 |
Bill Archer | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Ernest Archer |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Businessman |
William Ernest Archer is a British businessman.
|
Bill Archer | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Ernest Archer |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Businessman |
William Ernest Archer is a British businessman.
In 1988 the Focus DIY company was bought by Archer and all stores were re-branded Focus DIY. With the help of private equity the chain grew to 72 stores in the United Kingdom. [1]
By 2002 the chain had grown to over 450 stores following several buyouts including the Wickes DIY chain. Archer and his partners received over £650 million from the sale of Wickes in 2005. When his core Focus business was in financial difficulty, US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management bought Focus for £1 in June 2007. Cerberus, which also took on debts of £180m, brought in Bill Grimsey, former chief executive of Wickes. "When we came in, staff morale had been wiped out and the shelves had no stock because suppliers thought it was going bust. The business was still selling eight-year-old kitchens because there had been no investment," said Grimsey. [2]
Archer was also involved in the controversial 1997 sale of the Goldstone Ground in Hove, the then-home of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., so the land could be used as a retail park. The club had been based there for over ninety years until the board of directors decided to sell the stadium. The sale, implemented by Archer as majority shareholder and his chief executive David Bellotti, provoked widespread protests against the board. The club itself received minimal payment from this sale, and was left without a ground to play in. [3] [4] He was also said to have destroyed Brighton and Hove Albion for a period. [5]
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club's home ground is the Falmer Stadium.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, and one in Gibraltar. The company is headquartered in Bradford, England.
Somerfield was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The business started life in the 19th century as grocers J. H. Mills, and after a series of buyouts and mergers, the company became known as Gateway. A major rebranding to the created Somerfield brand started in 1990, and in 1998 the company purchased the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth-largest food retailer. The Somerfield name was replaced by the Co-operative brand in a rolling programme of store conversions ending in summer 2011.
Focus was a British do-it-yourself and home improvement retailer, founded in 1987.
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Wickes Group plc trading as Wickes is a home improvement retailer and garden centre, based in the United Kingdom with more than 230 stores throughout the country. Its main business is the sale of supplies and materials, for homeowners and the building trade. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The Goldstone Ground was a football stadium in Hove, East Sussex that was the home ground of Brighton & Hove Albion between 1902 and 1997.
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies. The firm is based in New York City, and run by Steve Feinberg, who co-founded Cerberus in 1992, with William L. Richter, who serves as a senior managing director. The firm has affiliate and advisory offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Do It All was a British do it yourself and home improvement retailing company that underwent a number of changes of ownership. In 1998, the business was sold to Focus DIY, which itself entered administration in 2011, with all its stores closing later that year.
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Great Mills was a large DIY chain, consisting of around 98 stores across the United Kingdom. The business was bought by Focus DIY in December 2000 for £285m, which in turn entered administration in May 2011, with all stores closing by the end of July 2011. Most of the former stores of Focus DIY were sold off by the administrators Ernst & Young in batches to B&Q, Wickes and B&M Bargains.
The history of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. began in 1901. It first played in the Southern League, and was elected to the Football League in 1920. They won promotion to the First Division in the 1978–79 season, but were relegated in the 1982–83 season. They returned to the top flight for the 2017–18 season playing in the Premier League.
William Grimsey is an English businessman who has specialised in the food and DIY sectors, most notably at Wickes, Iceland, and Focus (DIY).
Landmark Mortgages Limited, formerly Northern Rock plc and later NRAM plc, is a British asset holding and management company which was split away from the Northern Rock bank in 2010. It was publicly owned through the British Government's UK Asset Resolution following Northern Rock's nationalisation in 2008 until NRAM plc was sold to Cerberus Capital Management in 2016. The company is closed to new business.
Payless DIY was a chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom during the 1980s.
Wickes Furniture was a privately held chain of furniture stores based in Wheeling, Illinois. The company was founded in 1971 with a showroom in Fridley, Minnesota, and at its peak, operated 43 stores in California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas and Oregon.
Leslie's, Inc., operating as Leslie's Swimming Pool Supplies, is the largest retailer of swimming pool supplies and related products. The company is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and has a particularly strong retail presence in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas.
During the 1996–97 English football season, Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division.
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