Capper & Co snapped up by AF Blakemore
AF Blakemore, based in Willenhall, has bought Capper & Co - the Spar shop operator based in South Wales. Details of the deal, estimated to be worth more than £40m, are likely to be unveiled this week.
AF Blakemore specializes in wholesaler retail, and operates nine depots across the UK. Prior to the Capper & Co buyout, the company operated more than 200 Spar shops.
The deal will mean a windfall for almost 50 shareholders, most of whom are members of the Capper family. Chairman Bill Capper had an 18.2 per cent stake in the in the business at April 2010, while fellow director Julyan Melville Capper held 10.1 per cent and Alan James Pratt-Walters owned 4.1 per cent.
Capper is one of Wales’ biggest private companies by turnover, with sales of £289m in the year to April 2010, up from £283m the year before. But it made a relatively modest pre-tax profit of £2.1m in the same period, down from £3m the year before.
Accountancy firm Grant Thornton advised AF Blakemore on the deal.
