Snow+Rock managing director Dion Taylor has said he will open further stores following the management buyout of the company that was completed this week.
Taylor - who led the management buyout backed by private equity firm LGV Capital for an undisclosed sum - said he wanted to open five or six stores a year and planned to recruit more IT and logistics staff and more buyers.
Taylor said the outdoor equipment market was “massive but very competitive”, and added that camping equipment sales had received a boost from more people choosing to take a holiday in the UK rather than go abroad.
Snow+Rock, which also owns CycleSurgery and Runners Need shops as well as its own eponymous stores, operates at the premium end of the market.
Taylor said that its different brands were aimed at a similar type of customer and that he did not expect a major change in strategy following the buyout.
Snow+Rock’s previous owner, Andrew Brownsword, will retain a “significant” investment in the group, which has 35 retail stores and three websites.
Taylor and the management team have put some of their own cash into the deal.
LGV director Steven Philips said: “By combining three leading specialist outdoors retailers, we believe the business offers customers a compelling proposition.”
The deal comes hot on the heels of other investor interest in the outdoor sector. Earlier this month Lloyds Development Capital took a 20% stake in Mountain Warehouse.
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