Rainham, England, May 2, 2007--Carpetright said it has reached an agreement to acquire Storeys, a floor covering specialist retailer based in the North East of England.
Storeys was founded over 80 years ago and trades from 30 locations. In the year to 3 March 2006 sales were £32.8 million.
The acquisition will be for an initial consideration of £18.5 million with a further potential £1 million. The majority of the consideration will be satisfied in cash with the balance of £0.5 million satisfied through the issue of new Carpetright shares to one of the vendors.
A listing application has been made for 47,529 Ordinary Shares of 1p each in Carpetright to be admitted to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange. They will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued Ordinary Shares of Carpetright.
Commenting on the acquisition Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive, said:
“I am delighted that we have been able to acquire Storeys. The business has a strong heritage and presence in the North East, an area where we are not well represented at present. We see significant opportunities to develop the business and deliver attractive returns to our shareholders. Storeys will continue to trade as a stand alone operation under its existing retail brand. John Kitching, CEO of our Europe businesses, will become Chief Executive of Storeys and will work with the existing management team, including Simon Heptinstall, grandson of the original founder, to deliver these benefits.”
