Unwins sold to private equity business
Family off licence chain sold to DM Private Equity
The long sale process of Unwins has been completed with the sale of the 387-store off licence chain to DM Private Equity.
The sale price for the 162-year-old business was not revealed, although there was known to have been considerable interest, with the value of the business underwritten by almost 100 freehold properties across the chain.
Unwins was put up for sale last summer by its 84 shareholders, all descendants of Michael Wetz, founder of the Phillips Newman business that acquired Unwins in 1921. The business has struggled in the face of the increasing share of alcohol sales being taken by supermarkets and c-stores, and reported losses over the past three years.
DM was backed by Bank of Scotland and has agreed to sell around a third of the estate to property company Helical Bar in a sale and leaseback deal. DM has a 5 per cent stake in Australian wine producer Palandri.
Chairman Phillip Cook said: “We look forward to building on the hard work of the Unwins staff, to strengthening the brand name and to growing what is already an extremely successful retailing operation.” The new owner does not expect ‘substantial’ branch closures.
Michael Lunn, who stepped down as chairman of Unwins on Friday, said the agreement secured the future of Unwins and its 2,500 staff.
