Vehicle hire group Redde Northgate has completed the acquisition of a nationwide repair firm, which it has bought out of administration.
The Darlington company, formed earlier this year by the merger of Northgate with Redde, has bought some of the assets of Nationwide Accident Repair Services for £11m, plus a deferred consideration of up to £5m conditional on retention of certain trade business on satisfactory terms.
The firm also revealed a strong bounceback from the coronavirus lockdown, saying that it had seen monthly improvements in trade as more firms returned to normal working.
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Nationwide is the 海角视频’s largest wholly owned repair network and the largest independent accident repair company in Europe. Redde Northgate has taken on 77 of its 102 bodyshops, as well as 2,300 staff.
But more than 500 staff have lost their jobs at the sites that will close.
Redde Northgate said the deal would extend relationships with insurers with which Nationwide had partnerships, as well as adding to its vehicle repair facilities, which worked well at the company’s Spanish operations.
It added that the transaction, which was funded from existing finance facilities, would be “earnings enhancing in the first full year of ownership as well as delivering a post-tax return on invested capital”.
Martin Ward, CEO of Redde Northgate, said: “At the time of the Redde Northgate merger, we set out our vision to become the leading integrated mobility solutions provider. This acquisition, our first post-merger, is in line with that vision and significantly increases our strategic and operational capability to support a wider number of business partners requiring automotive repairs.
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“We expect this acquisition will open up new markets to the Group, and in combination with an established pipeline of repair work from existing Group companies, such as FMG, it is well placed to maximise future opportunities.
“We welcome those Nationwide colleagues who will be joining the Redde Northgate Group and we look forward to creating new value and service offerings for all our stakeholders.”
Oxfordshire-based Nationwide has a network of repair centres around the 海角视频 and deals with more than 300,000 repair incidents each year. Its last accounts showed turnover of more than £300m but it is believed the company suffered a big drop in income when millions of motorists effectively stopped driving during the coronavirus lockdown.
Rob Lewis, joint administrator at PwC, said: “As with many other businesses, the group had to weather major financial fallout due to the economic impact of COVID-19, which meant that trading volumes were significantly reduced. Against that backdrop, the sale announced today reflects a significant positive outcome for the business, and we are especially pleased to have safeguarded 2,350 roles including apprentices, mechanics and technicians.
“Sadly we have had to make 540 staff redundant. We are making every effort to support those workers. This includes providing guidance for employees regarding JobCentre Plus and Redundancy Payments Service processes.”