Halfords in driving seat after £73m deal

HALFORDS is poised to become Britain's biggest player in the lucrative car servicing and repair market after snapping up Nationwide Autocentres in a £73.2 million deal.

The move will see 224 sites rebranded as Halfords Autocentres with a further 200 in the pipeline, creating some 1,000 jobs.

Halfords – already the biggest seller of car parts and accessories in the UK – described the expansion into the servicing and repair market as an "exciting and logical move".

Analysts welcomed a deal which they said could add a powerful source of growth for the group.

Singer's Matthew McEachran said: "We believe this is a very good deal for Halfords and offers the group an additional entry point into the structurally attractive car maintenance market."

Andrew Wade, an analyst at Numis Securities, said the deal represented "excellent use" of Halfords' strong cash generation.

As a direct result of the acquisition, Wade raised his forecast on 2011 pre-tax profits by 6m to 130m.

He is looking for Halfords to book profits of 114.4m in the current financial year.

The largest UK provider of MoT and car servicing, Nationwide employs about 900 mechanics and deals with some 500,000 customers a year. It has been owned by private equity fund Phoenix since 2006.

The current management team of chief executive Duncan Wilkes and chief operating officer Bill Duffy will remain in place following the acquisition.