Rayner & Keeler buys Stephen Rowe group

Rayner & Keeler, the practice group which has more than 100 outlets, has purchased north of England chain Stephen Rowe Opticians.
The company has acquired the entire Stephen Rowe group, consisting of nine branches in Cumbria, including one branch in Carlisle, and two others in Dumfriesshire.
Rayner, ranked 12th in opticianÕs Top 50 practice groups by return-on-sales, last expanded three years ago when it bought around 20 Lancaster & Thorpe outlets (News, October 2, 1998).
In opticianÕs Top 50 article (February 23, 2001) the latest yearly turnover for the Rayner & Keeler group was £24.4m with profit at £1.1m.
Rayner is one of the largest groups in the UK with branches throughout England and Wales and over 400 staff. It operates under a number of regional names, with the two most recognised being Rayner and Lancaster & Thorpe.
Rayner has practices in the north west, Yorkshire, Wales, north east, and a scattering of outlets in Nottinghamshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire. Its 1998 L&T purchase gave it branches in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire, which continue to trade under their old name.
The Stephen Rowe trade name will also remain unchanged. It has outlets in Carlisle, Penrith, Keswick, Workington, Maryport, Cockermouth, Barrow-in-Furness, Brampton, Wigton, Lockerbie and Annan.
A Rayner spokesman said: ÔThe attraction was the similarity in the style of business, the groupÕs strong performance combined with an ideal geographic fit. The benefits to us are economies of scale through shared resources.Õ
RaynerÕs headquarters in Chesham, Buckinghamshire is now the main administration office for Stephen Rowe Opticians.