Jobs at the Norville Group have been saved after Inspecs completed the acquisition of the business’s lens manufacturing operations from its administrator BDO in a deal said to be worth £2.4m.
The acquisition included £1.2m of freehold property for Norville’s Gloucester site and the remainder for stock, plant, intellectual property and contracts. Inspecs said it intended to retain part of Norville’s management team and employees as part of the purchase.
Accounts for the year to December 31 2019 showed Norville had unaudited revenues of £11.8m, loss before tax of £0.79m and EBITDA of £0.39m. The net book value of the assets acquired was £4.9m including the freehold property. Inspecs said the acquisition would be funded from existing cash resources.
Robin Totterman, CEO of Inspecs, said: ‘I am delighted to announce our first acquisition as a plc, in line with our stated strategy at initial public offering, and there is no doubt that Norville is an excellent fit for the group. With Savile Row (Algha) and Norville, we have combined the two oldest and most respected British optical brands – frame maker with lens maker. With Inspecs' global frame manufacturing, marketing and sale capabilities, we are continuing to grow our vertically integrated business model.
‘We are also taking this opportunity to integrate our two UK manufacturing sites, and soon we will offer a bespoke Savile Row lens collection to accompany the frames. Our plan is to similarly offer our many licenced brands with high quality bespoke lens packages.
‘The acquisition cements Inspecs’ position as the only vertically integrated designer, manufacturer and distributor of eyewear frames and lenses in the UK and provides the group with a full lens offering domestically and globally. We look forward to welcoming the Norville team into the heart of the Inspecs group and working together to create a truly cutting-edge integrated eyewear business.’
