Bond International buys Viking and McConechey’s fleet

Well-known tyre wholesale business Bond International was growing fast before the latest acquisitions were announced, but now the company has agreed to purchase Stepgrades Motor Accessories Limited trading as Viking Wholesale Tyres, Birkenshaw Distributors Limited and McConechey’s Commercial Fleet Services, growth will be considerably faster. All three Stepgrades businesses have been acquired from Halfords Group Plc as part of a deal which will see Bond International partner with Halfords to distribute tyres to all of their network. Moving forward, company representatives suggested that there will “further announcements” as the company looks to expand its operation in Scotland, where the business previously had limited exposure.

For those wondering, Stepgrades Motor Accessories is a trading subsidiary of Axle Group Holdings Ltd, which is itself owned by Halfords Group plc. Stepgrades generated revenue of £46.954 million in the year to the end of March 2023 (FY2022: £65.818 million) and a pre-tax operating loss of £194,000 compared with a profit of £807,000 in 2022.

Commenting on the news, Charlie Bond, CEO of Bond International, said: “These acquisitions will have a significant impact on our growth in 2024 and beyond. They are part of a longer-term plan that will see the business exceed £500 million turnover by 2026. The growth we have experienced since 2019 is phenomenal, our turnover back then was just £181 million.

“The main reason for this growth is the new board of directors formed in 2019, and the strategic plan we put in place. The new board has the knowledge and skills to be able to carry out the plan, we have strong managers and a highly skilled workforce throughout all areas of the company, and the business is now seeing the rewards of its efforts. We use the growth to invest in our infrastructure, enabling us to improve service levels for all our customers throughout the UK. These are, and continue to be, exciting times for us all at Bond International.”

Doubling the size of the HQ

As if that isn’t enough growth, in October 2023, the Pocklington, Yorkshire-based business expanded plans for new headquarters in order to make the project even bigger.

According to local news reports, Bond International decided against building the new HQ in 2023 and now the proposed new building incorporates four floors rather than three to accommodate over 200 personnel.

While most of the new features from the original design remain, some new ideas have been added. They include a fully equipped gym, yoga studio, golf simulator, games room including pool table and F1 simulator, plus full changing facilities.

Bond International was established by the late Reg Bond in 1966, and is still family-owned, with Reg’s sons Charlie and Greg leading the business.

Turnover in 2022 was around £300 million, more than double the total 2017 figure. At the same time, the number of people employed by the business has grown from 331 in 2017 to over 750 prior to the Stepgrades acquisitions.

Much of that growth comes from Bond’s investment in wholesale locations in Bracknell, Tamworth and Chepstow as well as what the business calls “super depots” in Biggleswade and St Helens during 2023.

However, if Bond International turned over more than £300 million in 2023 and Stepgrades generated revenue of just under £47 million last year, the latest acquisition represents significant progress towards the company’s 2026 target of £500 million and makes the post-acquisition company one of – if not the biggest in tyre wholesaler – in the country by turnover.

Source: Company figures, T&A | *Target  **Estimate