Halfords buys Nationwide Autocentres
Halfords has acquired Nationwide Autocentres an independent car servicing and repair operator with 224 outlets nationally.
Halfords is paying £73.2m in cash for Nationwide, which has 224 outlets across the UK. Nationwide will be rebranded as Halfords Autocentres. Halfords intends to boost the size of the chain by a further 200 centres over the next few years.
‘This doubling of scale provides a strong growth opportunity, requires low capital investment and generates working capital inflows. The expansion programme will be funded from the group’s net cash flow,’ Halfords said.
David Wild, Chief Executive of Halfords said “Our expansion into the adjacent car servicing and repair market is an exciting and logical move for Halfords. Car maintenance is a large and highly attractive sector where there is increasing demand from motorists for reliable service at affordable prices. Nationwide is a high quality business and represents an opportunity for significant growth.”
