Business
Acquisition of Petstore Chain
Acquisition of Petstore Chain.
About this update from Wynnstay Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Wynnstay Group PLC\n14 January 2008\n\n\nWYN.L\n\n Wynnstay Group plc\n\n ('Wynnstay' or 'the Group')\n\n Acquisition of Pet Superstores Chain\n\n\nWynnstay, the retail and agricultural supplies business, is pleased to announce\nthe acquisition today of Wilsons Pet Centres Limited ('Wilsons Pet Centres'),\nthe Midlands based chain of pet superstores, for a gross cash consideration of\nup to £5.85m. After taking into account the utilisation of surplus cash in the\nacquired business, amounting to approximately £0.69m, the net consideration is\nup to £5.16m. The acquisition wholly complements Wynnstay's existing pet\nsupplies and retailing activities, adding critical mass and giving Wynnstay a\nstrong market position in the West Midlands region. Wynnstay expects the\naddition of Wilsons Pet Centres to be immediately earnings enhancing.\n\nBased in Bromsgrove in the West Midlands, Wilsons Pet Centres was established in\n1993. Since then, the management has built up a chain of 10 pet superstores,\nwith locations in the south west Midlands in Evesham, Malvern, Worcester,\nDroitwich, Kidderminster, Northfield, Acocks Green, Stourbridge, Swadlincote and\nBromsgrove. The stores, which are all leasehold, are modern and spacious, with\nan average floor space of 6,000 sq ft, and are typically located within retail\nparks. Each store offers a comprehensive range of pet care products as well as\nrelated services such as in-store pet grooming, pet behaviour courses and pet\ninsurance. Wilsons Pet Centres has 104 employees on a full time equivalent\nbasis.\n\nFor the year ended 28 October 2007, Wilsons Pet Centres generated revenues of\n£6.8m and pre-tax profits of £669,609. At completion, adjusted net assets stood\nat £1.0m (excluding surplus cash of approximately £0.69m).\n\nFollowing the completion of the acquisition, the two principal directors of\nWilsons Pet Centres, who together have 42 years' experience of pet supplies\nretailing, will remain with the business and will lead the on-going development\nof Wynnstay's pet products retailing activities.\n\nWynnstay has a successful track record of integrating retail acquisitions and\nthe Group believes that there is excellent potential for expanding its\npet-related activities through both dedicated pet and general stores. Wilsons\nPet Centres will be rebranded under Wynnstay's exis...