- OT
- Industry
- High Street
- AOP Awards winner expands with five more practices
AOP Awards winner expands with five more practices
Hayfields acquired five new practices outside of Yorkshire for the first time
26 August 2015
AOP Awards winner Bayfields Opticians has confirmed the acquisition of two independent practice groups involving five new practice sites, covering Yorkshire, Surrey and Hampshire.
It is the first time the Leeds-based company has acquired practices outside of the Yorkshire region.
Bayfields has practices in Leeds in Headingley, Yeadon, Horsforth and at the University of Leeds, as well as in Pontefract and Wakefield. The company has won many awards, including those for Practice of the Year and Marketing Campaign of the Year at the AOP Awards last October.
The acquisition includes a long established practice in Huddersfield, Angela Barraclough Opticians, using a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Bayfields (Huddersfield) Limited.
The practice is in the process of being rebranded as Bayfields, in line with the company’s other practices.
And in a deal representing the firm’s first acquisition in the South, using a newly incorporated subsidiary, Bayfields (South) Limited, the company has acquired the business and assets of the well-known Harwoods Opticians, which operates across four practices in Woking, Camberley and Guildford in Surrey and Fleet in Hampshire.
Both Barraclough’s and Harwoods’ employees have transferred to Bayfields, and Harwoods’ former owners have entered into service agreements with the company and will continue to provide optometry services. Bayfields now employs a total of 66 staff.
Bayfields Opticians’ managing director, optometrist Royston Bayfield, said: “We are delighted with our latest acquisitions. Huddersfield opens up a new area of the region for us, and our expansion in the south of the country amply demonstrates our intentions of creating a truly national offering.”
Achievement
Marcus Armstrong, partner at corporate law firm Shulmans, who has acted for Bayfields Opticians in the majority of its acquisitions, said: “These two deals represent a growth in turnover of almost 80% – an astonishing achievement.”The latest acquisitions take the total number of Bayfields practices up to 11. The group’s business plan is to have 50 practices by 2025.
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to join the discussion. Log in