Timpson buys high street dry cleaners
TIMPSONS, the family-owned cobbler and key-cutting chain, has bought the retail dry cleaning business of Johnson Services for £8.25m.
The deal marks a complete exit from UK dry cleaning for Cheshire-based Johnson, which can trace its origins back to 1817 when Johnson Brothers started in business in Liverpool as silk dyers.
Over the last four years Johnsons has reduced the dry cleaning retail portfolio from some 500 stores down to 200 stores, a move it said has created a sustainable and profitable business.
The dry cleaning businesses had a turnover of £46.2m for the year to the end of December 2015, with adjusted operating profits of £2m.
Johnsons said the move is part of its strategy to instead focus on its higher margin textile rental business. It will use £1.5m of the cash from the sale to help plug a pension scheme deficit, with the balance used to reduce net debt.
In a stock market statement the company said: “We believe there is further potential to expand textile rental organically and through acquisition, which will provide us with greater geographical reach and opportunities to consolidate service distribution.
“This disposal enables us to wholly focus on driving our expansion plans as well as further strengthen the group’s balance sheet, enhancing our platform for future growth.”
Wythenshawe-headquartered Timpson has more than 1,400 outlets across the UK and was launched by current chairman John Timpson’s great-grandfather in 1865.
It is already the UK’s largest dry cleaning company, cleaning up to 40,000 garments a week. It has 32 dry cleaning production sites located around the UK, 19 of which are Timpson Super Hubs and act as satellite production centres.
Hill Dickinson acted on behalf of Johnson Service Group. Partner Sue Russell led the transaction assisted by Richard McKay.
