A cross firm team has advised Halfords, the UK's largest provider of motoring and cycling products, on its acquisition of Lodge Tyre.
Lodge Tyre provides automotive services to business-to-business customers from 50 garages and 248 mobile vans. The acquisition takes the Halfords garage services business to 656 garages, 253 consumer vans, 440 commercial vans and nine warehouses.
The team at Gowling WLG was led by Halfords client partner Ragi Singh (corporate partner). He was supported by Santina Taylor, Alex Lakeland-Reed, Hayfa Hazem, Frank Beeton (all corporate), Greg Dunn and Chloe Collins (transaction services), Amar Adatia (solvent restructuring), Anna Colley, Nicola Page (real estate), Sarina Mann, Navin Prabhakar (banking) Andrew Litchfield (health and safety), Dan Phillips (employment), Tom Rank (tax) and Sean Adams (commercial litigation).
Andy Randall, Halfords Group Chief Operating Officer, said: "I don't think it would be overstating it to say that without the efforts of Ragi Singh and Anna Colley's teams this transaction may not have happened at all and certainly not in the timeframe we completed in. It seemed that whatever surprises, twists, or new issues arose they or their colleagues had a commercial solution and the flexibility to change tack and implement it quickly and efficiently. Their good humour and energy was indefatigable. I know our legal team trust them implicitly to protect our interests but still get the deal done in a manner, and on terms, consistent with representing a listed acquirer."
Commenting on the acquisition, Ragi Singh said: "It has been fantastic to work with Halfords again on another acquisition which takes them closer to achieving their stated objectives. These complex, strategic transactions play to our strengths and we are very proud to have helped Halfords complete this step towards their aim of becoming a motoring services focussed business as well as the UK's largest B2B commercial tyre provider."