK group owning one third of Zinkinvent, but it could go on to buy the rest of the company at an already agreed purchase price.

An exclusivity deal has been negotiated and Hill & Smith will be carrying out further due diligence before deciding whether to go ahead. It has until the end of the year to make a move.

Hill & Smith is investing £17.2 million in new equity and another £6.8 million as an interest bearing loan. The total cash injection will be used by Zinkinvent to increase its current stake in Vista from 62.6 per cent to 86.0 per cent.

In the year ended December 31, 2003, the last year for which audited accounts are available, Vista, which has over 1,100 employees, reported sales of £104 million.

In the same year, Vista reported earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and exceptional items of about £17.2 million and a profit before tax of £6.3 million.

David Grove, chief executive of Hill & Smith, will take a seat on the Vista board. Hill & Smith will also nominate a further director and will be entitled to appoint an observer to attend the board and shareholders ' meetings of Zinkinvent.

Mr Grove said: "Vista is among the most innovative and successful businesses of its type in the world. Our investment, and the ongoing cooperation that will follow, will open the way both to new markets and new opportunities.

"The exchange of technology will be particularly valuable in the light of Vista's well established innovative capability.

"We will also gain from access to market information, which will support our own product development programme.

"This will be particularly useful in the infrastructure area, where our products range from safety barriers used in the repair and maintenance of roads through to lighting columns.

"Apart from increasing our penetration into key global markets, the deal will open the way for Hill & Smith to be at the leading edge of developing new procedures for corrosion resistance and the technical galvanizing process generally," he added.

Lars Baumguertel, chief executive of Vista, said: "We are looking forward to working in partnership with Hill & Smith." Hill & Smith, which used new bank facilities to make the investment in Zinkinvent, recently reported record profits and turnover for the year ended December 31, 2004 boosted by strong markets for its infrastructure products.

Profit before taxation was £8.4 million, up by 35.7 per cent, on turnover of £268.7 million, up by 11.1 per cent.

Hill & Smith's shares have tripled in value since the group's last major acquisition, that of the then publicly quoted rival Ash & Lacy in November 2000.

Jonathan Bartlett, director at Stafford Corporate Consulting, was lead adviser to Hill & Smith.