Worldchoice scales back site purchases

WORLDCHOICE has scaled down its acquisition of shops and greenfield sites following the US terrorist attacks – despite the opportunity to buy agencies at bargain prices.

Worldchoice Enterprises – the subsidiary set up to administer the consortium’s shareholder scheme – has been approached by an increasing number of its own members and other consortia keen to sell up.

But Worldchoice Enterprises managing director Keith Wilson said potential sites were being cherry-picked, with 10 rather than the expected 15 agencies bought in the first year. Plans to buy four or five greenfield sites for new construction have also been cut back.

“We are taking a prudent approach and only considering businesses that have got a good track record of profitability,” said Wilson. “We realise there are some bargains to be had but we do not want to buy ourselves a headache.”

Worldchoice Enterprises has collected about £750,000 of the £1.1 million in shares from members to fund the scheme.

It has already identified three shops likely to be taken over in December and January. The first has a turnover of £3 million and Worldchoice plans to add a foreign exchange unit, to be run by a separate company with a percentage of the profits going to the consortium.

The scaling back comes as the board prepares to announce a new director following the resignation of former managing director Julian Foster over the shareholder scheme.

Foster said: “It is good they have pulled back because it would be too risky. But it means they will have a difficult task to make any money

for shareholders.”

The result of the election contest between chairman Colin Heal and Northern Ireland chairman Bryan Somers was due today.