Halfords Group has agreed a £15 million deal to acquire Kent-based Universal Tyre and Autocentres.
The latest in a string of acquisitions for Halfords, which also bought McConechy’s and Tyres on the Drive in 2019, sees the company further expand its motoring servicing business and its share of the commercial truck and van market.
It also takes Halford closer to meeting its ambitious target of having over 550 garages in the UK.
Once the deal goes through, Universal’s 20 sites and 89 response vans will become part of the Halfords Group. Taking Halford’s coverage of the UK to over 1,000 locations (374 garages, 185 commercial vans, 136 mobile expert vans, and 404 retail stores) and giving its customers what it calls “unmatched levels of convenience”.
Around £9 million of the purchase price relates to the acquisition of real-estate and the net cash position of the business, with the remaining £6 million paying for the underlying trading business. Halfords says it intends to sell and lease back the property within the next few months.
Universal is expected to report revenue of over £31 million and EBITDA of around £1.5 million for the year to 31 December 2020.
Graham Stapleton, Halford’s CEO, said: “We have a clearly stated strategy of building a market-leading motoring services offer, and the acquisition of Universal is another important step forward in helping us to achieve that goal.
“We continue to see strong demand for our Autocentres, for our expanding fleet of Halfords Mobile Expert vans, and for our growing commercial business. Universal will help us to meet that demand whilst also expanding our geographic footprint in a market for which we see significant potential.”
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