SUFC Congratulate Ramsdens on Money Shop Acquisition

12th March 2019

Teesside pawnbroker and financial services firm Ramsdens, principal partner of Sheffield United for the 2018/2019 campaign, has expanded after snapping up a number of The Money Shop stores in a £1.

5m deal. The deal sees the company - which already has 139 stores and four franchises - acquire the business and certain operating assets of a portfolio of 18 The Money Shop stores from owners Instant Cash Loans Ltd. Ramsdens will acquire the pawnbroking loan books of the 18 stores and of five other The Money Shop stores which are to close. The deal also sees Ramsdens take on 70 new employees. All stores, which are primarily in Scotland and the North West, will be rebranded to Ramsdens in the coming weeks and are likely to add jewellery to their existing pawnbroking services, as part of plans to grow its rapidly rising jewellery retail business. The total consideration for the deal is £1.5m, including £400,000 of goodwill and £1.1m of assets. Ramsdens directors said the acquisition supports the group's growth strategy to expand its geographical reach in the UK, while also helping the group to leverage the significant investments made in recent years in its brand, IT systems and people. The firm said it anticipates that the acquired stores will make a small contribution to pre-tax profit in FY 2020 after factoring in integration costs, including those relating to refits, rebranding, training and IT integration and that the acquired stores should contribute approximately £600,000 to group pre-tax profit in FY 2021. Peter Kenyon, CEO of Ramsdens, said: -We want to grow and we are in a position to grow we have been trading profitably, are cash generative and opening new stores and within pawnbroking we operate in quite a small industry, really. -We all know each other, and I knew that The Money Shop was looking to rightsize their estate, so we were able to take some stores off his hands. -Some of them are going to need some love and attention, so we will be investing around £150,000 in the coming 12 months, on rebranding and getting them 'Ramsdenified' - Then we will be taking stock. -Some of the stores are in realy good locations on good high streets, so we need to do more with them. Mr Kenyon said his intention is to introduce the group's successful jewellery division into the new additions to the portfolio, having seen huge growth. The firm, which first launched in the 1970s, runs separate business streams including foreign exchange and other financial services, precious metal-buying and the jewellery division. Strong growth in jewellery sales offset the drop in foreign exchange income that the firm saw during last summer's heatwave, when so many people chose staycations over foreign holidays, with revenue from jewellery retail rising by 27% to £4.5m and online jewellery sales soaring by 126% year on year. Mr Kenyon added: -Ramsdens has a proven track record of acquiring stores and quickly integrating them into the group and we will now prioritise our resources on these acquired stores. -We are confident that this acquisition will deliver value for the group's shareholders as well as the local communities where they operate. For the best rates and commission free currency visit www.RamsdensCurrency.co.uk    

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