Abingdon's Barkby Group sells Workshop Coffee through management buyout

By Giles Gwinnett

2 August 2023

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Abingdon-based Barkby Group told investors it had disposed of Workshop Trading Holdings, trading under the Workshop Coffee brand, via a management buyout (MBO) as part of its strategy to focus on real estate and sell its non-core assets.

Independent adviser Castle Corporate Finance undertook a full sales process, including considering an MBO led by Workshop's founder and CEO James Dickson, and concluded that this option offered the best value for Barkby.

In a stock market statement, Barkby said it would use the proceeds of the sale for general working capital.

"The sale of Workshop Coffee will enable its management team to maximise its potential, whilst ensuring Barkby is able to dedicate all of its resources and management time to the successful execution of its Roadside Real Estate strategy," said Charles Dickson, executive chairman of Barkby.

The MBO includes the transfer of £1.7 million of third-party liabilities, the repayment of £0.2 million of intercompany lending and £0.3 million of deferred consideration payable in cash in June, 2024.

In the year to end-June 2022, Workshop posted revenue of £1.5 million, a loss before tax of £0.8 million and had net liabilities of £7.1 million.

Following the announcement in July last year that Barkby planned to sell non-core businesses, it completed the sale of its stake in Verso Biosense stake for £2.6 million in August, 2022, while the sales process for Workshop Coffee was launched in September 2022.

This summer, Barkby announced that work on its roadside development in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, had been completed and fully let.

Barkby purchased the site for £540,000 in January, 2021 with 90% of lettings already chalked in pre-construction.

Occupiers include Greggs, Formula One Autocentres, City Plumbing Supplies, and a Brewers Decorator Centre branch.

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By Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.