COLIN CRAWSHAW has exited the business that began as his father’s butcher’s shop in Stocksbridge in a £3.7m share deal.
The Crawshaw Group is now a listed business worth around £70m and has 35 shops across the north of England and as far south as Derby.
It bought the Gabbotts Farm chain for £3.9m earlier this year, which added 11 stores, and plans to invest a further £25m by the end of next year in its expansion plans.
The company is now run by chief executive Noel Collett, the former Lidl chief of operations who joined in February. He wants to open a total of 200 new stores creating an estimated 2,500 jobs by 2022.
Mr Crawshaw has stepped down from his final role as buying director after 25 years with the company and has now sold his shareholding. After raising £1.2m in July when he sold one-third of his shares, he has now disposed of his remaining 5.4% stake, earning £3.7m.
The share price is at its highest point since late 2007 and has more than doubled since February this year when shares were worth 37p. Last night, it closed at 86p.
Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
