A F Blakemore set for ‘gear change’ after major acquisition say advisers

BLACK Country based cash and carry firm A F Blakemore & Son has strengthened its business with the acquisition of fellow SPAR wholesaler Capper & Co in a deal thought to be worth around £40m.

The deal sees the creation of a group with a £1.1bn turnover and the formation of the single largest SPAR franchise in the country.

Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets and Barclays Corporate provided the finance for the deal, with Grant Thornton acting as lead adviser and Pinsent Mason supplying legal advice.

Ian Wilson, corporate finance partner at Grant Thornton in Birmingham, was lead adviser on the deal.

He said: “We are delighted to have secured debt financing from Barclays Corporate and Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets to support A F Blakemore’s takeover of Capper in the face of a challenging financing environment, demonstrating that it is possible to fund quality M&A transactions which have a strong commercial rationale.

“The increased scale and combined expertise of the enlarged group will significantly enhance A F Blakemore’s competitive position as well as delivering tangible benefits to the end consumer.”

The process of merging the two organisations’ wholesale and retail operations has now begun. The intention is that Blakemore’s 5,572 employees and the 2,418 employed by Capper & Co will form a combined workforce creating  the largest SPAR wholesaler in the UK, serving a network of 1,096 convenience stores.

Capper & Co will trade as a separate division of A F Blakemore & Son, with Capper chairman, Bill Capper and managing director, Robert Upton, joining the main Blakemore board of directors.

Peter Blakemore, managing director of the Willenhall group, said: “This is a great opportunity to bring two long established, family-owned businesses together and allow us to move forward in the growing UK convenience store sector.

“A F Blakemore and Capper & Co are similar companies that already have a shared history and a common set of values. The two businesses currently operate in regions adjacent to each other and this will allow for many benefits to be realised, particularly in areas of trading and distribution.”

A F Blakemore’s current SPAR business serves 664 stores, which covers an area extending from North Wales to East Anglia and North Lincolnshire to north of the River Thames.

Capper & Co’s SPAR business serves 432 stores, and covers an area from South Wales through to Gloucester, Oxfordshire, Sussex, Kent to south of the River Thames.

The Pinsent Masons team was led by corporate partner Andrew Hornigold assisted by Emma Callow, Emma Metcalfe (corporate), Kate Featherstone (tax), Alice Broadfield, Andrew Holmes (banking), Joanna Lawson-King and Rebecca Phillips (property).

Mr Hornigold said: “This deal signifies a significant gear change for A F Blakemore. The firm has had a continuous expansion programme and the deal will see the creation of a group with a £1.1bn turnover and the formation of the single largest SPAR franchise in the country.”