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(Alliance News) - Halfords Group PLC on Friday said it agreed to buy Universal Tyres & Autocentres, a chain of garages in the south east of England, for GBP15 million.
Of that price tag, GBP9 million relates to Universal's real estate and net cash position, while GBP6 million relates to the underlying business. Halfords, a West Midlands-based retailer of motoring products and services, said it intends to sell and lease back the real estate in the next few months.
Universal has 20 garages and is set to report revenue of over GBP31 million for 2020, according to the statement by Halfords. Following the acquisition, Halfords will have 374 garages, getting closer to its target of 550 across the UK.
Shares in Halfords were down 0.2% to 337.18 pence in London.
Halfords Chief Executive Graham Stapleton 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."
By Ivan Edwards; ivanedwards@alliancenews.com
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