Halfords - Neighbourhood Retailer

Former Tesco UK boss chair to chair Greggs

Linda Stewart — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 09:08:16 +0000

Greggs PLC has named former Tesco UK boss Matthew Davies as its an independent non-executive director and chair designate.

He will join the board immediately and take over as chair on November 1, 2022, when the current chair, Ian Durant, steps down.

The bakery chain said Davies is an experienced retailer, having previously been Tesco UK & Ireland chief executive and group CEO at Pets at Home Group PLC and Halfords Group PLC.

As a non-executive director, he chaired N Brown Group PLC between 2018 and 2021, and was on the board of Dunelm Group PLC between 2012 and 2015.

Davies also is chair of private equity-owned Hobbycraft, and is an operating partner at Advent International.

“Greggs has undergone a transformation over the past decade and I am proud to have contributed to its achievements as chair. Greggs has entered a new era, now under Roisin Currie’s leadership, and the business is in great shape with a clear strategy,” said Ian Durant, chair of Greggs.

Greggs PLC has also reported a jump in half-year sales. For the six months that ended July 2, pretax profit was £55.8 million, 0.5% higher compared to £55.3 million a year before. This was on total sales of £694.5 million, up 27% versus £546.2 million.

Greggs noted that this half-year period benefited from a stronger sales contribution. However, the previous period profited from a temporary relief from business rates and reduced rates of value-added tax.

The company said sales were “encouraging” during the period, with sales patterns returning to more normalised levels in the second quarter.

“The breadth of the Greggs estate continues to provide geographical diversification as consumer behaviour adjusts coming out of the pandemic. Our strong presence in towns and suburbs, along with a growing portfolio of convenient roadside shops, has counter-balanced the slower recovery seen in large city centres and public transport hubs,” Greggs said.

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Ballymena retail park on the market for £1.5m

Linda Stewart — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 09:27:34 +0000

The Pentagon Retail Park in Ballymena has gone on the market with an asking price of £1.5 million.

Home to Halfords and Subway, it is the latest retail asset in the area to be put up for sale.

The Fairhill Shopping Centre in Ballymena was sold to local developer Magell in June, while the nearby Braidwater Retail Park, which went on the market in October with an asking price of £4.5m, is already under offer, according to Savills.

Built in 1998, the Pentagon Retail Park includes a McDonalds outlet, which has already been sold off on a 10,000-year leasehold to the fast food giant.

The sale comes during a busy period for the retail property market. The Shane Retail Park in Belfast, Lisnagelvin Retail Park in Derry, The Showgrounds Retail Park in Omagh and Balloo Retail Park in Bangor were among the major deals done in 2021.

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Halford’s team up with the Ice Cream Alliance

Julie Nash — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 14:46:34 +0000

Halfords is partnering with the Ice Cream Alliance’s Great British Ice Cream Staycation campaign, offering the countries fleet of ice cream vans a free vehicle check.

Halfords’ expert teams at its 750 outlets are providing 5-point vehicle checks and maintenance follow-ups to make sure ice cream vans are in tip top shape ahead of what promises to be a bumper year for British getaways.

The free vehicle check is available to all ice cream van operators in the UK (you do not need to be a member of the ICA). Just click on this link and follow the steps: https://blog.halfords.com/want-a-flake-with-that-halfords-%20launches-free%20-ice-cream-van-check/

In Halfords own research, 87 per cent of the population plan to holiday at home this year. Another 45 per cent have already got something booked, while 24 per cent are stay-cationing for the first time in years.

Staycation 21

According to Halford’s ‘Staycation 21 Report’, enjoying an ice cream by the sea is one of the top ten staycation holiday experiences (along with eating fish and chips and feeling sand between the toes).

“We are delighted to have the support of top British brand Halfords,” commented ICA CEO Zelica Carr. “It is a real and valuable boost to the ice cream van sector to have such support from the nationwide maintenance and repair specialist. Along with other parts of the hospitality sector, ice cream vans have had a challenging 18 months. Our Great British Ice Cream Staycation campaign, launched back in March, was created to support ice cream vans and parlours get back on their feet and make the most of a positive trading environment in the summer of 2021. Halfords support is the cherry on the cake – or should I say 99 in the ice cream cone.”

Free vehicle checks

Halford’s Group Marketing Director, Lisa Bond said: “We’re really proud to be teaming up with the Ice Cream Alliance to help them continue doing what they do best – support the ice cream sector. After all, summer wouldn’t be summer without an ice cream or two!”

The Ice Cream Alliance (ICA), the UK’s trade association for the ice cream sector, mobilised its members, the wider industry and other parts of the hospitality sector to promote their products to all those holidaying in the country this summer. The campaign is called the Great British Ice Cream Staycation and is encouraging businesses of all types and sizes to get involved. A free, downloadable DIY Marketing Toolkit is available now at www.ice-cream.org/webform/great-british-ice-cream-staycation

‘The Great British Ice Cream Staycation – ice cream smiles, today, tomorrow and always’

www.ice-cream.org

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