Halfords swoops for garage chain
Halfords has bought McConechy’s Tyre Service, one of the largest independent garage chains in the UK.
McConechy’s has 60 sites and 100 vans across Scotland and the North of England, providing tyre fitting and vehicle servicing, maintenance and repair for both retail and commercial vehicles. It employs 330 people.
Graham Stapleton, Halfords chief executive, said: “We are very excited about today’s acquisition and I am delighted to welcome McConechy’s to the Halfords family.
“This acquisition is highly complementary to Halfords’ service-led strategy, and the addition of McConechy’s further strengthens our growing and unique motoring services offer, which includes Autocentres, Halfords Mobile Expert and our weFit services in our stores.
“The additional garages and vans increase our national presence and takes Halfords to within a 15-minute drivetime to over half of UK households. The vehicle servicing market is a £10bn market, but one which remains highly fragmented, offering significant scope for Halfords’ trusted and recognised consumer brand to grow its market share considerably.
Advisers on the transaction included PwC for Halfords, while the shareholders of McConechy’s were advised by a team from Grant Thornton Corporate Finance.
Meanwhile, profits have dropped at Halfords for its half year to 27 September. The firm made £27.5m – 2.5% from the same period in 2018. Revenues also fell by 2.4% to £582.7m.
