Fishing Republic lands second acquisition: 'Fantackletastic'

Tackle retailer Fishing Republic has completed its second acquisition since listing, using £150,000 of its recent £3.75m placing to buy the Fantackletastic store in Lincolnshire.

The purchase becomes the north of England-focused group's 11th outlet and provides its first presence in the East Midlands, adding a well-established store of 4,000 sq ft close to Lincoln city centre.

Fantackletastic, whose owner will leave the business after completing the handover, generated revenues of roughly £0.4m and an operating profit of circa £40,000 in the year to 31 March this year.

"It is a long-established business, with a loyal customer base, and fits our 'destination store' model," said group chief executive Steve Gross.

He added that the board continued to evaluate opportunities to increase the group's footprint across the UK.

After floating with £1.5m of new funds in June last year, in December Fishing Republic completed its first acquisition, purchasing Cotswold Angling near Swindon to add its first presence in the south, while also adding greenfield openings in Birmingham, Crewe and Hull.

Near the first anniversary of its IPO, the company raised a further £3.75m at 35p a share from investors including ex Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy and noted investor Bill Currie.

Shares in Fishing Republic were down 2.4% to 40.5p by 1115 BST on Monday.