THE LEADING UK retailer of school uniforms to independent schools is under new ownership.
Schoolblazer Ltd has been acquired by Australian company Hancock & Gore in a deal that will kickstart the creation of a worldwide school uniform group.
Founded in Oundle in 2004, Schoolblazer has grown to currently be the UK’s leading uniform supplier. Its shareholders, including co-founders Tim James and Robin Horsell, were advised by regional law firm Howes Percival after agreeing a deal to sell the entire issued share capital to Hancock & Gore Limited, owner of the Mountcastle and LW Reid brands in Australia and Argyle in New Zealand.
Tim will remain as chairperson and director of Schoolblazer under the new structure and will join the Hancock & Gore board. Robin is to step down as a Schoolblazer director but will remain as a consultant to work on Schoolblazer’s launch in Australia, the company said in a statement.
Howes Percival’s corporate partner James Stephen, who led the legal team working on the acquisition, said: “They have built a fantastic company and we look forward to seeing the Schoolblazer brand go from strength to strength as part of the wider Hancock & Gore group.
“This is another significant deal for the firm and further indication of the calibre of transaction we are routinely seeing. We really enjoyed supporting the sellers during this transaction, which was delivered to a challenging timeline.
“The strength and breadth of the teams we are able to put together to support high-profile deals like this means we continue to see a strong pipeline of high-quality instructions.”
Tim added: “We could not be happier with the support of our team at Howes Percival. It is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience but, if we did it again, we would certainly choose the same team – no hesitation.”
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