Halfords announces Axle Group acquisition

Halfords will purchase Axle Group Holdings on a cash free, debt free basis, to become the UK’s largest vehicle service, maintenance and repair business.

The deal is worth £62m with a further investment of £17m post acquisition on associated capital expenditure and £2m on integration costs.

The acquisition accelerates Halfords’ strategy of surpassing its current target of 550 garages and 200 consumer vans and post-completion it will have approximately 604 garages, 234 consumer vans and 190 commercial vans.

Including retail stores this will mean a combined total of over 1,400 fixed or mobile motoring services locations.

Following the purchase, motoring revenue is expected to represent more than 70% of the group’s revenue, an increase from 67% in the first half of the current financial year.

Graham Stapleton, chief executive officer of Halfords, said: “This acquisition helps cement our position as the UK’s largest vehicle service, maintenance and repair business. It will also see us deliver on our established strategy of evolving Halfords to become a motoring services focused business, with motoring revenue set to represent more than 70% of our pro-forma revenue following the acquisition.

“National has a high quality, UK-wide network of garages and mobile tyre fitting vans, and 1,400 highly skilled colleagues, providing a complementary fit with Halfords’ existing operations. Post-acquisition, Halfords will have over 1,400 fixed or mobile motoring services locations, servicing a broad range of vehicles and delivering 7.5 million motoring jobs a year. This increased scale will bring the majority of UK-mainland motorists within a 20-minute drive of a Halfords garage, with even more vans available to provide mobile services at their home or work.”