Focus Do It All buys Wickes

The last few months have witnessed an intense battle between the two companies as Wickes fought off the hostile intentions of the bigger company. Wickes shareholders have previously rejected bids of 375 p and 320 p per share.
Until recently it had been thought that the independence of Wickes was guaranteed by the resolute defence mounted by Wickes chief executive Bill Grimsey, who now stands to benefit personally to the value of £ 1.5 mio from the latest developments. He had always claimed that the Focus Do It All offers did not accurately reflect the value of the business, which his management team had brought back from financial disaster in the mid-nineties.
In recommending acceptance of Focus Do It All’s new, revised offer of 495 p per share, making for a total purchase price of £ 289 mio, he said that this was a fair reflection of the strength of the business and represented a good deal for shareholders. “I think this is the right move for everybody,” he reaffirmed.
The merger creates a combined group of 340 stores with nearly 11 per cent of the total market. Some years ago Wickes had stores in France, Belgium and Holland, but these were sold as part of the company’s financial restructuring in the late nineties.
Bill Archer, chairman and chief executive of Focus Do It All, says that “The combination of Wickes and Do It All will bring together both light and heavy-end DIY product offerings. It will create a business with the scale necessary to compete with the larger players in an increasingly competitive and consolidating industry.”
Wickes is known in the UK for its restricted heavyside product offering which appeals to builders as much as to DIY consumers, while Focus Do It All has a more traditional DIY product offering, which it has recently complemented by the addition of pet and craft departments. While the idea of creating a chain which covers both ends of the DIY spectrum is an attractive one, some analysts have commented that the history of attempting to merge retail chains of diverse product and corporate culture has not always been a happy one.
It is too early to consider how the new management is going to develop the combined business. However, one thing is clear: It would be a very brave move to dispense with the Wickes brand, which is probably the strongest DIY retail brand in the United Kingdom – encapsulating both value and competence.