LONDON (Alliance News) - Pawnbroker and foreign exchange firm Ramsdens Holdings PLC said Monday it has acquired 18 stores trading under the Money Shop pawnbroking brand as well as some operating assets for GBP1.5 million in cash.
The stores, located mostly in the north-west of England and Scotland, will be rebranded as Ramsdens stores in the "coming weeks." At the end of September, Ramsdens had 139 stores in total.
As part of the deal, Ramsdens will also buy the pawnbroking loan books of the 18 stores as well as a further five Money Shop stores which are to close.
The new stores are expected to make a "small" contribution to pretax profit in the year ending March 2020. For the year ending March 2021, the stores are anticipated to deliver a GBP600,000 pretax profit boost.
For the year ended March 2018, Ramsdens generated GBP6.3 million pretax profit on revenue of GBP39.9 million.
"We are delighted to announce this value-enhancing acquisition and welcome our new colleagues and customers to Ramsdens," Ramsdens Chief Executive Officer Peter Kenyon said.
"This acquisition further expands the reach of the Ramsdens brand and our trusted offering across communities in the UK and demonstrates the significant growth opportunities available to the group in the fragmented UK market."
"Ramsdens has a proven track record of acquiring stores and quickly integrating them into the group and we will now prioritise our resources on these acquired stores," Kenyon added.
"We are confident that this acquisition will deliver value for the group's shareholders as well as the local communities where they operate."
Shares in Ramsdens were 3.4% higher at 168.99 pence on Monday.
Ramsdens Hldgs (RFX)