Venture capitalist DM Private Equity has swooped on privately owned off-licence chain Unwins and scuppered a sale-and-leaseback deal the company was poised to complete.
Unwins was in advanced negotiations to sell its 96-strong freehold estate to a property company in a £30m deal and expected to exchange contracts late last week. But DM Private Equity came in with a circa £25m cash offer for the group at the last minute, which shareholders accepted.
Following the takeover through its special purpose vehicle, UW Acquisitions, DM Private Equity is understood to have entered into its own sale-and-leaseback of the 96 freehold properties in a £25m deal with Helical Bar.
Phillip Cook, chairman of UW Acquisitions and DM Private Equity, said: “We are delighted to have completed the purchase of Unwins and we very much look forward to strengthening what is a nationally known brand.”
Michael Lunn, chairman of the former family-run Unwins business, has now resigned from the company.
Unwins, which was founded in 1843, operates 387 stores across southern England. Turnover for the year ended 28 February 2004 was £179m, down from £197m for the same period a year earlier.
Operating profit was £850,000, up from £419,000 in 2003.
DM Private Equity first showed an interest in taking over the Unwins chain when it put itself up for sale in May 2004. French wine business Castel, which owns the Oddbins chain of shops, also bid to take over the group but failed to win enough support.
The collapse of the sale led to Unwins putting its sell-off plans on hold and entering into a £30m sale-and-leaseback of its property portfolio.
References: EGi News 07/03/05
