Nationwide acquires Seward group
Nationwide has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Seward Accident Repair Centres Ltd.
The total net cash consideration is £3.8m and will be funded from the group’s own cash and banking resources.
Seward is the tenth largest independent bodyshop chain in the UK and operates from a head office in Hampshire with eight bodyshops, together with mobile vehicle repair services, in the areas of Poole, Bournemouth, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton, providing repair services to retail customers, insurance and fleet companies. For the year ended 31 March 2014, Seward generated revenues of £16.0m and profit before tax and depreciation of £1.1m. Its net assets stood at £1.5m at 31 March 2014.
The addition of Seward’s bodyshops gives Nationwide greater coverage in the South and improves economies of scale and flow whilst extending the Group’s presence in its target markets of insurance, fleet and retail.
