Change of Hart

21 January 2008

Nobia finally backs out of bathrooms with the sale of C.P. Hart to private buyers

Luxury bathroom retailer C.P. Hart has been sold by industry giant Nobia for an undisclosed sum. The buyers are former Gower Furniture, and hence former Nobia, pair Richard Reynolds and Kevin Ohle and their company Charco 2010.

C.P. Hart has five showrooms - Waterloo, Guildford, Esher, Primrose Hill and Manchester - and generates net sales of around £17.5m a year and employs 100 people.

Through Charco the entrepreneurial pair have financed the acquisition themselves and Reynolds will become chairman and Ohle a director. Both will form an executive function and lead specific projects within the existing management team.

Paul Rowland, who remains as managing director, said: "Richard and Kevin's acquisition of C.P. Hart will give us added impetus and their experience will prove to be invaluable. Their focus and commitment to take the C.P. Hart brand to even greater heights leaves me in no doubt that C.P. Hart will be a very exciting place to be in the months to come."

Reynolds and Ohle have a long association with the industry, most notably as joint managing directors of the kitchen and bedroom furniture manufacturer the Gower Group which was bought by Nobia in 2003. They also managed the acquisition, turnaround and subsequent sale of top-end kitchen manufacturer Smallbone of Devises. C.P. Hart represents their first foray into bathroom retailing.

"C.P. Hart has an excellent management team in place and we are really looking forward to working alongside them on a variety of diverse projects," said Richard Reynolds. "Specifically, we will be pooling our collective expertise to accelerate the opening of additional stores in selected towns and cities across the UK. It's not inconceivable that we may also look abroad at some stage too.

Reynolds stressed, however, that they intend to continue with the strategy already in place at the retailer.

"We envisage our role as providing some leadership, yes, but fundamentally to work alongside Paul Rowland and his team on a project basis where our skills combined with the skills of his team will enable C.P. Hart to go from strength to strength."

The sale of C.P. Hart confirms Nobia’s desire to devote itself to its core business after reviewing opportunities in the European bathroom industry.

“Nobia wants to be kitchen focused and we want to grow C.P. Hart,” Rowland said. “At the beginning of 2007 they were looking at several acquisitions but came to the conclusion that there were more kitchen opportunities to be had on a pan-European basis.

“[Reynolds and Ohle] are sticking with our strategy of expansion and exclusivity by putting more emphasis on our marketing and PR strategy. But they will also be able to bring more operational efficiencies to our business due to their extensive industry knowledge.”

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Change of Hart	Back
21 January 2008 Nobia finally backs out of bathrooms with the sale of C.P. Hart to private buyers Luxury bathroom retailer C.P. Hart has been sold by industry giant Nobia for an undisclosed sum. The buyers are former Gower Furniture, and hence former Nobia, pair Richard Reynolds and Kevin Ohle and their company Charco 2010. C.P. Hart has five showrooms - Waterloo, Guildford, Esher, Primrose Hill and Manchester - and generates net sales of around £17.5m a year and employs 100 people. Through Charco the entrepreneurial pair have financed the acquisition themselves and Reynolds will become chairman and Ohle a director. Both will form an executive function and lead specific projects within the existing management team. Paul Rowland, who remains as managing director, said: "Richard and Kevin's acquisition of C.P. Hart will give us added impetus and their experience will prove to be invaluable. Their focus and commitment to take the C.P. Hart brand to even greater heights leaves me in no doubt that C.P. Hart will be a very exciting place to be in the months to come." Reynolds and Ohle have a long association with the industry, most notably as joint managing directors of the kitchen and bedroom furniture manufacturer the Gower Group which was bought by Nobia in 2003. They also managed the acquisition, turnaround and subsequent sale of top-end kitchen manufacturer Smallbone of Devises. C.P. Hart represents their first foray into bathroom retailing. "C.P. Hart has an excellent management team in place and we are really looking forward to working alongside them on a variety of diverse projects," said Richard Reynolds. "Specifically, we will be pooling our collective expertise to accelerate the opening of additional stores in selected towns and cities across the UK. It's not inconceivable that we may also look abroad at some stage too. Reynolds stressed, however, that they intend to continue with the strategy already in place at the retailer. "We envisage our role as providing some leadership, yes, but fundamentally to work alongside Paul Rowland and his team on a project basis where our skills combined with the skills of his team will enable C.P. Hart to go from strength to strength." The sale of C.P. Hart confirms Nobia’s desire to devote itself to its core business after reviewing opportunities in the European bathroom industry. “Nobia wants to be kitchen focused and we want to grow C.P. Hart,” Rowland said. “At the beginning of 2007 they were looking at several acquisitions but came to the conclusion that there were more kitchen opportunities to be had on a pan-European basis. “[Reynolds and Ohle] are sticking with our strategy of expansion and exclusivity by putting more emphasis on our marketing and PR strategy. But they will also be able to bring more operational efficiencies to our business due to their extensive industry knowledge.”