Haynes Publishing puts itself up for sale
Haynes Publishing, the UK firm famous for its automotive maintenance ‘how to’ manuals, has put itself up for sale.
In a stock market statement, the company said that, following the death of its founder last year, it believed the firm’s future would be secured as part of a larger organisation.
"Our founder, John Haynes died this year; one year before the Company's 60th anniversary in 2020”, said Executive Chairman Eddie Bell.
“The Board now believes our future will be best secured by the whole Group becoming part of an organisation with the financial resources to invest for future expansion and take the Company through to the next 60 years of success."
"Following this morning's announcement staff in all our operations worldwide are being briefed by Executive Management today.
“The Company will carry on operating business as usual during the sale process securing a bright, new future for the Group, our management, staff, suppliers and customers worldwide."
Haynes has appointed Europa Partners as financial adviser to conduct the formal sale process. However, the Company added that it is not currently in discussions with any potential offeror.
As well as vehicle maintenance manuals, Haynes expanded into other areas 'how to' and explainer titles including 'Christmas explained', 'Babies explained' and 'Teenagers explained'. It also developed a strong online presence with digital how to sites and social media channels.
Haynes currently has more than 24,000 followers on Twitter and 132,000 followers on Facebook.
Haynes is a listed company, with its shares trading on the London Stock Exchange. Investors reacted positively to the sale announcement with the shares trading more than 11% higher at £4.50.
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