Scrivens buys Owl Optical

Birmingham-based family company, Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care, has acquired Owl Optical, another family business, to expand its local network.

Owl Optical is an established independent Midlands-based optical company, owned by brothers Simon and David Harrison. It has eight practices in Stratford-upon-Avon, Newquay, Weston-Super-Mare, Penzance, Royston, Shirley in Solihull, Radcliffe and Ashton-in-Makerfield.

The practices will continue to operate under their individual names and Owl Optical’s 50 employees will remain with the enlarged group. 

The acquisition takes the Scrivens group to178 branches across England and Wales and will further increase its presence on the High Street.

Scrivens chairman, Nicholas Georgevic, said: “Tactical acquisition is one part of our strategy for growth, but we are very careful to acquire companies with similar cultures and objectives, where customer satisfaction is the key priority and professional standards are extremely high.”

Mr Georgevic added: “We are very much a family company and our success, since my grandfather founded the business in 1938, has been built on a philosophy of making the customer our one and only focus. The Owl Optical business has also been built on the same values, providing high quality professional eye care over many years.”

Owl Optical director, Simon Harrison, said: “My brother and I founded Owl Optical in 1968 but the time has come for us to hand over the reins as my brother and I take retirement.” 

He added: “The Scrivens Group is the perfect partner to take Owl Optical forward and we are confident that our loyal staff will enjoy a bright future under the new ownership.”

Scrivens’ hearing care services will be introduced into the practices over the coming months. 

Mr Georgevic added: “Our hearing care division is seeing sharp growth in terms of NHS and private care provision and this acquisition gives us further opportunity to broaden the reach of our offer which is being driven by customer demand.”